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Jane Adams (born April 1, 1965) is an American film, television and theatre actress. Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer. She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington. Adams attended the University of Washington, where she studied political science, and the Cornish College of the Arts, where she took theater. In 1989, she graduated from the Juilliard school with a degree in drama. Adams then performed theatre at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She turned... MORE

Jane Adams (born April 1, 1965) is an American film, television and theatre actress. Adams was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Janice, an administrative assistant, and William Adams, an engineer. She has a younger brother, Jonathan, and was raised in Wheaton, Illinois and Bellevue, Washington. Adams attended the University of Washington, where she studied political science, and the Cornish College of the Arts, where she took theater. In 1989, she graduated from the Juilliard school with a degree in drama. Adams then performed theatre at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. She turned down the chance to work in Sister Act with Whoopi Goldberg for the opportunity to work with Arthur Miller onstage. She then worked along with Steve Martin and Diane Keaton in the sequel to Father of the Bride, where she received rave reviews from her fellow cast members. She went back to the stage and won the 1995 Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a play for the Broadway revival of An Inspector Calls. She also won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best featured actress in a play in the Broadway production of Paul Rudnick's I Hate Hamlet. In 1998, she starred in Happiness LESS