Jan Therese D'Arcy is an American television and film actress born on June 18, 1939, in

Oneida, New York Oneida () is a city in Madison County in the U.S. state of New York. It is located west of Oneida Castle (in Oneida County) and east of Wampsville. The population was 10,329 at the 2020 census, down from 11,390 in 2010. The city, like b ...

, with a career spanning almost five decades. She is best known for playing Sylvia Horne in ''

Twin Peaks ''Twin Peaks'' is an American Surrealist cinema, surrealist Mystery film, mystery-Horror film, horror Drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. It Pilot (Twin Peaks), premiered on American Broad ...

'', and her roles in many other television series and movies including ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

'' and '' Alive.''

Career

Television series

''Twin Peaks''

She is best known for playing Sylvia Horne in ''

'', appearing in the hit cult original 1990 series on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. She was in four significant episodes, including the very first one, the

Pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, and the then final episode, both key episodes directed by

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

. She was also due to appear in the 1992 movie, '' Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me'', with her character appearing in the original script, but did not as

Richard Beymer George Richard Beymer Jr. (born February 20, 1938) is an American actor, filmmaker and artist who played the roles of Tony in the 1961 film adaptation of ''West Side Story'', Peter van Daan in '' The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959), and Ben Horn ...

- who played her character's husband, Benjamin Horne - and

Sherilyn Fenn Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn; February 1, 1965) is an American actress. She played Audrey Horne on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award. She als ...

- who portrayed her on-screen daughter,

Audrey Horne Audrey Horne is a fictional character from the ABC television series ''Twin Peaks'', played by Sherilyn Fenn. The character was created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. She was introduced in the pilot. The daughter of Ben and Sylvia Horne, siste ...

- chose not to return and the scenes featuring the Horne Family were written out. Many databases add the movie to her list of roles as "scenes deleted", but she didn't film any.' Twenty-five years later, she returned to the role in the Showtime 2017 revival, '' Twin Peaks: The Return,'' appearing in two episodes.'

''The X-Files'' and other roles

She also played Judge Kann in the Tooms episode of ''

'' and had roles in ''

The Outer Limits ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', '' M.A.N.T.I.S'', ''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'', and '' Highlander'' (as Betty Bannen)''.'' Her TV career also includes ''

The Commish ''The Commish'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in fictional Eastb ...

'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'', ''

21 Jump Street ''21 Jump Street'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Patrick Hasburgh and Stephen J. Cannell for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired from April 12, 1987 to April 27, 1991, spanning 103 episodes over five s ...

'', ''

Jake and the Fatman ''Jake and the Fatman'' is an American crime drama television series starring William Conrad as prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe and Joe Penny as investigator Jake Styles. Created by Dean Hargrove and Joel Steiger, the ser ...

'', ''

Hot Pursuit Hot pursuit (also known as fresh or immediate pursuit) is the urgent and direct pursuit of a criminal suspect by peace officer, law enforcement officers, or by belligerents under international rules of engagement for military forces. Such a situa ...

'', and '' Wiseguy''.

Films

She has appeared in several

made-for-TV A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrestr ...

films, including: ''Better Off Dead, No Child of Mine, The Other Mother, The Danger of Love, High Stakes, ''and ''Relic.'' She has also been in many feature films. Her debut role was in the

Stockard Channing Stockard Channing (born Susan Antonia Williams Stockard; February 13, 1944) is an American actress. List of awards and nominations received by Stockard Channing, Her accolades include three Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a nomination for an Acade ...

movie, '' Sweet Revenge'' (1976). She was in ''

Why Would I Lie? ''Why Would I Lie?'' is a 1980 American comedy-drama film about a compulsive liar named Cletus ( Treat Williams). The film, which was directed by Larry Peerce and shot in Spokane, Washington, is based on the novel ''The Fabricator'' by Hollis ...

'' (1980), the major true story movie '' Alive'' (1993),

Keoni Waxman Keoni Waxman (born June 30, 1968) is an American film director best known for his work with Steven Seagal since 2009 with the film '' The Keeper''. Filmography * '' I Shot a Man in Vegas'' (1995) * ''Countdown'' (1996) * ''Almost Blue'' (1996) * ...

's ''Countdown'' (1996), and will be in

Allen Wolf Allen Wolf (born October 29, 1970) is an American film director, screenwriter, film producer, novelist, and board game creator. Filmmaking Allen Wolf studied filmmaking at New York University, where he graduated summa cum laude. He wrote, direc ...

's upcoming movie ''

The Sound of Violet ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''T ...

,'' which is due to be released in 2022.

Personal life

She has five children. She has a BA from Catholic University America (1960) and an MA from

University of California at Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the Ca ...

(1961).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:D'Arcy, Jan Living people 1939 births American film actresses American television actresses 21st-century American women