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Jane Leeves
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| Jane Leeves | |
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 at the 1995 Emmy Awards |
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| Born | 18 April 1961 Salford, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse(s) | Marshall Coben (1996–present) |
Jane Leeves (born 18 April 1961) is an English actress.
After beginning her career on the Benny Hill Show, Leeves moved to the United States, where she performed in small roles until she secured a recurring part in the television sitcom Murphy Brown.
She is best known for playing the co-starring role of Daphne Moon on the television sitcom Frasier for the entire run of the series, from 1993 until 2004. She shared an Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with other principal cast members in 1999, and was nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
More recently she has worked in television production.
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Early life
Born in Salford, Leeves moved to Essex, England and later to East Grinstead. Early in her career she trained as a ballet dancer and also worked as a model, until she made her first film appearance as a topless angel in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
Career
She was a regular on The Benny Hill Show (as one of "Hill's Angels"), a dancer in the famous "Christmas in Heaven" scene from Monty Python's The Meaning of Life and appeared as a tourist with a baby in the David Lee Roth music video for the song "California Girls", but struggled for several years to establish herself. She became somewhat visible as the flighty record company employee, Blue, on the syndicated sitcom Throb!.
She had a recurring role in the television series Murphy Brown which provided her first period of success, playing "Audrey", the loud and awkward girlfriend of producer Miles Silverberg (played by Grant Shaud). Leeves also appeared as the troublesome Marla the Virgin in four risqué episodes of Seinfeld: "The Virgin", "The Contest", "The Pilot" and "The Finale - Part 2". During this period Leeves was cast as Holly for the pilot of the U.S. version of the science-fiction comedy Red Dwarf. She also had a role as a lesbian in the 1985 movie "To Live and Die in LA".
In 1993, she joined the cast of the television series Frasier. Leeves played the eccentric, forthright and allegedly psychic Mancunian Daphne Moon. By the start of 2000-2001 season, Leeves was pregnant, and the writers incorporated her pregnancy into shows as weight gain due to her character's stress from her relationship with Niles (portrayed by David Hyde Pierce). By the conclusion of Frasier, Leeves had received an Emmy Award nomination for her role and had become the highest-paid British actress in Hollywood.
Appearing less frequently in cinema, Leeves lent her voice to the animated film James and the Giant Peach (1996) and acted in the film Music of the Heart (1999).
In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway musical Cabaret.1
In 2004, she hosted an episode of the British television comedy quiz show Have I Got News for You.
Her newest show, The WB's sitcom Misconceptions, went unaired.citation needed
Leeves guest stars in The Penguins of Madagascar as Lulu, a female chimp, with whom Phil falls in love.
Personal life
She has been married to Marshall Coben, a CBS Paramount Television executive, since December 21, 1996, and they have two children. Daughter Isabella Kathryn Coben was born on January 9, 2001 and weighed 9lbs. 12oz. Frasier co-star Peri Gilpin was in the delivery room when daughter Isabella was born and is Isabella's godmother. Son Finn William Leeves Coben, was born on December 19, 2003. With Peri Gilpin, Leeves also set up the production company "Bristol Cities". Their latest project was a pilot for a US remake of the British sitcom 'The Vicar of Dibley', with Kirstie Alley in the title role.2
Filmography
- The Meaning of Life (1983) (uncredited)
- The Hunger (1983) (uncredited)
- To Live and Die in L.A. credited as Jane Leaves (1985)
- Mr. Write (1994)
- Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
- James and the Giant Peach (1996) (voice)
- Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1999)
- Music of the Heart (1999)
- The Event (2003)
- Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) (voice)
- Endless Bummer (2008)
Television
- Double Trouble (1984) (unknown episodes, 1984)
- The Benny Hill Show (4 episodes, 1983-1985)
- Murder, She Wrote (1 episode, 1987)
- Throb (2 episodes, 1986-1988)
- It's a Living (1 episode, 1989)
- Hooperman (1 episode, 1989)
- Mr. Belvedere (1 episode, 1989)
- Murphy Brown (9 episodes, 1989-1993)
- My Two Dads (1 episode, 1990)
- Room for Romance (1 episode, 1990)
- Who's the Boss? (1 episode, 1990)
- Blossom (1 episode, 1991)
- Red Dwarf (1992)
- Just Deserts (1992)
- Seinfeld (4 episodes, 1992-1998)
- Caroline in the City (1 episode, 1995)
- The Great War and the Shaping of the 20th Century (unknown episodes, 1996)
- Pandora's Clock (1996)
- Hercules (2 episodes, 1998)
- Just Deserts (1999)
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1 episode, 2000)
- The Simpsons (1 episode, 2003)
- Frasier (263 episodes, 1993-2004)
- Misconceptions (7 episodes, 2006)
- Twenty Good Years (1 episode, 2006)
- The Starter Wife (2 episodes, 2008)
- The Penguins of Madagascar (1 episode, 2009) as Lulu
References
- ^ "Jane Leeves Sets Dates for B'way's Cabaret - Broadway Tickets". Broadway.com. 2002-02-19. https://www.broadway.com/Jane-Leeves-Sets-Dates-for-Bways-Cabaret/broadway_news/8069. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
- ^ "US version of 'Vicar of Dibley' to star Kirstie Alley - Media, News". The Independent. 2007-02-07. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/us-version-of-vicar-of-dibley-to-star-kirstie-alley-435337.html. Retrieved 2009-03-23.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Jane Leeves |
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