Biography for
Jane Kaczmarek

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Jane grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her mother, Evelyn, was a school teacher. Her father, Edward, is a former Defense Department employee. She is the oldest of four children. Her brothers, Jim & Bill, are a teacher and an entrepreneur respectively. Her sister, Mary, works for an Internet company. Jane was a theater major at the University of Wisconsin. While there, she became buddies with Tony Shalhoub, who encouraged her to shoot for stardom. She followed Tony in enrolling at Yale University & performed in the Yale Repertory Company. She had several film and theatrical successes, including good notices for her replacement of Mercedes Ruehl in Neil Simon's Broadway play, "Lost In Yonkers". Jane's roommate at Yale was Kate Burton, Richard Burton's daughter. Kate arranged a blind date between Jane and Bradley Whitford. In 1992, after two years of dating, the two married. In 1998, they had first child, Frances, and in December 1999, a son, George Edward was born.

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Studied to be a teacher at the University of Wisconsin.

Mary Louisa Whitford was born to Jane and husband Bradley Whitford on December 2, 2002, at 9:32 a.m. Pacific Time in Los Angeles, California, USA. She weighed 10 lb. 3 oz, and is 21 inches in length. Jane and Bradley have two other children: daughter Frances (born 1997) and son George (born 1999).

Actor Daniel von Bargen has coincidentally appeared with husband and wife actors Jane Kaczmarek and Bradley Whitford in four different projects. Along with Kaczmarek, he appeared in "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000). With Whitford, he was in RoboCop 3 (1993), Philadelphia (1993) and "The West Wing" (1999).

Studied at Yale University School of Drama, where she was a classmate of Kate Burton.

Children: Frances Whitford, George Whitford, Mary Louisa Whitford

Founded the charity "Clothes off our Back" (http://www.clothesoffourback.org) with her husband, Bradley Whitford, in 2002. "Clothes off our Back" runs on-line auctions after major awards shows where celebrities' gowns, tuxedos, and other articles of clothing, are auctioned off. The proceeds go to children's charities such as Cure Autism Now (http://www.cureautismnow.org) and The Children's Defense Fund (http://www.childrensdefense.org/).

Daughter-in-law of Genevieve Smith Whitford.

Received seven consecutive Emmy nominations for Best Actress in a Comedy Series ("Malcolm in the Middle") but never won.

It was revealed during a segment featuring her husband, Bradley Whitford, on the "The Megan Mullally Show" (2006) that if she had only one food to eat for the rest of her life, it would be Polish sausage. (October 16, 2006).

Friend of Joan Van Ark, Kate Burton, Tony Shalhoub, Alexandra Wentworth and Timothy Busfield.

Her family is Polish.

With 'Malcolm' co-star Eric Per Sullivan, lent her name to the book "Together" and added an afterword. The book aims to educate young people about the importance of livestock to the world; with emphasis on addressing world hunger.

Personal Quotes

"Student teaching is the hardest job there is. Secondary school kids didn't want to be there. I skipped out one afternoon and went to the mall, and there were some of my students there. But they couldn't report me, could they?" - about the time she was student teaching

"Look, you can get yourself cut and stitched, or you can get a good girdle. The day before my first Emmy show, I went to Sears and bought a really good girdle. And I've worn that thing to every single awards show since!"

"If a stove like this was good enough for 50s moms, who made three meals a day, then it's good enough for me!" (when asked why she bought her 1950s stove.)

"I hate cooking, so my only concern was fitting a turkey in it on Thanksgiving and I can." (when asks when she will use her newly purchased 1950s stove).

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