1. Early life
Jane Curtin's early life was marked by her upbringing in Massachusetts and her eventual decision to pursue a career in comedy.
1.1. Background and Family
Jane Therese Curtin was born on September 6, 1947, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was one of four children born to Mary Constance (née Farrell) and John Joseph Curtin, who owned an insurance agency. Her maternal and paternal ancestry is Irish, with her paternal family originally hailing from Newmarket-on-Fergus, County Clare. Curtin has a younger brother, Larry Curtin, who resides in South Florida, and an older brother, John J. "Jack" Curtin, who died in 2008. Her younger sister, Virginia (Ginny), passed away in 2001. Curtin is a cousin of actress and writer Valerie Curtin, and her uncle was the radio personality Joseph Curtin. She was raised Roman Catholic in Wellesley, Massachusetts.
1.2. Education
Curtin graduated from Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart in Newton in 1965. She then earned an associate degree from Elizabeth Seton Junior College in New York City in 1967. From 1967 to 1968, she attended Northeastern University before deciding to drop out to pursue a career in comedy.
2. Career
Jane Curtin's professional journey spans decades, encompassing significant roles in television, film, and theatre, establishing her as a versatile actress and comedian.
2.1. Early Career
In 1968, Curtin made the pivotal decision to pursue comedy professionally, leading her to drop out of college. She joined a comedy group called The Proposition, performing with them until 1972. In 1974, she starred in Pretzels, an off-Broadway play that she co-wrote with John Forster, Judith Kahan, and Fred Grandy. Curtin has also served as a U.S. Committee National Ambassador for UNICEF.
2.2. Saturday Night Live
Curtin was one of the original Not Ready For Prime Time Players on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL), remaining with the show from its inception in 1975 through the 1979-1980 season. Guest host Eric Idle described Curtin as "very much a 'Let's come in, let's know our lines, let's do it properly, and go'..." noting her sensible and focused approach, and her dislike for the drug culture prevalent among some cast members. Show writer Al Franken corroborated this, stating that she "was so steady. Had a really strong moral center, and as such was disgusted by much of the show and the people around it."
On SNL, Curtin frequently played straight-woman characters, often serving as a foil to John Belushi and Gilda Radner, mirroring her own low-key real-life demeanor. She anchored SNL's "Weekend Update" segment from 1976 to 1977. From 1977 to 1978, she was paired with Dan Aykroyd, and from 1978 to 1980, she co-anchored with Bill Murray. In occasional "Weekend Update" segments, her newscaster character would timidly try to bring Belushi's rambling and out-of-control "commentaries" to the point, which only seemed to make him angrier. Her newscaster character also introduced baseball expert Chico Escuela (Garrett Morris), a heavily accented Dominican, who would begin his sketches by saying, "Thank you, Hane," before his famous catchphrase, "Baseball been bery, bery good to me!" She also introduced Roseanne Roseannadanna (Radner) and would listen in exasperated silence to Roseannadanna's disjointed commentaries before cutting her off. Additionally, Curtin sang in the "Chevy's Girls" sketch in season two, episode two, alongside Laraine Newman and Radner, and again with Newman and Radner as a trio backing up Morris singing "Three Little Words" for the cold opening of the Season 4 premiere episode.
In a parody of the "Point-Counterpoint" segment from the news program 60 Minutes, Curtin delivered a controlled liberal viewpoint (in the style of Shana Alexander) opposite Aykroyd, who (in the manner of James J. Kilpatrick) epitomized the right-wing view, often with an over-the-top "attack" journalist slant. Curtin would present the liberal "Point" first, followed by Aykroyd's "Counterpoint," which sometimes began with the statement, "Jane, you ignorant slut," to which she would reply, "Dan, you pompous ass." This recurring segment has been cited in discussions on respectful disagreement.
Curtin is also well known for her role as Prymaat (the wife and mother of the Conehead family) in the Conehead sketches, and as Enid Loopner in sketches with Radner and Murray. She is featured in the retrospective compilation DVD The Women of SNL (2010).
2.3. Television Work
Unlike many of her fellow SNL cast members who successfully transitioned into film, Curtin primarily focused on television work, with occasional film appearances. She has starred in two highly successful long-running television sitcoms.
2.3.1. Major Sitcoms
Her first major sitcom role was in Kate & Allie (1984-1989), where she starred alongside Susan Saint James. Curtin played Allie Lowell, a single mother, and for this role, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1984 and 1985. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy and a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Performer for her work on the show, which ran for 122 episodes.
Following Kate & Allie, Curtin later joined the cast of 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996-2001). In this series, she played Dr. Mary Albright, a human character who often found herself confounded by the zany and whimsical antics of the alien Solomon family, portrayed by John Lithgow, Kristen Johnston, French Stewart, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Her performance earned her a Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy, and she was also nominated for another Satellite Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. The show ran for 137 episodes.
2.3.2. Other Television Appearances
In 1990, Curtin co-starred with Stephen Collins in the sitcom Working It Out, which was created by Bill Persky, a writer, director, and producer from Kate & Allie. However, this series was not successful and was cancelled after 13 episodes. In 1997, Curtin narrated two episodes of the documentary television series Understanding. She has also provided voice work for animated series such as Recess (as Mrs. Clemperer) and Cyberchase (as Lady Ada Byron Lovelace), and for the character Hippolyte in Hercules. She made a guest appearance on Sesame Street in 1985.
Curtin also co-starred with Fred Savage in the ABC sitcom Crumbs, which premiered in January 2006 but was cancelled in May of the same year after 13 episodes. She guest-starred on Gary Unmarried as Connie, Allison's mother, appearing in two episodes. From 2012 to 2014, she joined the cast of Unforgettable as Dr. Joanne Webster, a gifted but crusty medical examiner, appearing in 34 episodes. From 2014 to 2017, she occasionally reprised her role as Charlene, the first Guardian, in five episodes of The Librarians. In 2020, she had a co-starring role as Sandy Ryan, a quirky mother-in-law, on the ABC sitcom United We Fall, appearing in eight episodes. Her more recent television appearances include Judge Farley in The Good Wife (2015) and The Good Fight (2019-2021), Margo in Broad City (2017), Doris Goldufski in The Conners (2022), and Marie LaRocca in Bupkis (2023). She is also slated to appear in the upcoming series The Residence.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975-1980 | Saturday Night Live | Various | Cast member; 108 episodes |
| 1977 | The Love Boat | Regina Parker | Episode: "The Captain's Captain/Romance Roulette/Hounded (A Dog's Life)" |
| 1977 | What Really Happened to the Class of '65? | Ivy | Episode: "Class Hustler" |
| 1981 | Bob & Ray, Jane, Laraine, & Gilda | Herself | TV movie |
| 1982 | Candida | Prossie | TV movie |
| 1982 | Divorce Wars: A Love Story | Vickey Sturgess | TV movie |
| 1983 | The Coneheads | Prymaat | TV short (voice) |
| 1984 | Bedrooms | Laura | TV movie |
| 1984-1989 | Kate & Allie | Allison 'Allie' Lowell | 122 episodes |
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Lina McLaidlaw | Episode: "Suspicion" |
| 1988 | Maybe Baby | Julia Gilbert | TV movie |
| 1990 | Common Ground | Alice McGoff | TV movie |
| 1990 | Working It Out | Sarah Marshall | 13 episodes |
| 1994 | Dave's World | Anne | Episode: "Lost Weekend" |
| 1995 | Tad | Mary Todd Lincoln | TV movie |
| 1995 | Mystery Dance | Susan Baker | Episode: "1.1" |
| 1996-2001 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Dr. Mary Albright | 137 episodes |
| 1998 | Hercules | Hippolyte | Episode: "Hercules and the Girdle of Hippolyte" (voice) |
| 1998 | Recess | Mrs. Clemperer | Episode: "Wild Child" (voice) |
| 2000 | Catch a Falling Star | Fran | TV movie |
| 2003 | Cyberchase | Lady Ada Byron Lovelace | Episode: "Hugs and Witches" (voice) |
| 2003 | Our Town | Mrs. Webb | TV movie |
| 2004 | The Librarian: Quest for the Spear | Charlene | TV movie |
| 2006 | Crumbs | Suzanne Crumb | 13 episodes |
| 2006 | The Librarian: Return to King Solomon's Mines | Charlene | TV movie |
| 2007 | Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office | Joy | TV movie |
| 2008 | In the Motherhood | Mom | Episode: "Mother Dearest" |
| 2008 | The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice | Charlene | TV movie |
| 2008-2009 | Gary Unmarried | Connie | 2 episodes |
| 2009 | Sherri | Margo/Paula's Mom | Episode: "Birth" |
| 2010 | The Women of SNL | Various/Prymaat Conehead/Weekend Update | TV movie; archive footage |
| 2010 | Rex Is Not Your Lawyer | Unknown | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2011 | The Oprah Winfrey Show | Herself (guest) | Episode: "Saturday Night Live Class Reunion" |
| 2012-2014 | Unforgettable | Joanne Webster | 34 episodes |
| 2014-2017 | The Librarians | Charlene | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | The Good Wife | Judge Farley | Episode: "Bond" |
| 2017 | Broad City | Margo | Episode: "Witches" |
| 2019-2021 | The Good Fight | Judge Pamela Farley | 3 episodes |
| 2020 | United We Fall | Sandy Ryan | 8 episodes |
| 2022 | The Conners | Doris Goldufski | Episode: "The Dog Days of Christmas" |
| 2023 | Bupkis | Marie LaRocca | Episode: "Do as I Say, Not as I do" |
| TBA | The Residence | Upcoming series |
2.4. Film Career
In 1980, Curtin starred with Susan Saint James and Jessica Lange in the moderately successful film How to Beat the High Cost of Living. In 1993, Curtin reunited with Dan Aykroyd in Coneheads, a full-length motion picture based on their popular SNL characters, with Curtin reprising her role as Prymaat Conehead/Mary Margaret DeCicco. They also lent their voices to a pair of wasps in the 1998 animated film Antz, where Curtin voiced the character Muffy. In 2009, she played the mother of characters portrayed by Paul Rudd and Andy Samberg in I Love You, Man. In 2013, she took on a small role as Mrs. Mullins, the mother of Detective Mullins, in The Heat. In 2020, Curtin played Moira, the Headmistress of the Motherland, in Disney's Godmothered.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Rabbit Test | Pashima | |
| 1979 | Mr. Mike's Mondo Video | Herself/Cameo | |
| 1980 | How to Beat the High Cost of Living | Elaine | |
| 1987 | O.C. and Stiggs | Elinore Schwab | |
| 1993 | Coneheads | Prymatt Conehead/Mary Margaret DeCicco | |
| 1998 | Antz | Muffy | Voice Only |
| 2003 | Recess: All Growed Down | Additional Voices | Video |
| 2004 | Geraldine's Fortune | Geraldine Liddle | |
| 2005 | Brooklyn Lobster | Maureen Giorgio | |
| 2006 | The Shaggy Dog | Judge Claire Whittaker | |
| 2009 | I Love You, Man | Joyce Klaven | |
| 2011 | I Don't Know How She Does It | Marla Reddy | |
| 2013 | The Heat | Mrs. Mullins | |
| 2018 | The Spy Who Dumped Me | Carol Freeman | |
| 2018 | Can You Ever Forgive Me? | Marjorie | |
| 2019 | Ode to Joy | Aunt Sylvia | |
| 2020 | Godmothered | Moira | |
| 2021 | Queen Bees | Janet | |
| 2023 | Jules | Joyce |
2.5. Theatre and Other Work
Curtin has also performed on Broadway on several occasions. Her first appearance on the Great White Way was as Miss Proserpine Garnett in the play Candida in 1981. She later served as a replacement actress in two other plays, Love Letters and Noises Off. In 2002, she was part of the revival cast of Our Town, which garnered significant press attention due to Paul Newman's return to the Broadway stage after several decades.
She has also narrated several audiobooks, including Carl Hiaasen's novel Nature Girl. On May 7, 2010, Curtin participated in the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational, finishing second and winning 250.00 K USD for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF. Michael McKean won the tournament, with Cheech Marin placing third. Curtin has also presented at various awards ceremonies, including the Emmy Awards in 1984, 1987, and 1998, the 11th Annual American Comedy Awards in 1997, and the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 1997. She has also guest hosted several episodes of Selected Shorts, a program produced by Symphony Space and distributed by Public Radio International.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Candida | Proserpine Garnett | |
| 1989 | Love Letters | Melissa Gardner | Replacement |
| 2002 | Noises Off | Dotty Otley | Replacement |
| 2002 | Our Town | Mrs. Webb |
3. Personal life
Jane Curtin married television producer Patrick Francis Lynch on April 2, 1975. They have one daughter, Tess Curtin Lynch, who was born in 1983. The family currently resides in Sharon, Connecticut.
4. Awards and Recognition
Jane Curtin has received numerous accolades and recognitions throughout her distinguished career.
For her role as Allie Lowell in Kate & Allie, she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in both 1984 and 1985. She was also nominated for the same Emmy Award in other years for Kate & Allie, and for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for Saturday Night Live. Her performance in Kate & Allie also earned her nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy and a People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Performer in 1984-1985.
For her work on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Curtin won a Satellite Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy and was nominated for another Satellite Award in the same category. She also received a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series as part of the cast of 3rd Rock from the Sun. Additionally, she was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her role in the 2003 television movie Our Town.
Beyond formal awards, Curtin has been widely recognized for her distinctive comedic style. She is frequently referred to as the "Queen of Deadpan" and was once described by The Philadelphia Inquirer as a "refreshing drop of acid." In 1986, she was included on a list of the "Top Prime Time Actors and Actresses of All Time." In recognition of her significant contributions to television, Jane Curtin was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2017.