What Is Janel Moloney's Net Worth?
Janel Moloney is an American actress who has a net worth of $4 million. Janel Moloney is best known for her role as Donnatella "Donna" Moss on the Emmy-winning NBC series "The West Wing" (1999–2006), and she played Mary Jamison on HBO's "The Leftovers" (2014–2017). Janel has more than 40 acting credits to her name, including the films "'Til There Was You" (1997), "Desperate Measures" (1998), and "Concussion" (2013), the TV movie "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution" (2005), the miniseries "The Undoing" (2020), and the television series "Brotherhood" (2007), "Alpha House" (2014), "The Blacklist" (2015), "American Crime" (2017), and "The Affair" (2018–2019). In 2022, Moloney had a recurring role as Deputy Inspector Lillian Goldfarb on NBC's "Law & Order: Organized Crime." She has also appeared in Off-Broadway productions of Kate Fodor's "100 Saints You Should Know" (2007) and Nora and Delia Ephron's "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" (2011).
Early Life
Janel Moloney was born Janel Wallace Moloney on October 3, 1969, in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California. Her aunt (through marriage) is "Saturday Night Live" alum and Tony-winning actress Christine Ebersole. Janel studied at SUNY Purchase's acting conservatory.
Career
Moloney made her TV debut in a 1987 episode of the NBC sitcom "Roomies," then she appeared in the TV movies "To Save a Child" (1991), "…And Then She Was Gone" (1991), and "Double Edge" (1992). Janel's first feature film was 1993's "Dream Lover," and she followed it with 1995's "Safe" and "Wild Bill," 1997's "'Til There Was You," and 1998's "Desperate Measures" and "The Souler Opposite." She guest-starred on "The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr." (1993), "Bakersfield P.D." (1993), "ER" (1995), "Murder, She Wrote" (1995), "High Incident" (1996), and "Sports Night" (1998), and from 1999 to 2006, she played Donna Moss, senior assistant/love interest of White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (played by Bradley Whitford) on "The West Wing." Moloney was credited as a guest star during the show's first season though she appeared in every episode, and she was promoted to a series regular in season two. Janel earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for her performance, and "Entertainment Weekly" referred to Donna as "undoubtedly one of 'The West Wing's' most indelible characters." "The West Wing" won more than 100 awards during its seven-season run, including four Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Drama Series and a Golden Globe for Best Television Series – Drama.
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In 2002, Moloney co-starred with Thomas Cavanagh and Ben Foster in the Showtime movie "Bang Bang You're Dead," which won a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special as well as a Peabody Award. In 2005, she appeared in the short film "Just Pray" and portrayed the mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson in the TV movie "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution." In 2007, Janel had a recurring role as Dana Chase on the Showtime crime drama "Brotherhood," then she guest-starred on "House" (2008), "30 Rock" (2008), "Life on Mars" (2009), "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (2009), and "The Good Wife" (2013). She appeared in the TV movie "Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas" (2009) and the films "Armless" (2010), "Concussion" (2013), "Stay Then Go" (2014), "Half the Perfect World" (2016), and "The Leisure Seeker" (2017), and from 2014 to 2017, she played Mary Jamison on "The Leftovers" alongside Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, and Liv Tyler. Moloney's character was recurring during season one of "The Leftovers," but she became a main character for seasons two and three. The series won a Critics' Choice Television Award for Most Exciting New Series in 2014, and it earned Television Critics Association Award nominations for Outstanding Achievement in Drama (2016) and Program of the Year (2017).
In 2014, Janel played Senator Peg Stanchion in four episodes of the Amazon Prime Video political satire "Alpha House," then she appeared in two episodes of NBC's "The Blacklist" (2015) and Showtime's "The Affair" (2018–2019) and five episodes of the ABC anthology series "American Crime" (2017). She guest-starred on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (2018), "Bull" (2021), and "FBI" (2021), and in 2020, she played Sally Morrison in two episodes of the HBO miniseries "The Undoing" alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant. "The Undoing," which is based on the 2014 Jean Hanff Korelitz novel "You Should Have Known," earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Limited Series or Television Film, a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination for Best Limited Series, a Hollywood Critics Association TV Award nomination for Best Broadcast Network or Cable Limited Series, Anthology Series or Live-Action Television Movie, and a Satellite Award nomination for Best Miniseries & Limited Series. In 2020, Moloney starred in "A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote," a recreation of the 2002 episode "Hartsfield's Landing" that was filmed at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles and premiered on HBO Max soon after. In 2022, she had a recurring role on "Law & Order: Organized Crime," appearing in five episodes.
Personal Life
Janel married composer Marcelo Zarvos on January 5, 2010. The couple welcomed their first child, son Julian Francis, on February 14, 2010, followed by son Fernando Luca on February 26, 2012.
Awards and Nominations
Moloney earned Primetime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for "The West Wing" in 2002 and 2004, and she received a Gold Derby Award nomination for Drama Supporting Actress in 2004. "The West Wing" cast was nominated for six Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, winning in 2001 and 2002.
