Dorothy-Marie Jones (born January 4, 1964) is an American actress and retired athlete who has had multiple roles in

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 ...

. She attended

California State University, Fresno California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, where she set records for

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

. Jones is also a 15-time world

arm wrestling Arm wrestling (also spelled armwrestling) is a sport with two opponents who face each other with their bent elbows placed on a table and hands firmly gripped, who then attempt to force the opponent's hand down to the table top ("pin" them). The s ...

champion. She was a recurring guest star starting in the second season of the musical television series ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' as Coach Beiste, and appeared through the show's sixth and final season, when she was promoted to starring status. She was nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...

for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011, 2012, and 2013 for her portrayal of Coach Beiste. She is also known for her roles as Coach Kelly in ''

Lizzie McGuire ''Lizzie McGuire'' is an American comedy television series created by Terri Minsky that premiered on Disney Channel on January 12, 2001. The series stars Hilary Duff as the titular character, who navigates the personal and social issues of her ...

'' and Butch Brenda in '' Material Girls''.

Early life

Jones was born January 4, 1964, and was raised in

Hilmar, California Hilmar is an unincorporated community in Merced County, California, United States. It is located west-southwest of Delhi, spanning and at an elevation of above sea level. For census purposes, Hilmar is aggregated with a nearby community into ...

. She first got involved in strength competitions at a fairly young age. She started track in middle school. While Jones attended

Hilmar High School Hilmar High School serves students from the rural community of Hilmar and Stevinson, California, United States. History Hilmar High School was founded in 1911, and was originally known as Hilmar Colony Union High School. There were 26 students ...

, she was a champion weight lifter and named female athlete of the year. She started arm wrestling on a whim, and won her first arm wrestling world championship at 19 years old and went on to win 14 more. After graduating from Hilmar High School, Jones attended

Modesto Junior College Modesto Junior College (MJC) is a public community college in Modesto, California. It is part of Yosemite Community College District along with Columbia College. MJC, and Columbia College, belong to the California Community College system a ...

and

Fresno State California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...

, where she continued her involvement with sports. She earned a scholarship in track which paid her way through junior college and university. Jones played

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

and competed in

and

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift eff ...

. She won

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

honors in shot put both at junior college and university, was state champion in 1983 and 1984 and set the national record at the junior college level from 1983 to 1990. Jones qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials in 1988 for shot put with a throw, surpassing the qualifying mark of . She finished sixth. During her sporting career, she suffered 11 knee injuries, bringing her height of down to . After college, Jones worked as a youth counselor at the Fresno County Juvenile Probation center while continuing her involvement with sports.

Acting career

Jones, who originally had no acting aspirations, was discovered at a

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

competition by Shirley Eson of '' American Gladiators'' fame. Eson urged Jones to audition for the Gladiators-like '' Knights and Warriors'', and Jones got the part, becoming one of the few female warriors. Jones was also offered a position in

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

, but turned it down because, she said it was "too fakey." After ''Knights and Warriors'' finished after one season she became a bit actor. She played small roles in several television series throughout the 1990s and

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the 9/11 attacks in 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled during ...

and breaking into feature films in the late 1990s, including the cult film '' The Boondock Saints''. While acting, Jones kept up her involvement with arm wrestling. In 1995, her

biceps The biceps or biceps brachii ( la, musculus biceps brachii, "two-headed muscle of the arm") is a large muscle that lies on the front of the upper arm between the shoulder and the elbow. Both heads of the muscle arise on the scapula and join ...

measured . Jones' first recurring role after ''Knights'' was as a character named "Dot" on the popular show '' Married... with Children'' in the mid-90s. She appeared in five episodes over two seasons. Jones' next break was on the kids show ''Lizzie McGuire'' as Coach Kelly. Since then, she has appeared in popular shows ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012, for a to ...

'', and ''

Prison Break ''Prison Break'' is an American serial drama television series created by Paul Scheuring for Fox. The series revolves around two brothers, Lincoln Burrows ( Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield ( Wentworth Miller); Burrows has been sentenc ...

''. Dot Jones co-starred with

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her ac ...

in ''Lizzie McGuire''. They were later reunited for ''Material Girls''. Jones, being a fan of ''

'' and having worked with series co-creator Ryan Murphy on ''Nip/Tuck'' and ''

Pretty/Handsome ''Pretty/Handsome'' is a 2008 television production by Ryan Murphy (writer), Ryan Murphy that was not picked up by FX (TV channel), FX. According to ''Vogue'', Murphy "was devastated when the studio he was working with decided not to pursue the sh ...

'', asked co-executive producer

Brad Falchuk Bradley Douglas Falchuk (born March 1, 1971) is an American television writer, director, and producer, best known for co-creating with Ryan Murphy the comedy-drama television series ''Glee'', the drama series '' Pose'', the horror comedy '' Scr ...

during an encounter at a supermarket if she could be on the show. Soon after, the character of Coach Shannon Beiste in ''Glee'' was created for her. She guest starred in seasons two, three, four, and five, and was a main cast member for the sixth and final season. The show allowed her to showcase her singing abilities. Her first song was "

One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" (originally "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer") is a blues song written by Rudy Toombs and recorded by Amos Milburn in 1953. It is one of several drinking songs recorded by Milburn in the early 1950s that pla ...

" with

Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in multiple Broadway and Off-Broadw ...

's character

Will Schuester William Michael Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional teacher character and one of the two main protagonists from the Fox musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'', alongside his student Rachel Berry. He has appeared in ''Glee'' ...

. It was featured on '' Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Two.'' She also recorded versions of

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's "

Mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value ( magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the '' ari ...

" and

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

's " Jolene". These were included on the album '' Glee: The Music, The Complete Season Three.'' Jones appeared on Logo TV's ''

RuPaul's Drag U ''RuPaul's Drag U'' (as in "Drag University") is an American reality television series that debuted July 19, 2010, on Logo TV. Its final episode aired in August 2012. It was hosted by RuPaul and a team of drag queen "professors". ''Drag U'' was ...

'' as a visiting professor in July 2011, during the second season.

Personal life

Jones married Bridgett Casteen on December 21, 2013. The two first met in December 2010 and Jones proposed on October 4, 2013, during Anaheim Gay Days.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
Dot Marie Jones' Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Dot 1964 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from California American arm wrestlers American film actresses American female shot putters American television actresses American lesbian actresses Lesbian sportswomen LGBT people from California American LGBT sportspeople Living people People from Merced County, California Sportspeople from California Track and field athletes from California LGBT track and field athletes LGBT arm wrestlers 21st-century LGBT people