Poster: Vinni_Rattolle
(see this users gallery) Jean Smart, known for a wide range of acting roles in theater, television, and film, returns to episodic television comedy as Chelsea Stevens, a one-woman empire peddling style and taste to the masses, in Touchstone Television's new half-hour comedy series Style & Substance.
"Chelsea is incredibly self-centered and has a hard time relating to somebody who doesn't know how to live her kind of life," said Smart, "but she's just basically insecure."
Best known for her role as Charlene Frazier on the long-running series "Designing Women," Smart was born in Seattle, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts from the University of Washington. Upon graduation, she worked in local theater for several years before making her mark at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival.
Smart debuted on Broadway in "Piaf," and she has also appeared in "Laughing Wild," "It Had to Be You," and the off-Broadway production of "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove," for which she received a Drama Desk Award nomination. Garnering rave reviews, Smart also starred in "Marvin's Room" at Los Angeles' Tiffany Theater with Mary Steenburgen. She most recently appeared in Nicky Silver's off-Broadway production of "Fit to Be Tied."
Her film credits include performances as the offbeat, saucy neighbor Mrs. Dittmeyer in "The Brady Bunch Movie," as well as roles in "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey," "Mistress," "Flashpoint," "Protocol," "Project X," and "Fire with Fire," in which she co-starred with Virginia Madsen.
In addition to her long tenure on "Designing Women," Smart also starred in the CBS series "High Society," with Mary McDonnell, and in countless made-for-television movies, including CBS's critically acclaimed "Overkill," and "Scarlett," the long-awaited sequel to "Gone with the Wind."
Smart, who collects Roseville pottery, currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and son. |