Emmy Award nominee Janel Moloney loved performing from an early age. "I grew up at the time that 'Annie' was really popular and subjected my family (including her fraternal twin sister, Carey) to endless performances of 'Tomorrow' (the hit song from that musical)," says Moloney. "The sad part of the story though was that singing was not my strong suit!"       Moloney, who was born and raised in Woodland Hills, California, studied ballet from ages 5 to 15, but acting was her first passion. "There were two junior high school acting teachers in town -- Mrs. Martin and Mr. Mallot -- who were incredible," she says.

"From the time I was in the fourth grade, I'd go see every one of their shows. They were the whole reason I wanted to act."

      As a high school student, Moloney appeared in her first play, "Taming of the Shrew," in the role of Bianca. After graduation, she studied acting briefly at the State University New York-Purchase, but soon returned to Los Angeles to begin classes with acting teacher Roy London, whom Moloney cites as her biggest inspiration.

      Moloney's film credits include appearances in the critically acclaimed independent feature "The Souler Opposite," as well as "Desperate Measures" and "'Til There Was You." She guest-starred on the Christmas episode of the television series "Sports Night" � thus introducing her to "Sports Night" (and "The West Wing") executive producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme. "Aaron and Tommy are my kind of people," says Moloney. "I fell in love with them."

      After her "Sports Night" experience, Moloney was called in to audition for the role of "The West Wing" press secretary CJ Cregg, but was ultimately cast as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman�s (Bradley Whitford) sarcastic, but lovable secretary, Donna Moss. "I had a feeling about this role," said Moloney. "Right from the beginning, I felt like a member of the cast."

      In describing Donna, Moloney says, "If she's not having a good time, something's wrong. She enjoys what she does." And about the incredible chemistry between Donna and Josh? "Donna couldn't have been created without Josh. He brought her out. Brad is hysterically funny and one of the best people I've ever met. He's stellar."

      Moloney will appear alongside Tom Cavanagh (NBC's "Ed") and Ben Foster in the upcoming cable film "Bang, Bang You�re Dead!" Her additional television credits include roles on NBC's "ER," which introduced her to "The West Wing�s" other executive producer, John Wells. She also appeared in the television movies "Then She Was Gone" and "To Save a Child."

      Moloney�s birthday is October 3.

Bio pilfered from NBC: The West Wing.

Trivia

- Appeared in the film The Souler Opposite with Timothy Busfield (Danny Concannon).

- Played Pat White, wife of astronaut Ed White in the mini-series "From the Earth to the Moon".

- Met Aaron Sorkin when she appeared on an episode of "Sports Night" and met Executive Producer John Wells when she appeared on an episode of "ER".

- Studied acting in LA with Roy London.

- Originally auditioned for the role of CJ.


Quotes

- "The first day that she shot, I didn't know Janel at all. And we shot one take of this thing, and I went back to Aaron, on my knees -- I said, 'I love her,' because I just thought she was funny without knowing she's funny. Sometimes she knows. I just loved the relationship right off the bat. Then you get these things from Aaron, like in the Christmas episode, where there's a moment where I give her a gift. Where you realize there's really something here." -Bradley Whitford

- "Very early on, Aaron saw chemistry between Brad and me. In the pilot, there's a scene Aaron wrote one morning and passed onto us to shoot the same day. I say, 'Put this shirt on.' He says, "No." I say, "All the girls think you look really hot in this shirt." He puts it on. I think that scene sparked something." - Janel Moloney

- "She was so good in the pilot that we had to write her back into the second show. And she just kept scoring in every episode; I couldn't get enough of her. So by the end of the first year we said why don't we just make her what she already is - a series regular." - Aaron Sorkin

- "Our relationship was never written as a frustrated romantic thing. But that's the way it ended up because I just fell in love with her when she came into the room. These are people who way down in their reptilian brain are made for each other." - Bradley Whitford