• Jayne Atkinson is a British-American actress.
• She is best known for playing Karen Hayes in the action crime series "24".
• She has appeared in many theatre plays, and has won five Tony Awards and an Outer Critics Circle Award.
• She is married to American actor Michel Gill, with whom she has a son.
• She is 62 years old and has a net worth of $2 million.
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Who is Jayne Atkinson?
Jayne Atkinson was born in Bournemouth, Dorset, England, on 18 February 1959 – her zodiac sign is Aquarius and she holds both British and American nationality. She’s an actress who’s still probably known best for her portrayal of Karen Hayes in the action crime series “24”m created by Robert Cochran and Joel Surnow, and which starred Kiefer Sutherland, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Carlos Bernard. The series aired from 2001 to 2010, and follows Jack Bauer as he’s catching terrorists and thus saving his nation from disaster; the series won 74 awards including two Golden Globes, while it was nominated for 208 other awards.
Early life and education
Jayne spent the first nine years of her life in Bournemouth, where she was raised an only child by her father Richard and her mother Lyn Atkinson – their professions aren’t known as Jayne’s parents prefer to avoid the media. The family moved to the US, in 1968 and settled in North Miami Beach in Florida.
Jayne attended Pine Crest School, at which she became interested in both modelling and acting, while she was physically active as she played tennis and volleyball – in 1977 she was voted Homecoming Queen. Upon matriculating, she enrolled at Northwestern University from which she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in communications in 1981. Jayne was also a member of the sorority Alpha Chi Omega, and a sorority sister of the American actress and TV director Laura Elizabeth Ines.
She continued her education at Yale Drama School, from which she obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree in 1985.
Roles in TV series
Jayne made her debut TV series appearance in 1985, with her portrayal of Nella Braddy Henney in the episode “Becoming Helen Keller” of the biographical documentary “American Masters”, and gained recognition in 1987 when cast to play Lindley Gardner Eisenberg, one of the lead characters in the drama “A Year in the Life”, which also starred Richard Kiley, Trey Ames and Adam Arkin – it follows Joe Gardner who’s living in Seattle, Washington State, and whose grown-up kids move back in after the death of his wife. The series was a hit, and won four awards including one Golden Globe, while it was nominated for three other awards.
The following years saw Jayne make a guest appearance in an episode of various series, then in 1990 she was cast to star as Karen Buckman alongside Ed Begley Jr. and Max Elliott Slade in the comedy drama “Parenthood”, which is based on an idea by Jason Katims, and was nominated for three awards. Some of her following appearances were in the mystery crime drama “The X-Files” in 1995, another mystery crime drama “The Practice” in 1997, and the romantic drama “All My Children” in 2000.
Continuing on in the new century, Jayne portrayed the supporting character Lyla Ortiz in the drama “The Education of Max Bickford”, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and Marcia Gay Harden, and follows a professor who’s teaching history at a women’s college. The series won three of the five awards it was nominated for.
In 2010, Jayne appeared as Dean Reuther in four episodes of the hit romantic drama “Gossip Girl”. From 2013 to 2018, Jayne portrayed the supporting character Catherine Durant in the drama “House of Cards” created by Beau Willimon and which starred Kevin Spacey, Michel Gill and Robin Wright. The series follows a congressman and his wife seeking to have their revenge on those who betrayed them, and it was a huge hit winning 34 awards including a Golden Globe while it was nominated for 215 other awards. Concurrently, in 2015 she appeared in three episodes of another popular series, “American Odyssey”, while from 2018 Jayne played supporting characters in three critically acclaimed series: the drama “Madam Secretary”, another drama “Bluff City Law”, and the mystery crime drama “Criminal Minds”.
Her most recent appearance in a TV series has been her portrayal of Ruth Martin, one of the lead characters in three episodes of the 2021 mystery crime drama “Clarice”, created by Jenny Lumet and Alex Kurtzman, and which also starred Rebecca Breeds and Michael Cudlitz. It follows the life of Clarice Sterling who returns to being an FBI agent a year after the events of the 1991 hit movie “The Silence of the Lambs”.
Roles in movies
Jayne made her debut film appearance in the 1986 drama “Between Two Women”, but then went on to appear in several mediocre drama movies, such as the 1989 “Capone Behind Bars”, the 1991 “Absolute Strangers” and the 1992 “In the Best Interest of the Children”.
She gained recognition in 1993 with her portrayal of Annie Greenwood in the evergreen family adventure “Free Willy”, which starred Jason James Richter, Lori Petty and Michael Madsen, and follows a boy who saves his friend – a killer whale – after learning that the owners of the aquarium are going to kill it; the movie won seven of the nine awards it was nominated for.
Jayne was then invited to play supporting characters in several award-winning movies, such as the 1994 family crime comedy “Blank Check”, the 1995 sequel “Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home”, and the 2004 mystery thriller “The Village”.
In 2005, she played Ashley Carges in the drama “12 and Holding”, written by Anthony Cipriano, directed by Michael Cuesta, and which starred Conor Donovan, Zoe Weizenbaum and Jesse Camacho; it follows the life of a 12 year-old boy after his twin brother is killed by bullies. The same year saw Jayne appear in the thriller “Syriana”, written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, and which starred the famous actors George Clooney and Matt Damon; it follows the lives of many people working in the oil industry, and won 14 awards including an Oscar, while it was nominated for 29 other awards.
Three of Jayne’s most recent roles in movies have been in the 2009 drama “Handsome Harry”, the 2012 comedy drama “Revenge for Jolly!”, and the 2016 drama “The Congressman”.
Other credits
In 1992, Jayne sang the song “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in the movie “In the Best Interest of the Children”.
She received special thanks for the 2014 documentary film “Showing Up”.
Jayne has a single producing credit: the 2015 short comedy “Play Date”.
She has appeared in various documentaries, such as the 2006 series “24Inside”, the 2007 series “E! True Hollywood Story”, and the 2015 movie “That Gal… Who Was in That Thing: That Guy 2”.
Awards and nominations (TV)
Jayne has been nominated for three awards. In 2004, she was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Miniseries or a Motion Picture Made for Television, for her performance in the romantic family movie “Our Town”. She and her two groups of colleagues were nominated for two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2015, for their performance in “24” and “House of Cards”, respectively.
Love life and husband
Jayne met her future other half Michel Gill in 1989, when they starred alongside in the theatre play “The Heiress”, performed at New Haven’s (Connecticut) Long Wharf Theatre. They began dating in 1992, and were together for around six years before exchanging vows in front of their closest friends and family members in 1998. They’ve been together to this day, and have a son who they’ve kept away from the media’s attention.
Michell Gill is an American actor, born in New York City USA on 16 April 1960. His parents are Jews who survive the Holocaust by escaping to the US. Michell attended the Switzerland prestigious Aigion College, and upon matriculating in 1979, he enrolled at Tufts University before moving to the prestigious Juilliard School in New York from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree. Michell is today known best for his roles in the series “House of Cards”, “Mr. Robot” and “Chicago Med”.
Neither of the two have spoken about any other people they have perhaps dated, so as of March 2021, Jayne is married to Michell Gill and they have a son together.
Hobbies and other interests
Jayne is a huge fan of theatre, and has appeared in many plays herself, with her Broadway debut having been in “All My Sons”. Some of her following roles were in “Henry VIII”, “The Art of Success” and “Tru”, and for her performance in the 1996 “The Skriker”, Jayne was rewarded with a Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Just reminding people to try to breathe into a version of kindness and compassion while standing in what may be your truth ❤️ pic.twitter.com/D9IzC9HtyS
— Jayne Atkinson (@MeJaag59) August 25, 2020
Some of the other awards she has won for her performance in theatre plays include five Tony Awards, and an Outer Critics Circle Award.
Jayne is keen on travelling, and her acting career has taken her to the majority of European countries, while she’s also been to various US states, including Texas, California and Nevada. She has also been to Asia and Africa on multiple occasions.
Jayne is a cat-lover and has two pet cats.
She has her own favorite actors and actresses, some of whom are Leonardo DiCaprio, Al Pacino and Julia Roberts, and a couple of her favorite movies are “Titanic”, “Scent of a Woman” and “The Runaway Bride”.
Age, height and net worth
Jayne’s age is 62. She has long blonde hair and blue eyes, her height is 5ft 5ins (1.66m) and she weighs around 130lbs (58kgs).
As of March 2021, her net worth has been estimated at over $2 million.
