Nancy McKeon - wikipedia Nancy McKeon This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ( March 2013 ) Nancy McKeon Nancy Justine McKeon ( 1966 - 04 - 04 ) April 4, 1966 ( age 51 ) Westbury, New York, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1977 -- present Spouse ( s ) Marc Andrus ( 2003 -- present ) Children Nancy Justine McKeon ( born April 4, 1966 ) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life. Contents 1 Career 2 Personal life 3 Filmography 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 External links Career McKeon and her older brother Philip appeared in numerous commercials. McKeon also appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World. The McKeons moved to Los Angeles in 1975, when Philip won the role of Tommy Hyatt and began appearing on the television series Alice with Linda Lavin. In 1979, McKeon was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life on the basis of her performance in a Hallmark greeting cards advertisement, in which she was able to cry on cue. She was cast as tomboy Jo Polniaczek in the fall of 1980 during the show 's second season when four of the first season 's cast, including Molly Ringwald, left the show. This is her most famous role and she portrayed the character throughout the series until the show was canceled in 1988. McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy. Following The Facts of Life, McKeon was courted by NBC executives for the title role in the TV sitcom adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl ; the role, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie, instead went to then - unknown Sandra Bullock for the TV series. In 1994, both McKeon and Courteney Cox auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on Friends. The role went to the latter. When asked in interviews about the auditions, McKeon said, `` I have no hard feelings. The role went to the right person. Courteney was brilliant. Now, I ca n't see anybody playing the role, not even myself. '' In 1995, she starred in her own series, Ca n't Hurry Love, which lasted one season. In 1998, she starred in a sitcom with Jean Smart titled Style & Substance. McKeon portrayed Inspector Jinny Exstead on the Lifetime police drama The Division from 2001 to 2004, with her pregnancy incorporated into the storyline of the last year of the series. From 2009 to 2010, McKeon appeared in a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Series Sonny with a Chance, as Connie Munroe, the mother of Demi Lovato 's title character. McKeon also starred in numerous made - for - TV movies throughout the 1980s and 1990s, including A Cry for Help : The Tracey Thurman Story, in which she portrayed the title role of Tracey Thurman, and The Wrong Woman, portraying a woman framed for killing her boss. In 2003, McKeon starred in the film Comfort and Joy. Personal Life While McKeon was on The Facts of Life, she and her parents, all devout Catholics, were granted a private audience with Pope John Paul II. McKeon lives in Austin, Texas. She married Marc Andrus on June 8, 2003, and they have two daughters, Aurora and Harlow. Her older brother is actor Philip McKeon. Filmography Film and Television Year Title Role Notes 1977 Starsky & Hutch Vikki Mayer Episode : `` The Crying Child '' 1978 Fantasy Island Ann Episode : `` Return to Fantasy Island '' Alice Girl Orphan Episode : `` Who Ordered the Hot Turkey ? '' A Question of Love Susan Moreland TV film 1979 ABC Weekend Special Dolly ( voice ) Episode : `` The Puppy 's Great Adventure '' The Love Boat Penny Barrett Episode : `` The Brotherhood of the Sea '' 1980 Stone Jill Stone Regular role ( 9 episodes ) ABC Weekend Special Dolly ( voice ) Episode : `` The Puppy 's Amazing Rescue '' ABC Weekend Special Amelia Daley ( voice ) Episode : `` The Trouble with Miss Switch '' ABC Weekend Special Scruffy ( voice ) Episode : `` Scruffy '' Thundarr the Barbarian Tye ( voice ) Episode : `` Harvest of Doom '' ABC Afterschool Special Lucy Twining Episode : `` Schoolboy Father '' 1980 -- 88 The Facts of Life Jo Polniaczek Main role ( 189 episodes ) 1981 ABC Weekend Special Dolly ( voice ) Episode : `` The Puppy Saves the Circus '' ABC Afterschool Special Nancy Parks Episode : `` Please Do n't Hit Me, Mom '' Thundarr the Barbarian Tai ( voice ) Episode : `` Last Train to Doomsday '' Alice Kimberly Episode : `` Alice 's Halloween Surprise '' 1982 ABC Weekend Special Amelia Daley ( voice ) Episode : `` Miss Switch to the Rescue '' The Scooby & Scrappy - Doo / Puppy Hour Dolly ( voice ) The Puppy 's New Adventures segment ( 13 episodes ) The Facts of Life Goes to Paris Jo Polniaczek TV film Dusty Slugger TV pilot episode The Puppy 's Further Adventures Dolly ( voice ) Regular role ( 8 episodes ) High School U.S.A. Beth Franklin TV film 1985 Poison Ivy Rhonda Malone TV film This Child Is Mine Kimberly Downs TV film 1986 Firefighter Cindy Fralick TV film The Facts of Life Down Under Jo Polniaczek TV film Strange Voices Nicole Glover TV film A Cry for Help : The Tracey Thurman Story Tracey Thurman TV film The Hitchhiker Dawn Wilder Episode : `` New Dawn '' 1991 Lightning Field Martha TV film Baby Snatcher Karen Williams TV film Where the Day Takes You Vikki Feature film Love, Honor & Obey : The Last Mafia Marriage Rosalie Profaci Bonanno TV film Teresa 's Tattoo Sara Feature film 1995 A Mother 's Gift Margaret Deal TV film The Wrong Woman Melanie Feature film 1995 -- 96 Ca n't Hurry Love Annie O'Donnell Main role ( 19 episodes ) Just Write Bride Feature film 1998 Style & Substance Jane Sokol Main role ( 13 episodes ) 1999 In My Sister 's Shadow Joan Connor TV film Touched by an Angel Rachel Waters Episode : `` The Last Day of the Rest of Your Life '' 2001 -- 04 The Division Inspector Jinny Exstead Main role ( 88 episodes ) 2003 Comfort and Joy Jane Berry TV film Category 6 : Day of Destruction Amy Harkin TV miniseries 2006 Wild Hearts Emily TV film 2007 Without a Trace Gail Sweeney Episode : `` Absalom '' 2009 -- 10 Sonny with a Chance Connie Munroe Recurring role ( 5 episodes ) 2011 Love Begins Millie TV film Awards and nominations Marco Island Film Festival 2000 : Won, `` Audience Award for Best Short Drama '' - A Wakening 2000 : Won, `` Crystal Palm Award for Best Short Film '' - A Wakening Prism Awards 2003 : Nominated, `` Best Performance in a Drama Series Episode '' - The Division 2003 : Nominated, `` Best Performance in a Drama Series '' - The Division 2004 : Nominated, `` Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi Episode Storyline '' - The Division TV Land Awards 2007 : Nominated, `` The ' When Bad Teens Go Good ' Award '' - The Facts of Life Young Artist Awards 1982 : Nominated, `` Best Young Comedienne in Motion Picture or Television '' - The Facts of Life 1983 : Won, `` Best Young Actress in a Television Special '' - Please Do n't Hit Me, Mom 1983 : Won, `` Best Young Actress in a Movie Made for Television '' - The Facts of Life Goes to Paris 1983 : Won, `` Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series '' - The Facts of Life 1984 : Nominated, `` Best Young Actress in a Comedy Series '' - The Facts of Life References Jump up ^ `` Nancy McKeon Net Worth ''. Celebrity Net Worth. Retrieved 2014 - 09 - 16. ^ Jump up to : `` The Facts of Life ''. Biography. Season 18. Episode 28. July 25, 2005. The Biography Channel. Jump up ^ http://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/books/2010/04/26/molly-ringwald-pretty-print?page=0,3 Jump up ^ `` Intimate Portrait : Nancy McKeon ''. 2001. Lifetime. Missing or empty series = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` Actress Nancy McKeon expecting second child ''. People.com. Retrieved November 6, 2014. Jump up ^ `` Biography ''. nancymckeon.org. Retrieved November 6, 2014. External links Nancy McKeon on IMDb Nancy McKeon on the Facts of Life site Nancy McKeon on Yahoo movies A Cry for help, the Tracey Thurman story, movie trailer VIAF : 71587567 ISNI : 0000 0000 7839 5920 BNF : cb139906835 ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nancy_McKeon&oldid=802835465 '' Categories : 1966 births 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses Actresses from New York ( state ) American television actresses American voice actresses American film actresses American film producers American child actresses Living people People from Westbury, New York American people of Irish descent Hidden categories : Pages with citations lacking titles BLP articles lacking sources from March 2013 All BLP articles lacking sources Articles with hCards All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from September 2014 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2016 Articles with unsourced statements from September 2017 Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia فارسی Italiano 日本 語 Polski Русский Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 28 September 2017, at 19 : 41. 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Question: who played jo in the facts of life
Answer: Nancy Justine McKeon