Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress known for her roles on screen and stage. She has received various accolades for her performances in television and theatre including three Primetime Emmy Awards, two

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

, three

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

and two

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

. She also received a Laurence Olivier Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Jones started her career in theatre in 1980 when she cofounded the American Repertory Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 1987 play '' Stepping Out''. She received her first Tony nomination for her role in '' Our Country's Good'' in 1991. She continued working on and off broadway including portraying various roles in

Tony Kushner Anthony Robert Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work ''Angels in America'' which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn ...

's ''

Angels in America ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes'' is a two-part play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The work won numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the Drama Desk Award f ...

'' in 1993. She portrayed Catherine Sloper in the Broadway production of ''

The Heiress ''The Heiress'' is a 1949 American romantic drama film directed and produced by William Wyler, from a screenplay written by Ruth and Augustus Goetz, adapted from their 1947 stage play of the same title, which was itself adapted from Henry Jame ...

'' in 1995 for which she earned her first

Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality lead ...

. She received another Tony nomination for ''

A Moon for the Misbegotten ''A Moon for the Misbegotten'' is a play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. The play is a sequel to O'Neill's '' Long Day's Journey into Night'', with the Jim Tyrone character as an older version of Jamie Tyrone. He began drafting the play late in ...

'' in 2000. She won her second Tony Award for originating the role of Sister Aloysius in

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...

's ''

Doubt Doubt is a mental state in which the mind remains suspended between two or more contradictory propositions, unable to be certain of any of them. Doubt on an emotional level is indecision between belief and disbelief. It may involve uncertainty ...

'' in 2005. In 2014 she received her fifth Tony nomination as Amanda in the Broadway revival of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

' ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

'', a role for which she reprised in London's West End earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination in 2017. Her most recent Broadway performance was in ''

The Lifespan of a Fact ''The Lifespan of a Fact'' is a book co-written by John D'Agata and Jim Fingal and published by W.W. Norton & Company in 2012. The book is written in a non-traditional format consisting of D’Agata's 2003 essay “What Happens There” in black ...

'' in 2018. She is also known for her work on television making her debut in 1987's '' Alex: The Life of a Child''. She continued acting in television in various roles including Barbara Layton in ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...

'' and President Allison Taylor in '' 24'' the latter of which won her the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

in 2009. She received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for ''

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'' in 2015 and earned two more Primetime Emmy Awards this time for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her performances in the Hulu drama series ''

The Handmaid's Tale ''The Handmaid's Tale'' is a futuristic dystopian novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and published in 1985. It is set in a near-future New England in a patriarchal, totalitarian theonomic state known as the Republic of Gilead, which ...

'' in 2019 and the HBO drama series '' Succession'' in 2020. Her film appearances include '' The Horse Whisperer'' (1998), ''

Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich (née Pattee; born June 22, 1960) is an American legal clerk, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who, despite her lack of education in the law, was instrumental in building a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Compan ...

'' (2000), '' Signs'' (2002), '' The Village'' (2004), '' Amelia'' (2009), '' The Beaver'' (2011), ''

A Rainy Day in New York ''A Rainy Day in New York'' is a 2019 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Timothée Chalamet, Elle Fanning, Selena Gomez, Jude Law, Diego Luna, and Liev Schreiber. The film follows the romantic exploit ...

'' (2019), and '' The Eyes of Tammy Faye'' (2021).

Early life

Jones was born in Paris, Tennessee. Her mother was a high school teacher, and her father owned a flower shop. Her parents were very supportive of her theatrical ambitions, encouraging her interest by sending her to classes with local drama teacher, Ruby Krider. Jones takes great pains to credit her high school speech teacher, Linda Wilson, with her first real preparatory work. She is a 1978 graduate of the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama. While at CMU, she was one of the earliest actors to work at City Theatre, a fixture of Pittsburgh theatre.

Career

Most of her career has been in theater, beginning in 1980 as a founding member of the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. Her Broadway performances include

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

's 1995 production of ''

'' and also a 2005 production of

's play ''

'' at the

Walter Kerr Theatre The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shube ...

. For both roles, she earned a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

for Best Leading Actress in a Play. Other Broadway credits include

Nora Ephron Nora Ephron ( ; May 19, 1941 – June 26, 2012) was an American journalist, writer, and filmmaker. She is best known for her romantic comedy films and was nominated three times for the Writers Guild of America Award and the Academy Award for ...

's play '' Imaginary Friends'' (with

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of '' Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony Award nominations ...

), the 2000 revival of ''

'', and

Timberlake Wertenbaker Timberlake Wertenbaker is a British-based playwright, screenplay writer, and translator who has written plays for the Royal Court, the Royal Shakespeare Company and others. She has been described in ''The Washington Post'' as "the doyenne of po ...

's '' Our Country's Good'', for which she earned her first Tony nomination. She is considered to be one of the foremost theater actresses in the United States. In 1994, she also appeared in the Broadway run of ''

: Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika'' as the Angel, replacing Ellen McLaughlin, who had originated the role. She has narrated the audiobook adaptations of

Laura Ingalls Wilder Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American writer, mostly known for the '' Little House on the Prairie'' series of children's books, published between 1932 and 1943, which were based on her childhood ...

's ''Little House '' series including, ''

Little House in the Big Woods ''Little House in the Big Woods'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Harper in 1932 (reviewed in June). It was Wilder's first book published and it inaugurated her ''Little House'' series. It ...

'', ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the American Midwest (Wisconsin, Kansas, ...

'', ''

Farmer Boy ''Farmer Boy'' is a children's historical novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1933. It was the second-published one in the '' Little House'' series but it is not related to the first, which that of the third directly continues. ...

'', ''

On the Banks of Plum Creek ''On the Banks of Plum Creek'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1937, the fourth of nine books in her ''Little House'' series. It is based on a few years of her childhood when the Ingalls ...

'', ''

By the Shores of Silver Lake ''By the Shores of Silver Lake'' is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published in 1939, the fifth of nine books in her Little House series. It spans just over one year, beginning when she is 12 years old ...

'', '' The Long Winter'', and '' Little Town on the Prairie''. In recent years, Jones has ventured into feature films. Her screen credits include ''

Cradle Will Rock ''Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1999 American historical drama film written, produced and directed by Tim Robbins. The story fictionalizes the true events that surrounded the development of the 1937 musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'' by Marc Blitzstein; ...

'', '' The Perfect Storm'', '' Signs'', '' Ocean's Twelve'', and '' The Village''. Jones played President Taylor on the Fox series '' 24'', a role for which she won an Emmy for

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...

. She played the role in the seventh season, from January to May 2009, as well as eighth season, which aired from January to May 2010. In 2012, Jones starred in the NBC drama series '' Awake'' as psychiatrist Dr. Judith Evans. Also in 2012, she portrayed Amanda Wingfield in the Loeb Drama Center's revival of

' ''

'' alongside

Zachary Quinto Zachary John Quinto (; born June 2, 1977) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his roles as Sylar, the primary antagonist from the science fiction drama series '' Heroes'' (2006–2010); Spock in the film ''Star Trek'' (2009) ...

, Brian J. Smith and

Celia Keenan-Bolger Celia Keenan-Bolger (born January 26, 1978) is an American actress and singer. She is known for portraying Scout Finch in the play ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' (2018), which earned her a Tony Award. She has also won three Drama Desk Awards and an ...

. In 2014, Cherry Jones was inducted into the

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

. In 2015 and 2016 Jones had a recurring role on the Primetime Emmy Award-winning

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comedy-drama series ''

'' in its second and third seasons. She was nominated for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series for her work in the 2015 season. In 2016, she appeared in " Nosedive", an episode of the

anthology series An anthology series is a radio, television, video game or film series that spans different genres and presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, season, segment, or short. These usually have a dif ...

Black Mirror ''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fiction ...

''. In 2018, Jones played Holly, the feminist mother to June/Offred in ''

''. She won an Emmy for her performance. In 2019, Jones played the role of a grouchy psychic and tarot card reader in the comedy ''

Wine Country Wine Country is the region of California, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, known worldwide as a premier wine-growing region. The region is famed for its wineries, its cuisine, Michelin star restaurants, boutique hotels, luxury resort ...

'', directed by

Amy Poehler Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...

Personal life

In 1995, when Jones accepted her first Tony Award, she thanked her then-partner, architect Mary O'Connor, with whom she had an 18-year relationship. She started dating actress

Sarah Paulson Sarah Catharine Paulson (born December 17, 1974) is an American actress. She began her acting career in New York City stage productions before starring in the short-lived television series ''American Gothic (1995 TV series), American Gothic'' ...

in 2004. When she accepted her Best Actress Tony in 2005 for her work in ''

'', she thanked "Laura Wingfield", the '' Glass Menagerie'' character being played in the Broadway revival by Paulson.AfterEllen.co
Sarah Paulson
In 2007, Paulson and Jones declared their love for each other in an interview with Velvetpark at Women's Event 10 for the

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

Center of New York. Paulson and Jones ended their relationship amicably in 2009. In mid-2015, Jones married filmmaker Sophie Huber.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
Cherry Jones
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Cast Out: Queer Lives in Theater
(U. Michigan Press, edited by Robin Bernstein) republishes the interview in which Cherry Jones first publicly discussed her sexuality.
Cherry Jones
– ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
TonyAwards.com Interview with Cherry Jones
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Cherry 1956 births Living people American film actresses American stage actresses Audiobook narrators Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Drama Desk Award winners Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners American lesbian actresses People from Paris, Tennessee Tony Award winners LGBT rights activists from the United States 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Tennessee LGBT people from Tennessee American musical theatre actresses