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J. Smith-Cameron

  • Actress
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
J. Smith-Cameron
A teenager tries to solve a mystery surrounding a fugitive billionaire.
Play trailer2:27
Turtles All the Way Down (2024)
15 Videos
74 Photos
Actress J. Smith-Cameron was born Jean Isabel Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, the daughter of an architect. She was known simply as J. Smith by her fellow students at Florida State University School of Theatre program in the mid-1970s. Despite her age, she made for a completely believable teenage Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank", was a touching and memorable Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker", was wonderfully bizarre as Honey in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and demonstrated great skill and versatility in an all-female version of "The Taming of the Shrew". Smith's older sister, actress Jo Ann Smith (who later became a teacher), also attended FSU at the same time and performed in a production of the classic Iranian allegory, "The Butterfly" ("Shaparak Khanoom") by Bijan Mofid and directed by his actor/brother, Ardavan Mofid.

She made her film debut while studying at FSU, starring in the acclaimed low-budget production of Gal Young Un (1979), directed by Victor Nunez, who later directed Ulee's Gold (1997). The film, shot in Florida, starred and featured several fellow FSU alumni, including David Peck, Marc H. Glick, Tim McCormack, Gil Lazier (FSU acting teacher), and Randy Ser (who later won an Emmy as production designer for the Whitney Houston version of Cinderella (1997)). The film was not released until 1979, several years after her college graduation. Following college, she added the hyphenated Cameron to her moniker as both a tribute to her great-grandmother and to avoid confusion once she joined Actors' Equity.

As "J. Smith-Cameron", she made her Broadway debut as the crazy, suicidal "Babe" in Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart" (as a replacement). She went on to make an award-worthy New York impression with a Tony nomination for "Our Country's Good" (1991), winning an Outer Critics Circle award for "Lend Me a Tenor" (1989), and an Obie for her no-holds-barred performance in "As Bees in Honey Drown" (1997). Other stage successes have included "Wild Honey", "The Memory of Water", "Night Must Fall", "Tartuffe", and "After the Night and the Music".

Her TV and film work has become stronger and more frequent with each decade. She has shown that, even in the smallest role, she can draw attention to herself, as evinced by her hysterically funny bit as a sexual compulsive in the gay film Jeffrey (1995). She has played various wife and/or mother parts, some more stable than others, in such films as Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Harriet the Spy (1996) and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999). She also had strong roles in TV guest spots on such shows as The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987), in a recurring role, plus such East Coast-based television series as "The Equalizer", "Homicide: Life on the Street", "Spin City", and "Law & Order".

She met and married playwright/film writer Kenneth Lonergan. They have a daughter, Nellie, who was featured as Mabel, the secretary, in Lonergan's Oscar-nominated breakthrough play-turned-film You Can Count on Me (2000), which made film stars out of Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, and was particularly effective in Margaret (2011). Other film projects have included The First Wives Club (1996), In & Out (1997), Bittersweet Place (2005), Man on a Ledge (2012), Like Sunday, Like Rain (2014), and, most recently, True Blood (2008) (as a shape-shifter), as a tormented mother in Rectify (2013), and as "Gerri" in the social drama Succession (2018).
BornSeptember 7, 1957
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BornSeptember 7, 1957
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
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    • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 3 wins & 13 nominations total

    "Succession" Cast Through the Years

    "Succession" Cast Through the Years

    Take a look back at the TV and movie roles of Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, Brian Cox, and more stars of "Succession."
    See the full gallery
    Production art
    Photos

    Photos74

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    Known for

    Anna Paquin in Margaret (2011)
    Margaret
    6.5
    • Joan
    • 2011
    Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron, Louanne Stephens, B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Isabella Amara, Issa Rae, Dove Cameron, and Eli Bickel in Vengeance (2022)
    Vengeance
    6.8
    • Sharon Shaw
    • 2022
    Ed Harris, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Sam Worthington, Anthony Mackie, and Genesis Rodriguez in Man on a Ledge (2012)
    Man on a Ledge
    6.6
    • Psychiatrist
    • 2012
    Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen, Jeremy Strong, Nicholas Braun, and Sarah Snook in Succession (2018)
    Succession
    8.8
    TV Series
    • Gerri Kellman

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Murdaugh Murders
      • Marian Proctor
      • In Production
      • TV Series
      • 2025
    • Seven Sisters
      • Francesca
      • In Production
      • TV Series
      • 2026



    • Debaters (2025)
      Debaters
      7.0
      Short
      • Bethany
      • 2025
    • Glimpses of the Moon (2024)
      Glimpses of the Moon
      8.0
      Podcast Series
      • Narrator
      • 2024
    • Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder in Hacks (2021)
      Hacks
      8.2
      TV Series
      • Kathy Vance
      • 2024
    • Turtles All the Way Down (2024)
      Turtles All the Way Down
      6.6
      • Professor Abbott
      • 2024
    • In the Know (2024)
      In the Know
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Barb (voice)
      • 2024
    • Sleater-Kinney: Say It Like You Mean It (2023)
      Sleater-Kinney: Say It Like You Mean It
      Music Video
      • 2023
    • Teenage Euthanasia (2021)
      Teenage Euthanasia
      5.9
      TV Series
      • Marnie
      • 2023
    • Kieran Culkin, Alan Ruck, Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen, Jeremy Strong, Nicholas Braun, and Sarah Snook in Succession (2018)
      Succession
      8.8
      TV Series
      • Gerri Kellman
      • 2018–2023
    • Michael Shannon in Waco: The Aftermath (2023)
      Waco: The Aftermath
      7.3
      TV Mini Series
      • Lois Roden
      • 2023
    • Claire Danes and Lizzy Caplan in Fleishman Is in Trouble (2022)
      Fleishman Is in Trouble
      7.7
      TV Mini Series
      • Barbara Hiller
      • 2022
    • Ashton Kutcher, J. Smith-Cameron, Louanne Stephens, B.J. Novak, Boyd Holbrook, Isabella Amara, Issa Rae, Dove Cameron, and Eli Bickel in Vengeance (2022)
      Vengeance
      6.8
      • Sharon Shaw
      • 2022
    • Steve Buscemi, J. Smith-Cameron, Emily Robinson, Wyatt Oleff, and Alex Heller in The Year Between (2022)
      The Year Between
      6.2
      • Sherri
      • 2022
    • J. Smith-Cameron and Nabiyah Be in White Wedding (2021)
      White Wedding
      5.2
      Short
      • Clementine
      • 2021
    • Search Party (2016)
      Search Party
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Mary Ferguson
      • 2017–2020
    • Gael García Bernal and Lola Kirke in Mozart in the Jungle (2014)
      Mozart in the Jungle
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Amy Rutledge
      • 2018

    Soundtrack



    • Anna Paquin in Margaret (2011)
      Margaret
      6.5
      • performer: "On the Good Ship Lollipop"
      • 2011

    Videos15

    "Succession" Stars Just Can't Escape Their Crude Catchphrases
    Clip 3:47
    "Succession" Stars Just Can't Escape Their Crude Catchphrases
    The First Four Minutes
    Clip 3:54
    The First Four Minutes
    The First Four Minutes
    Clip 3:54
    The First Four Minutes
    Sweet Sixteen
    Clip 1:48
    Sweet Sixteen
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:41
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Official Trailer

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative names
      • J. Smith Cameron
    • Born
      • September 7, 1957
      • Louisville, Kentucky, USA
    • Spouse
      • Kenneth Lonergan2000 - present (1 child)
    • Children
      • Nellie Lonergan
    • Other works
      Played "Dorine" in "Tartuffe", a play by Molière (American Airlines Theater, New York City, New York, USA).

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Was nominated for Broadway's 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for "Our Country's Good."
    • Trademark
        Frequently appears in her husband Kenneth Lonergan's films.

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • How old is J. Smith-Cameron?
      67 years old
    • When was J. Smith-Cameron born?
      September 7, 1957
    • Where was J. Smith-Cameron born?
      Louisville, Kentucky, USA
    • What is J. Smith-Cameron's birth name?
      Jean Isabel Smith
    • What is J. Smith-Cameron known for?
      Margaret, Vengeance, Man on a Ledge, and Succession

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