JANE LEEVES
(Daphne Moon) "I hate to admit it, but I'm a lot like Daphne, although I'm not quite as well-adjusted to who I am," says Jane Leeves, who portrays the kooky, warm-hearted semi-psychic Daphne Moon. "She's who she is all the time and wouldn't put on an act for anybody. I'm shyer."
Acting always appealed to Leeves, who recalls writing in a school book at age 5 that she wanted to be an actress. Born on an April 18 in London, she was raised along with two sisters and a brother in East Grinstead, Sussex, England, the daughter of a contracts engineer and a nurse. Her first dream as a performer was to be a ballerina, but that career was cut short by an injury when she was 18. She bounced back with modeling and less strenuous dancing in commercials and rock videos, where she was given occasional lines to deliver.
Leeves moved to Los Angeles hoping to breaking out of the dancer mold and be considered as a full-fledged actress. She was soon cast in the role of Blue on the syndicated series "Throb." Television audiences may know her best for her portrayal of Audrey Cohen, the girlfriend of Miles Silverberg, on "Murphy Brown." Leeves also has the distinction of having played the virgin who beds "John F. Kennedy Jr." in one of the most talked-about episodes of NBC's "Seinfeld." She has also guest-starred on such series as "Murder, She Wrote," "My Two Dads," NBC's "Blossom" and "Who's the Boss?"
Her motion picture credits include the remake of "Miracle on 34th Street" as well as "To Live and Die in L.A.", "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life," "The Hunger," "Mr. Wright" (opposite Paul Reiser of NBC's "Mad About You") and Tim Burton's upcoming "James and the Giant Peach."
She believes that if she had not pursued a performing career, she would have become an archeologist: "Growing up in England, I was always drawn to historical things from the Roman times and some of the old castles."
Leeves resides in Los Angeles with her two cats -- "a skinny one and a real fat one." In her spare time she enjoys reading, cooking for large groups, participating in sports (or "sporty things," as she says) and working out in dance classes.
