In 2002, Stockard Channing was nominated for an Emmy Award as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Abigail Bartlet on NBC�s Emmy Award-winning "The West Wing." She joined the cast in a regular role this season after having previously recurred as the First Lady. The popular actress also has received an Oscar nomination ("Six Degrees of Separation"), a Tony Award ("A Day in the Death of Joe Egg"), nine Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Channing earned her Oscar nomination and one of her Golden Globe nominations when she reprised her Tony-nominated performance in the film version of "Six Degrees of Separation."

      Her additional film credits include "Isn�t She Great?," "Practical Magic," "Twilight," "The First Wives Club," "Moll Flanders," "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," "Heartburn," "The Cheap Detective," "Without a Trace," and the upcoming "The Business of Strangers." She also has won two Blockbuster Entertainment Awards for Favorite Supporting Actress in "Practical Magic" and "Up Close and Personal."

      Among Channing�s additional stage credits are "House of Blue Leaves" (Tony nomination), "Four Baboons Adoring the Sun," "The Little Foxes," "Hapgood," "Woman in Mind," "The Rink," "The Golden Age," "The Lion in Winter," "They�re Playing Our Song" and the original production of "Love Letters."

      On television, Channing recently portrayed the mother of a lesbian teenager in the cable movie "The Truth About Jane" and the mother of a gay hate-crime victim in "The Matthew Shepard Story." Among her Emmy nominations are: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "The West Wing"; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for "The Baby Dance"; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special for "An Unexpected Family," "Perfect Witness" and "Echoes in the Darkness"; and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for "Road to Avonlea".

      Channing, who was born in New York City, attended Radcliffe College and graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor of arts degree in history and literature.

Bio pilfered from NBC: The West Wing.

Quotes

- "Aaron came to me -- we had lunch one day, and he said, 'Well, everybody thought that was great. Also our ratings went up a lot when you went on,' which might have had something to do with it." - Stockard Channing

- "We had to fit Stockard only an hour before she went to the set. So we had the famous cleavage dress, which Stockard loves, but the rest of America was very upset because the First Lady should not have cleavage. We got more letters about that dress than anything else." - Lyn Paolo (costume designer)