Melora Diane Hardin Jackson (born June 29, 1967) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Jan Levinson on NBC's ''

The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...

'' (2005–2013), Trudy Monk on

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

's ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'' (2004–2009), and Tammy Cashman on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

's '' Transparent'' (2014–2019), for which she received a

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. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...

nomination. She starred as magazine editor-in-chief Jacqueline Carlyle on the Freeform comedy-drama '' The Bold Type'', which aired from 2017 to 2021.

Early life

Hardin was born in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, the daughter of acting manager, coach, and retired actress Diane (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Hill) and actor

Jerry Hardin Jerry Hardin (born November 20, 1929) is an American actor. Hardin has appeared in film and television roles, including the character nicknamed Deep Throat in ''The X-Files''. He has guest starred in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and '' St ...

. She is the sister of former Flock CEO Shawn Hardin. She moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, at age 5 and later attended middle and high school in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

at Patrick Henry Junior High School and Ulysses S. Grant High School, respectively. She graduated from

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...

Career

1976–1999

Hardin started her acting career as the young star of the television series ''

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

'' (1977–1978), and has appeared in over 70 movies and television programs since, including episode 39 of ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy-drama television series created by Wilford Lloyd Baumes that originally aired on ABC from September 24, 1977, to May 24, 1986. In addition, three TV movies aired before the regular series pre ...

'' in 1978, two episodes of the

medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...

'' Quincy, M. E.'' (as Amanda in the 1979 episode "Never a Child" and as Abagail "Abby" Garvin in the infamous 1982 anti-

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

episode "Next Stop, Nowhere"), two 1981 ''

Little House on the Prairie The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books comprise a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adulthood in the Midwestern United States, Americ ...

'' episodes (as Belinda Stevens in "The Reincarnation of Nellie", Parts 1 and 2) as well as playing Michele Pierson in the 1983

television movie 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 ...

''Little House: Look Back to Yesterday''. Hardin appeared as Whitney Dunbar, opposite C. Thomas Howell, in the 1986 film, '' Soul Man''. She starred as Baby in the short-lived 1988 television series ''

Dirty Dancing ''Dirty Dancing'' is a 1987 American romance film, romantic drama film, drama Dance in film, dance film written by Eleanor Bergstein, produced by Linda Gottlieb, and directed by Emile Ardolino. Starring Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, it tel ...

'' (based on the 1987 film of the same name) and two 1992 episodes of '' Quantum Leap'' (as Abigail in "Trilogy", Parts 2 and 3). She co-starred in the 1990 dance movie '' Lambada'' as Sandy. She appeared in '' Absolute Power'' (1997) as Christy Sullivan and played Ross's dirty-talking love interest in the season 1 ''

Friends ''Friends'' is an American television sitcom created by David Crane (producer), David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, lasting List of Friends episodes, ten seasons. With an ensemble cast ...

'' episode "The One with the Stoned Guy". She was also originally cast in ''

Back to the Future ''Back to the Future'' is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale. It stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985 ...

'' (1985) as Jennifer Parker alongside Eric Stoltz, who starred as

Marty McFly Marty McFly is a fictional character and the protagonist of the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' franchise. He is a high school student living in the fictional town of Hill Valley (Back to the Future), Hill Valley, California ...

. Stoltz was fired shortly after filming began and was replaced with

Michael J. Fox Michael Andrew Fox (born June 9, 1961), known professionally as Michael J. Fox, is a Canadian and American actor and activist. Beginning his career as a child actor in the 1970s, he rose to prominence portraying Alex P. Keaton on the NBC sitcom ...

. Hardin was deemed too tall to star alongside Fox, and she was later replaced by Claudia Wells.

2000–present

Hardin starred in the 2000–2001 series '' Cover Me: Based on the True Life of an FBI Family'', and she played the recurring role of Trudy Monk, the

title character The title character in a narrative work is one who is named or referred to in the title of the work. In a performed work such as a play or film, the performer who plays the title character is said to have the title role of the piëce. The title o ...

's deceased wife, on the

series ''

'' (2004-2009). She appeared on the series '' NCIS'' as former Petty Officer Erin Toner in the episode "The Curse". In 2005, Hardin portrayed

Linda Evans Linda Evans (born Linda Evenstad; November 18, 1942) is a retired American actress known primarily for her roles on television. In the 1960s, she played Audra Barkley, the daughter of Victoria Barkley (played by Barbara Stanwyck), in the Wes ...

in '' Dynasty: The Making of a Guilty Pleasure'', a fictionalized television movie based on the creation and behind the scenes production of the 1980s primetime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

Dynasty A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. H ...

''. Hardin played Jan Levinson in ''

'' (2005–2013), a former corporate manager and love interest of Michael Scott. Hardin appeared in the 2006 film '' Thank You for Smoking'', and appears in '' Hannah Montana: The Movie'' as the love interest of

Billy Ray Cyrus William Ray Cyrus ( ; born August 25, 1961) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Having released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, he is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs cha ...

's character. The film premiered on April 10, 2009. She played the role of

Fantine Fantine (French pronunciation: ) is a fictional character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel ''Les Misérables''. She is a young ''Grisette (person), grisette'' in Paris who is impregnated by a rich student. After he abandons her, she is forced to look ...

in the Hollywood Bowl's concert of ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' in Summer 2008. Hardin appeared in several episodes of the popular web show ''Elevator'' on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. Hardin made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in the revival of '' Chicago: The Musical'' on December 29, 2008. She stayed with the show until February 12, 2009. Also in 2009, Hardin was cast as Principal Jane Masterson in the popular comedy film '' 17 Again''. Hardin was cast as a major character in ''

Outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them. ...

'', playing a powerful senior partner of an elite law firm, and the main love interest to the series' protagonist, played by Jimmy Smits. Hardin played the role of Isabelle Palmer's mother Nancy in '' An American Girl: Isabelle Dances Into the Spotlight''. Hardin sang the U.S.

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

at the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

’ season-opening hockey game on October 13, 2010, and for the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

three days later. In September 2021, she was announced as one of the celebrities competing on season 30 of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''. Her professional dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev, and she made it to the semifinals and ultimately finished in sixth place. Hardin originated the role of Francine Blake in the 2024 Broadway play '' McNeal'', written by Ayad Akhtar and starring Robert Downey Jr. The show opened on September 30, 2024 and the limited engagement ran for 53 performances.

Personal life

Hardin has been married to actor Gildart Jackson since 1997. They have two daughters.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hardin, Melora 1967 births Living people Actresses from Houston Actresses from San Francisco Sarah Lawrence College alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American child actresses American women singers American film actresses American television actresses American musical theatre actresses Melora Hardin Grant High School (Los Angeles) alumni Traditional pop music singers