American actress Jean Elizabeth Smart has had an illustrated career comprising both comedies and dramas. She has won one Golden Globe Award, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and was also nominated for a Grammy and a Tony Award.
With such significant achievements under her belt, the 73-year-old recently made her SNL debut, making her the oldest host to start a new season of the show. Recently, in May, the third season of her show Hacks came out, which also stars Kaitlin Olson, Hannah Einbinder, and Christopher McDonald among others.
Let us now look at some of her best shows and films.
Jean Smart Movies
1. Babylon
This 2022 Damien Chazelle directorial was about 1920s Hollywood and its transitory period from silent to sound films. Jean Smart starred in the film as Elinor St. John, a gossip journalist, who wrote about all the who's who of Hollywood during that period.
Babylon featured an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, and Eric Roberts, among others. Jean’s role was pivotal to the film as she was the keeper of the times, choosing celebrities who were to be kept in the center of the narrative and who were to remain in the periphery.
Where to watch: Babylon is available to watch on Prime Video (on rent).
2. Senior Moment
Directed by Giorgio Serafini, Senior Moment is a 2022 romantic comedy starring Jean Smart and William Shatner in lead roles. Jean here plays the owner of an organic cafe, who is also an environmentalist, running an organization to save the endangered desert tortoise.
When Jean’s Caroline Summers meets William Shatner’s Victor Martin on a bus ride that the latter was forced to take, they get romantically involved. However, like any other relationship, theirs also goes through a fair share of trouble.
However, by the end of the film, Caroline and Victor end up happily ever after, even sharing each other's passion.
Where to watch: Senior Moment is available to stream on Apple TV.
3. Brampton's Own
Brampton's Own, directed and written by Michael Doneger, is a sports drama, starring Jean Smart, Alex Russell, and Rose McIver. The film follows 30-year-old baseball player Dustin Kimmel (Russel) and his struggles as he fails to make it to the major leagues by his 30s.
Jean plays the role of Judy Kimmel, Alex’s mother. When Alex comes back home, he finds his life completely changed as his mother plans to move in with her boyfriend.
The performances of the lead actors, including that of Jean’s make it a compelling watch.
Where to watch: Brampton's Own is available to stream on Prime Video.
Jean Smart Shows
1. Mare of Easttown
HBO’s Mare of Easttown, a drama miniseries directed by Craig Zobel, starred Kate Winslet as the protagonist, Detective Mare Sheehan. Jean Smart played the role of her mother Helen, which won her Emmy and Screen Actors Guild nominations.
Jean’s on-screen chemistry with Kate was absolutely perfect for a mother-daughter duo belonging to a dysfunctional family with a closet full of grief and trauma of their own. Besides being Kate’s mother, she also nailed it as the grandmother of Kate’s late son, whom they lost to suicide.
Where to watch: Mare of Easttown is available to stream on HBO.
2. Watchmen
Another one from the house of HBO Max, the limited series Watchmen cast Jean in the role of investigator Laurie Blake. This dystopian drama was based on the comics of the same name, authored by Alan Moore.
Jean’s portrayal of Laurie Blake won her an Emmy nomination and Critics Choice Award. A part of Watchmen highlighted the 1921 Tulsa massacre, while basing itself in 1980s Tulsa, Okla.
Besides Jean, the show also starred Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Regina King, Louis Gossett Jr. and Jeremy Irons.
Where to watch: Watchmen can be streamed on HBO.
3. Fargo
FX’s Fargo follows different time periods and characters with the common theme of crime and connection to the Midwest, USA. In the second season of Fargo, Jean Smart starred as Floyd, the Gerhardt crime family’s matriarch.
She had stood beside her husband for 40 years like a rock, troubles began when he died. While Floyd wanted to head the family’s business herself, her eldest son Dodd wanted that position.
Jean’s portrayal of Floyd won her an Emmy nomination:
“That was an exceptional experience. That was the first time, I think, I'd been on a show where every element of that show, everybody was on their A-game, craft service to every crew member to every writer, producer, cast member, costumer, everybody.”
Where to watch: Fargo is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
4.24
Fox’s 24 is a crime thriller series starring Kiefer Sutherland as US counter-terrorist federal agent Jack Bauer. Jean entered the show during its fifth season, playing the role of Martha Logan.
Jean’s character, Martha, was the wife of President Charles Logan. Her character was shown to have a history of mental health issues and was therefore confined to Meadowcreek Mental Health Institute for some time.
According to Jean, 24 was the show that started to change people’s perceptions about her.
Where to watch: 24 is available to stream on Disney+.
5. Designing Women
Jean as Charlene Frazier-Stillfield in the 80s show Designing Women was one of her breakout roles. She joined the series from its first season in 1986 and continued till the fifth season.
The CBS show followed the lives of four women and one man working together at Sugarbaker & Associates, an interior designing firm in Atlanta, Georgia.
The show is quite special to Jean because of a personal reason. It was on the Designing Women that she met her now late husband, Richard Gilliland.
Jean left the show after its fifth season to look after her little family and also because she had grown tired of her character.
“was so much fun.”
Where to watch: Designing Women is available to stream on Hulu.
6. Samantha Who?
ABC’s Samantha Who? aired from 2007-2009 with 2 seasons and 35 episodes. Jean Smart portrayed the role of Regina Newly, mother of Christina Applegate's Samantha.
Samantha Who? is about a woman who suffers from amnesia after a hit-and-run and realizes that she has not been an ideal person in the lives of people around her. With her disease giving her a new life as it plays with her memory, Samantha sees this as a chance for redemption.
Jean won an Emmy for her role in Samantha Who? Her role was written in a way that made it clear that she always loved her daughter, even when she did not like her.
Where to watch: Samantha Who? can be streamed on Disney+.
7.Frasier
NBC’s sitcom Frasier aired between 1993-2004 and starred Jean Smart as a guest star from 2000-2001. Jean played the role of Lana Gardner, a friend and an on-again-off-again love interest of the protagonist Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier.
Jean’s Lana is shown to have a rather aggressive personality on the show. She was married to Bob Gardner but got divorced. One of her kids, Kirby, makes frequent appearances on the show.
Even with her brief stint in Fraiser, Jean won two Emmys for her role. In Jean’s own words:
“I had so much fun with that character because she could just say and do anything.”
Where to watch: Frasier can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
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