Jane Leeves

**Jane Leeves** is an English-American actress, producer, comedian, singer and dancer, best known for the roles of Daphne Moon on "Frasier" from 1993 until 2004 and Joy Scroggs on "Hot in Cleveland."

She was born April 18, 1961 in Ilford, England before moving to Crawley and later East Grinstead, both located in West Sussex. She worked as a model while training to be a ballet dancer at the Bush Davies School of Dance. Her first film appearance was in "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," but an ankle injury prevented her from following a career in ballet.

Auditioning for Benny Hill, Leeves became a member of the Hill's Angels on "The Benny Hill Show," appearing in sketches as a flighty secretary and as a sexy maid. She also appeared as a tourist with a baby in the David Lee Roth music video, "California Girls," struggling for several years to establish herself before starring on the syndicated sitcom "Throb!"

Following a a recurring role in the television series, "Murphy Brown," Leeves gained wild-spread attention as Marla the Virgin in four episodes of the popular American series, "Seinfeld." She landed roles in movies, such as "To Live and Die in L.A." and even filed a pilot for an unproduced American remake of the British sci-fi series, "Red Dwarf." In 1993, Leeves joined the cast of the television series, "Frasier," in the role of psychic Daphne Moon on "Frasier," a role for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards and Golden Globe Awards.

Since 1996, Leeves has been married to Marshall Coben, a CBS Paramount Television executive. They have two children; her pregnancy with daughter, Isabella Kathryn Coben, was written into an episode of "Frasier." When "Frasier" ended, Leeves received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series nomination in 1998 and also a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film nomination in 1995, making her the highest-paid British actress in Hollywood.

Through the 90s, Leeves starred in a string of movies, including "Miracle on 34th Street" in 1994, "Music of the Heart" in 1999 and "The Event" in 2003. She also lent her speaking and singing voice to the animated films "James and the Giant Peach" and "The Penguins of Madagascar" and acted in the film "Music of the Heart" in 1999. In 2002, she appeared in the Broadway musical, "Cabaret." In 2004, she also hosted an episode of the British television comedy quiz show, "Have I Got News for You." Since 2010 until 2015, she played the forty-something Joy Scroggs in the TV Land series, "Hot in Cleveland" with Valerie Bertinelli, Betty White and Wendie Malick, who was also her co-star in the final season of "Frasier." In 2011, she was nominated a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series with the "Hot In Cleveland" cast.

With her sister Kathryn and her "Frasier" co-star, Peri Gilpin, Leeves has founded her own production company, Bristol Cities, named for a Cockney rhyme from London.

## Episode(s)

* Carmen
* The Hot Shoe Show
* Holiday
* Super-Teech

## Gallery

* Jane Leeves and Cheryl Mortimer
* with Jane Paris, Elfrida Ashworth and Henry McGee
* Jane Leeves on "Frasier"
* Benny Hill and Jane LeevesGo to Benny Hill
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