Jennifer Elise Cox (born November 29, 1969)"Celebrity Birthdays: Nov. 29". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023. "Actor Jennifer Elise Cox is 54. Movie director Joel Coen is 69. Blues singer-musician John Mayall is 90." See also: is an American actress known for her satirical portrayal of Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel.
Life and career Cox was born in New York City and raised in Manhattan's Lower East Side, where she played in two operas, Don Giovanni and Madam Butterfly.
After graduating from a performing arts high school Cox moved to Los Angeles with her mother, Kate. She attended the California Institute of the Arts and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting. While getting into acting, Cox scooped ice cream at Ben & Jerry's, and made money by playing cards when she was struggling.
She married director/producer Lee Brownstein, and starred in his 2013 film Out West.
Jan Brady In 1995, Cox won the role she became widely known for, middle-child Jan Brady in the film The Brady Bunch Movie. Speaking of the cast, "We instantly bonded", said Cox. "We instantly thought of each other as family, as The Brady Bunch."
The film opened at #1 at the box office with $14,827,066 and grossed $46,576,136, in the U.S. and Canada and $7,500,000 overseas making a total gross of $54,076,136 worldwide. Although the film received a mixed reception, Cox's performance was praised. Patrick Phillips from Pop Culture Tonight called her performance "excellent, yet underrated".
A reviewer from The Motion Pictures stated "Cox pulls off all of [the] nuttiness perfectly. She is without a doubt the best part of the movie." A week after The Brady Bunch Movie's opening she had a guest spot on The George Wendt Show. The same year she reprised her role as Jan Brady for the TV series Wings, and portrayed Shannon, a student at the women's studies program, on the TV series Murphy Brown.
In 1996, she co-starred alongside Michael Gross and Hilary Swank in the horror film Sometimes They Come Back... Again, reprised her role of Jan Brady in the Brady Bunch sequel A Very Brady Sequel, and guest starred on an episode of The Parent 'Hood.
In 1998, she had a recurring role as social outcast Felice on the sitcom Clueless, and reprised her role of Jan Brady on the TV series Moesha. That year she also had small bits in the films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Can't Hardly Wait.
Later career In 1999, she signed on to star alongside Jean Smart in Tiara Tango, later retitled Forever Fabulous. The film went through a troubled history while being made, as actresses Cathy Moriarty and Suzanne Pleshette both had parts before quitting due to massive rewrites of the script. The film struggled with money and due to budget constraints, an entire scene had to be eliminated and rewritten. Cox stated she didn't even receive a salary for recording the film's voice-over narration. The film premiered at the 1999 Austin Film Festival. Cox had a small role in the film EdTV.
In 2000, she guest starred on an episode of Sex and the City, and on an episode of Will & Grace. It took several takes just for Will & Grace star Debra Messing to get past the first line of Cox's character, Nurse Pitman. Messing would later tell US Weekly this was because she couldn't "look at her without seeing Jan Brady."
Cox then became a main cast member on Hype, an American sketch comedy television series on The WB,"WB buys into ‘Hype,’ orders pilot", Variety, January 16, 2000.
However, due to low ratings the show was canceled. The next year it was announced Cox would reunite with The Brady Bunch Movie co-star and friend Alanna Ubach, in Life After Donna Dell. Described as a dark, campy, 1950s musical, it was written by Ubach herself. However, the film was later scrapped.
In 2005, she appeared on three episodes of Six Feet Under, two episodes of Twins, and one episode of The Comeback.
In August 2006, she began playing the recurring role of receptionist Tiffany Riley Clarke on Lovespring International. However, the show was cancelled months later.Renewals and cancellations for basic cable series, TVSquad.com, December 1, 2006. Soon after, she was cast as Amy Anderson, a recurring role on the improvised American comedy series 10 Items or Less. She would go on to play the character till 2009, when this show was cancelled.
In 2009, she made five appearances on the Lifetime original sitcom Rita Rocks. She was in talks to play the character more for the next season, however Lifetime canceled the series.Lifetime Cancels "Rita Rocks" , Entertainment Weekly, January 11, 2010. The next year she played a small role in the film The Back-Up Plan.
In 2011, she had roles on multiple films, Balls to the Wall, Poolboy: Drowning Out the Fury, Eating Out: The Open Weekend, A Holiday Engagement and Spooky Buddies. She also had a recurring role on Pretty the Series, and she joined the cast of Web Therapy as the recurring role of Gina Spinks. She would play Gina until August 11, 2015, when Showtime cancelled the series after four seasons.
In 2013, she made three guest appearances as Gina on Web Therapy, the Web series on which Web Therapy is based.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1995Jan Brady1996Sometimes They Come Back... AgainJules Martin1996Jan Brady1999EDtvCollege girl1999Forever FabulousCorinne Daly2000Dropping OutMellissa2001HitclownClownShort film2003TestosteroneSharon2004Straight-JacketBetty Bright2005Rainbow's EndBossShort film2005Hard PillTanya2006The Enigma with a StigmaTheresa Herman2007Cook Off!Cassandra Dougherty2009Jesus People: The MovieTrinity Celeste2010Evil ShrinkMollyShort film2010The Back-up PlanSales assistant2011Poolboy: Drowning Out the FuryRita2011Spooky BuddiesMrs. Carroll2011Eating Out: The Open WeekendHotel Clerk2012Love or WhateverKelsey2012Santa Paws 2: The Santa PupsBlue Bright2013PlaydateFran2013Platypus the MusicalPatti JohnsonShort film2013Out WestPrissy Alcott2014Terry the TomboyUnfathomable Aunt PeytonTV movie2014Correcting ChristmasGinnyTV movie2021Blending ChristmasTina TV movie
Television Year Title Role Notes1995AshleyEpisode: "Prom Night: The Return"1995WingsJan BradyEpisode: "A House to Die For"1995Murphy BrownShannonEpisode: "The Feminine Critique"1996ChrisEpisode: "Labor Daze"1996Arista FarrellTelevision film1997CluelessFelice Lesser2 episodes1998MoeshaJan BradyEpisode: "Hello, What's This?"1999SagamoreShellyTelevision film2000Will & GraceNurse PittmanEpisode: "The Hospital Show"2000Sex & the CityP.R. GirlEpisode: "Sex and another city"2000–2001HypeVarious16 episodes2003TandyEpisode: "1.21"2003Greetings from TucsonGabbyEpisode: "The Breakup"2003Rock Me, BabyKateEpisode: "Pilot"2004Wanda Does ItJenEpisode: "Wanda Does Repo"2005My Wife and KidsNancyEpisode: "Silence Is Golden"2005Six Feet UnderMary3 episodes2005Miss HollywoodEpisode: "Valerie Relaxes in Palm Springs"2005TwinsCaraEpisode: "Sister's Keeper"2005Todd's ComaTrinaTelevision film2006TwinsCaraEpisode: "Blast from the Past"2006NatalieEpisode: "A Long Day's Journey Into Stan"2006CSI: NYMelanie StefanoEpisode: "Run Silent, Run Deep"2006Lovespring InternationalTiffany Riley Clark13 episodes2006Nip/TuckAnnie McNamara (2026)Episode: "Conor McNamara, 2026"2006–200810 Items or LessAmy Anderson13 episodes2007Mind of MenciaChelsea ClintonEpisode: "Sensitivity Training"2008Pushing DaisiesElise HoferEpisode: "Robbing Hood"2009PrivilegedJenniferEpisode: "All About Betrayal"2009Rita RocksMiss Ricker5 episodes2009EastwickKarenEpisode: "Magic Snow and Creepy Gene"2010SvetlanaKrystal2 episodes2010Pair of KingsLady of the CaveEpisode: "Kings of Legend: Part Two"2010–2011PrettyLucy Devonshire5 episodes2011Holiday EngagementConnieTelevision film2011–2015Web TherapyGina Spinks21 episodes2012In Plain SightBeth Wilcox / Beth WebbEpisode: "Four Marshals and a Baby"2013OliviaEpisode: "I Ain't Broke But I'm Badly Bent"20132 Broke GirlsMiss TrudyEpisode: "And the Window of Opportunity"2014Back to ChristmasGinnyTelevision film2015It's Always Sunny in PhiladelphiaLizzieEpisode: "The Gang Beats Boggs"2016IdiotsitterTanzy Russell10 Episodes201612 Deadly DaysGeriEpisode: "Reindeer Games"2017Where the Bears AreLaureen Flynn3 episodes2020The Last Saturday NightPaloma2021Mr. MayorGaleEpisode: "#PalmTreeReform"20222 Cops and a CarMayor Collins2 episodes2023Mrs. DavisSister Fiona 2 episodes2024Abbott ElementaryJoanEpisode: "Willard R. Abbott"
References
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