Film, television and stage actress Jean Smart first besotted viewers with her role as ditzy Southerner Charlene on the popular sitcom "Designing Women" (CBS, 1986-1993), but her biggest critical successes came well after her departure from the show in 1991, during which she far surpassed the successes of her slightly more flamboyant co-stars, Annie Potts, Dixie Carter and Delta Burke. Smart was a Tony Award-nominated Broadway performer, critically acclaimed for her comedy and classical dramatic performances, and earned an Independent Spirit Award for her supporting role in the art house drama "Guinevere" (1998). A Hollywood anomaly, Smart's career continued to heat up after the age of 50, when the in-demand TV guest star earned an Emmy win for her appearances on "Frasier" (NBC, 1993-2004) and a pair of nominations for portraying a memorably non-traditional First Lady on the gritty actioner "24" (Fox, 2001-10). Coming off her "24" success, the ever-versatile actress was again embraced by sitcom audiences for her outrageous supporting role opposite Christian Applegate on "Samantha Who?" (ABC, 2007-09) and impressed critics with her dramatic work as the no-nonsense governor of Hawaii on the hit reboot "Hawaii Five-O" (CBS, 2010- ), proving that, at least for this particular actress, the parts just kept coming with each passing year.
