Jane McNeill-Balter, professionally credited as Jane McNeill, is an American stage, film and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), lit ...

, best known to television audiences for her recurring role as

Patricia Patricia is a female given name of Latin origin. Derived from the Latin word ''patrician'', meaning "noble"; it is the feminine form of the masculine given name Patrick. The name Patricia was the second most common female name in the United State ...

on the second season of '' The Walking Dead''.

Life and career

McNeill is a native of Whiteville, North Carolina, in Columbus County. She is the daughter of John McNeill and Margaret Powell McNeill. McNeill first became involved in theater and

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a bro ...

as a sixth grader. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

, but began taking drama classes during her sophomore year at the university. She attended the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

interned Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

at the Arkansas Repertory Theater in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

following college. McNeill worked as an actor in

Wilmington, North Carolina Wilmington is a port city in and the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern North Carolina, United States. With a population of 115,451 at the 2020 census, it is the eighth most populous city in the state. Wilmington is t ...

, for one year, and then relocated to

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, where she joined a repertory theater for six months. In 1990, McNeill moved to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

, to pursue acting and theater. By her own accounts, she "spent eight years doing theater and waiting tables." McNeill went back to school, earning a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in education from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

. She taught drama and English in the Chicago area until she returned to North Carolina in 1999. McNeill married her husband, Yoel Balter, in 1996. The couple moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, in December 1999, where McNeill worked in

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include ...

. They have two children - Abby (born in 2001) and Ben (born in 2004). They relocated to the

Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to: Places Antarctica *Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia * Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane * Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area Canada *Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...

area, where her husband earned a J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2007. The entire family returned to Wilmington in 2007. McNeill was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after returning to Wilmington. Her treatment and recovery put her acting career briefly on hold. In 2012, she told ''

The News Reporter ''The News Reporter'' is a broadsheet semi-weekly (Tuesday and Friday) newspaper based in Whiteville, North Carolina. The paper was founded in 1896 and serves Columbus County, North Carolina, United States. The News Reporter won the Pulitzer Priz ...

'', "I had planned to start

audition An audition is a sample performance by an actor, singer, musician, dancer or other performer. It typically involves the performer displaying their talent through a previously memorized and rehearsed solo piece or by performing a work or piece ...

ing, but by the time we were settled, I learned I had breast cancer...After a year of recovery, acting was at the top of my 'bucket list' so I started taking classes with casting director Tracy Kilpatrick...Tracy was very instrumental in helping me transition from stage to screen acting...Moreover, she really believed in me and cast me in my first

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

." She signed with a

talent agent A talent agent, or booking agent, is a person who finds jobs for actors, authors, broadcast journalists, film directors, musicians, models, professional athletes, screenwriters, writers, and other professionals in various entertainment or s ...

, Susan Tolar-Walters of STW Talent, during the spring of 2011. In early June 2011, McNeill was performing in a local play, "The Hallelujah Girls," when she received an

email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...

offering her a three-episode

for the second season of '' The Walking Dead''. She auditioned for the part of

. Three weeks later, the day before a family trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, McNeill learned that the role was between either her or a second actress. The next day, McNeill learned she had gotten the part shortly after her plane landed in New York. McNeill's original three episode role expanded to include the second season. She filmed episodes of ''The Walking Dead'' every two weeks from July to November 2011. Filming for season two wrapped in November 2011. In December 2011, McNeill began filming ''Hornet's Nest'', a 2012 TNT

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

based on the novel of the same name by

Patricia Cornwell Patricia Cornwell (born Patricia Carroll Daniels; June 9, 1956) is an American crime writer. She is known for her best-selling novels featuring medical examiner Kay Scarpetta, of which the first was inspired by a series of sensational murders in ...

, starring

Virginia Madsen Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in ''Class'' (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Prin ...

, Sherry Stringfield, Michael Boatman,

Robbie Amell Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series '' The Flash'', Nath ...

, and Quentin Kerr. After ''The Walking Dead'', McNeill began appearing in both film and television, playing supporting roles. She has appeared in the 2012 found footage horror film '' The Bay'', Academy Award-winning film '' Dallas Buyers Club'' (2013), and well as '' Mississippi Grind'' and '' Magic Mike XXL'' in 2015. She later played Aunt Estelle in the NBC television movies '' Dolly Parton's Coat of Many Colors'' (2015) and '' Dolly Parton's Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love'' (2016), and in 2018 had a recurring role in the SundanceTV drama series, ''

Hap and Leonard Hap and Leonard are two fictional amateur investigators and adventurers created by American author Joe R. Lansdale. They are the main characters in a series of twelve novels, four novellas, and three collections of stories and excerpts. They are ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNeill, Jane Actresses from Chicago Actresses from North Carolina American stage actresses American television actresses DePaul University alumni Living people People from Whiteville, North Carolina Actors from Wilmington, North Carolina UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alumni 21st-century American actresses American film actresses Educators from Illinois American women educators Year of birth missing (living people)