| BIOGRAPHY |
Jane Elizabeth Leeves was born April 18th 1961, to Ruth and Collin Leeves in Ilford, Essex, England. One of four children, Jane trained as a ballet dancer at Bush Davies School of Dance and worked as a model prior to becoming an actress after an ankle injury prevented her from following a career in ballet.
Auditioning for Benny Hill, Leeves became a member of the Hill’s Angels on The Benny Hill Show, appearing in sketches as a flighty secretary and as a sexy maid. Moving to the US, Jane took several small roles such as appearing as a tourist in the David Lee Roth music video, California Girls, before landing her first prominent role in the sitcom Throb as Prudence Anne “Blue” Bartlett. Appearing as a guest star in episodes of popular sitcoms such as Seinfeld, Who’s the Boss, Blossom, Jane landed a recurring role in Murphy Brown as Audrey Cohen.
This recurring role ended in 1993 when she won the role of Daphne Moon in the the series Frasier. Daphne, a live-in physical therapist hired to take care of Frasier Crane’s father, who eventually marries Frasier Crane’s brother Niles. Leeves’ character added a comical element to many scenes between Frasier and his family with her wit, down-to-earth remarks, and part-time, self-determined psychic abilities. Frasier Crane’s brother becomes instantly smitten with her smile and Mancunian accent, which she had to fake for the whole duration of the show.
Her role as Daphne Moon was awarded numerous awards nominations during the course of the 11 Seasons the show was on air:
- In 1994 she was nominated for the “Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film” Golden Globe Award.
- In 1995, she won the Q Award for “Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series”. She was nominated five more times in that same category (1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000).
- In 1998, she was nominated for the “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” Primetime Emmy Award.
- In 1999 and 2003, she was nominated for the “Best Supporting Actress – Television Series, Musical or Comedy” Satellite Award.
- In 2001, she was nominated for the “Supporting Actress of the Vear in a Comedy Series” TV Guide Award.
Leeves starred in the Emmy Award-winning TV Land series, Hot in Cleveland, which in 2011 was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She graced the world of theater by starring as “Sally Bowles” in the Roundabout production of “Cabaret” on Broadway. Leeves has also lent her voice to various animated television series, including The Penguins of Madagascar , Phineas and Ferb, Mickey & The Roadster Racers, Lego Star Wars and The Simpsons, as well as the major motion picture, James and the Giant Peach. In 2018, Leeves joined the Fox Medical Drama as Orthopedic Surgeon, Kit Voss.
Leeves lives in Malibu, CA with her husband, Marshall Coben with whom she has two children.