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Jane Leeves

 
Jane Leeves

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Jane Leeves



 
 
Jane Leeves (born 18 April, 1961) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 actress.

After beginning her career in 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
Murphy Brown

Murphy Brown is an United States situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown , an investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine....
.

She played the continuing role of Daphne Moon
Daphne Moon

Daphne Moon Crane is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Frasier, played by Jane Leeves.Daphne is a recent immigrant from England who is employed by Frasier Crane as a live-in housekeeper and physical therapist for his father, Martin Crane....
 on the sitcom Frasier
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
 from 1993 until 2004. She shared an Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with other principal casts members in 1999, and was nominated for and Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in film and television program....
.

More recently she has worked in television production.

in Salford
Salford

Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is located by a meander of the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east....
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
, Leeves moved to Essex
Essex

Essex is a counties of England in the East of England England. The county town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, Essex, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches ....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 and later to East Grinstead
East Grinstead

East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders....
.






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Encyclopedia


Jane Leeves (born 18 April, 1961) is an English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 actress.

After beginning her career in 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
Murphy Brown

Murphy Brown is an United States situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown , an investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine....
.

She played the continuing role of Daphne Moon
Daphne Moon

Daphne Moon Crane is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Frasier, played by Jane Leeves.Daphne is a recent immigrant from England who is employed by Frasier Crane as a live-in housekeeper and physical therapist for his father, Martin Crane....
 on the sitcom Frasier
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
 from 1993 until 2004. She shared an Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with other principal casts members in 1999, and was nominated for and Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 and a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award

The Golden Globe Awards are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to recognize outstanding achievements in the entertainment industry, both domestic and foreign, and to focus wide public attention upon the best in film and television program....
.

More recently she has worked in television production.

Life and career


Early life

Born in Salford
Salford

Salford lies at the heart of the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. Salford is located by a meander of the River Irwell, which forms its boundary with the city of Manchester to the east....
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester

Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of List of ceremonial counties of England by population. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bury, Metropolitan Borough of...
, Leeves moved to Essex
Essex

Essex is a counties of England in the East of England England. The county town is Chelmsford, and the highest point of the county is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, Essex, close to the Hertfordshire border, which reaches ....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 and later to East Grinstead
East Grinstead

East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders....
. She trained as a ballet
Ballet

Ballet is a formalized type of performative dance, the origins of which date lay in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century France courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form....
 dancer and worked as a model
Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who poses or who is displayed for the purpose of art, fashion, or other product s and advertising....
, 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
The Benny Hill Show

The Benny Hill Show is a British Comedy television show starring Benny Hill and various comedy character actors. It was produced by Thames Television from 1969 to 1989 and was broadcast in over 140 countries....
 (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
David Lee Roth

David Lee Roth is an United States Rock and roll vocalist, songwriter, actor, author, and former radio personality, best known as the lead singer of Van Halen....
 music video
Music video

A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a pop music or rock music song with lyrics. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings....
 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
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
 series Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown

Murphy Brown is an United States situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988 to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown , an investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television newsmagazine....
 which provided her first period of success, playing "Audrey", the loud and awkward girlfriend of producer Miles Silverberg (played by Grant Shaud
Grant Shaud

Grant Shaud is an United States actor best known for playing the character of Miles Silverberg on the 1990s TV sitcom Murphy Brown....
). Leeves also appeared as the troublesome Marla the Virgin in four risqué episodes of Seinfeld
Seinfeld

Seinfeld is an Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award-winning Television in the United States Situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in Broadcast syndication....
: "The Virgin", "The Contest
The Contest

"The Contest" was the 51st overall episode of the NBC sitcom, Seinfeld. The eleventh episode of the fourth season, it aired on November 18, 1992....
", "The Pilot" and "The Finale - Part 2
The Finale (Seinfeld episode)

"The Finale" is the name given to the final two episodes of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. They were the 179th and 180th episodes of the show and the 23rd and 24th episodes of the ninth season....
". During this period Leeves was cast as Holly
Holly (Red Dwarf)

Holly is the ship's computer on the science fiction situation comedy Red Dwarf.The character is played by Norman Lovett in Series I and II....
 for the U.S. version of the science-fiction comedy Red Dwarf
Red Dwarf

Red Dwarf is a United Kingdom science fiction television situation comedy Media franchise, primarily comprising eight series of a television sitcom that ran on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and gained a cult following....
.

In 1993, she joined the cast of the television series Frasier
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
. Leeves played the eccentric, forthright and allegedly psychic Mancunian
Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. Manchester was granted City status in the United Kingdom in 1853....
 Daphne Moon
Daphne Moon

Daphne Moon Crane is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Frasier, played by Jane Leeves.Daphne is a recent immigrant from England who is employed by Frasier Crane as a live-in housekeeper and physical therapist for his father, Martin Crane....
, and she became popular in this role. 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
Frasier

Frasier is an American situation comedy broadcast on National Broadcasting Company for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993 to May 13, 2004....
, Leeves had received an Emmy Award
Emmy Award

The Emmy Award, also known as the 'Emmy', is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards....
 nomination for her role and had become the highest-paid British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 actress in Hollywood.

Appearing less frequently in cinema, Leeves lent her voice to the animated
Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. It is an optical illusion of Motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in a number of ways....
 film James and the Giant Peach
James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach is a popular children's novel by England author Roald Dahl. Originally titled James and the Giant Cherry, Dahl changed it to James and the Giant Peach becaus a peach is "prettier, bigger and squishier", and a peach is a drupe....
 (1996
1996 in film

The year '1996 in film' involved some significant events. Major releases this year included Fargo , Trainspotting , The English Patient , Independence Day , Twister , Scream, Jerry Maguire and Madonna 's Evita ....
) and acted in the film Music of the Heart
Music of the Heart

Music of the Heart is a 1999 dramatic film. This film was produced by Craven-Maddalena Films and Miramax Films, and distributed by Buena Vista Distribution....
 (1999
1999 in film

The year 1999 in film involved some significant events and was arguably the most successful year for films released in the 1990s. Several new feature films, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Sixth Sense, new sequel Toy Story 2, first of The Matrix, Disney's animated Tarzan , The Mummy , and the hig...
).

In 2004, she hosted an episode of Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You

Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been running since 1990....
. She has also starred in the Broadway's Cabaret
Cabaret (musical)

Cabaret is a Musical theater with a book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander. The 1966 Broadway theatre production became a hit and spawned an acclaimed 1972 film as well as numerous subsequent productions....
. Her newest show, The WB's sitcom Misconceptions
Misconceptions

Misconceptions is an American sitcom television series for The WB Network for the 2005-2006 season that never aired. It featured Jane Leeves and French Stewart....
, went unaired.

Personal life

She has been married to Marshall Coben, a CBS Paramount Television
CBS Paramount Television

CBS Paramount Television is an United States television Film production/Film distributor company that was formed on January 17, 2006 by CBS Corporation merging Paramount Television and CBS Productions....
 executive, since 21 December 1996, and they have two children.

With former Frasier co-star Peri Gilpin
Peri Gilpin

Peri Gilpin is an United Statesn actress.She portrayed Roz Doyle on the U.S. television series Frasier from 1993 until 2004. Along with the principal cast, Gilpin won two Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series in 2000 and 2004....
, Leeves 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
The Vicar of Dibley

The Vicar of Dibley is a British sitcom created by Richard Curtis and written for its lead actress, Dawn French, by Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer, with contributions from Kit Hesketh-Harvey....
', with Kirstie Alley
Kirstie Alley

Kirsten Louise "Kirstie" Alley is an American actress known for her role in the TV show Cheers, in which she played Rebecca Howe from 1987-1993, winning an Emmy as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991....
 in the title role.

External links