# Joan Cusack
**Joan Cusack** (Joan Mary Cusack; born 1962) is an American actress known for comedic supporting roles in films such as *Broadcast News*, *Working Girl*, *In & Out*, and *School of Rock*, and for voicing [Jessie](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessie-toy-story) the Yodeling Cowgirl in Pixar's *[Toy Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/toy-story-franchise)* franchise. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for *Working Girl* (1988) and *In & Out* (1997), and won an Emmy Award for her guest role as Sheila on the series *Shameless*.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1962, in New York City (one source gives Evanston, Illinois)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) |
| Oscar nominations | Best Supporting Actress for *Working Girl* (1988) and *In & Out* (1997)[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) |
| Signature voice role | Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, from *Toy Story 2* (1999) through *Toy Story 5* (2026)[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) • [5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/) |
| Training | Piven Theater Workshop as a child; improvisation at Story Theatre and The Ark; B.A. in English, University of Wisconsin at Madison, 1985[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) • [1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) |
| Television | One season on *Saturday Night Live* (1985–86); Emmy-winning guest role on *Shameless* (from 2011)[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) • [2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html) |
| Family | Sister of actor John Cusack; all four of her siblings pursued acting; married Richard Burke in 1996, two sons[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html) |
| Base | Chicago, where she has owned the gift shop Judy Maxwell Home[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/) |
## Early life and training
Cusack was born in 1962. Most sources place her birth in New York City,[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) though one profile gives [Evanston, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/evanston-illinois).[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) She was raised in an Irish Catholic household in the Chicago suburbs by her father, Richard (Dick) Cusack, a screenwriter, actor, and advertising executive, and her mother, Nancy, a math teacher.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) All four of her siblings went into acting, most notably her younger brother John.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack)
Her parents encouraged creativity, and she joined the Piven Theater Workshop as a child, the same Evanston training ground her brother attended.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) • [6](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/joan-cusack-2453/biography/) She went on to perform improvisation with the Story Theatre and then the improv group The Ark, where she developed her comedy skills.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/)
## Early films and breakthrough
Cusack began making films in her teens, debuting in *[My Bodyguard](https://www.edgepedia.org/my-bodyguard)* (1980) and appearing in *Sixteen Candles* (1984) as an unnamed geek girl in a memorable drinking-fountain sight gag.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) • [7](https://time.com/87721/sixteen-candles-where-are-they-now/) *Sixteen Candles* was not her first film alongside her brother John; that was 1983's *Class*, and they went on to share many more screens.[7](https://time.com/87721/sixteen-candles-where-are-they-now/) While attending the University of Wisconsin at Madison, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English in 1985, she continued taking small roles in Chicago-based movies.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) • [1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack)
After graduation she joined the cast of *Saturday Night Live* for its 1985–86 season, but like many female players of the show's early years she was underused, and she left after one season.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/) Her screen arrival came in [James L. Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-l-brooks)'s *Broadcast News* (1987), as a harried production assistant whose sprint to return a tape dub, including a slide under an opening file cabinet, became one of the film's most famous scenes.[3](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/)
**Oscar recognition.** In *Working Girl* (1988), directed by [Mike Nichols](https://www.edgepedia.org/mike-nichols), she played [Melanie Griffith](https://www.edgepedia.org/melanie-griffith)'s street-smart best friend and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, along with an American Comedy Award and a Theatre World Award for the stage play *Road* in 1989.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) • [8](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cusack-joan-1962-joan-cusak) Strong reviews followed for the drama *Men Don't Leave* with [Jessica Lange](https://www.edgepedia.org/jessica-lange).[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack)
## The 1990s: Chicago and comeback
In the early 1990s Cusack left Hollywood for Chicago to spend more time with her family.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) She kept working through the decade in supporting parts, including Debbie Jellinsky in *Addams Family Values* (1993), the secretary Marcella in *Grosse Pointe Blank* (1997, with her brother), and Peggy Flemming in *[Runaway Bride](https://www.edgepedia.org/runaway-bride-film)* (1999).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) • [9](https://www.metacritic.com/person/joan-cusack/)
Her 1997 comeback, *In & Out*, cast her as a bride left at the altar when her fiancé ([Kevin Kline](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-kline)) realizes he is gay, and it brought her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.[1](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack) The performance drew a wide set of honors: Golden Globe and American Comedy Award nominations, the Broadcast Film Critics Association and New York Film Critics Circle awards for Best Supporting Actress, and a Golden Satellite Award, among others.[8](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cusack-joan-1962-joan-cusak) Acting coaches consulted by the *Los Angeles Times* that year compared her to the great screen comediennes of the 1930s and 1940s and praised her willingness to look foolish and her "wonderfully mobile clown face."[10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-22-ca-31347-story.html)
## Jessie and later work
Cusack first voiced Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in *Toy Story 2* (1999), a performance that won an Annie Award for voice acting, and she has returned to the character in *Toy Story 3* (2010), *Toy Story 4* (2019), shorts and video games, and *Toy Story 5* (2026).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) • [8](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cusack-joan-1962-joan-cusak) • [11](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/one-thing-toy-story-jessie-joan-cusack-hate-grown-on-her-5) She said she originally expected only a couple of lines: "I just thought they cast me because they thought it was gonna be funny to have a cowgirl with the Chicago accent."[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/)
Her best-known live-action role of the 2000s was Rosalie Mullins, the principal of Horace Green Elementary School in *School of Rock* (2003).[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) On television she joined *Shameless* in 2011 as Sheila; her work on the series brought her an Emmy in 2015, though one reference work records it as a nomination.[4](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio) • [2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html) Her last on-screen appearance before her recent return was the 2019 Netflix Christmas film *Let It Snow*.[2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html)
## Life in Chicago
Cusack has spent most of her life and career in Chicago rather than Los Angeles, telling *People* she tried moving to California a couple of times but never lived anywhere else.[12](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-cant-stand-hollywood/) She married the British-born actor and Envoy executive Richard Burke in 1996, and they have two sons, Dylan John and Miles.[2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html) She has owned and operated the gift shop Judy Maxwell Home, named for [Barbra Streisand](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbra-streisand)'s character in *What's Up, Doc?* (1972), since 2014 by one account and since 2011 by another.[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/) • [2](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html)
She has said she stepped back from acting for much of the last decade because she valued ordinary life: "It's also great to live your life and raise your kids and be in Chicago and be a normal person. It's kind of priceless."[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/) Her return came with *Toy Story 5*: the June 2026 premiere at the [Dolby Theatre](https://www.edgepedia.org/dolby-theatre) marked her first major red carpet in 11 years and her first acting role in seven years.[5](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/) • [13](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/global/joan-cusack-toy-story-5-premiere-red-carpets-37512/)
## Working with her brother
The Cusack siblings have a long shared film history. Joan appeared with John in ten films, including *Say Anything...*, *Grosse Pointe Blank*, and *High Fidelity*.[12](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-cant-stand-hollywood/) When John received his star on the [Hollywood Walk of Fame](https://www.edgepedia.org/hollywood-walk-of-fame) in 2012, Joan presented it, opening with a joke that after more than 30 years in film and two Academy nominations she was the one who should really be getting a star.[14](https://screenqueens.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/hang-in-there-joan-recognising-joan-cusack/) They nearly shared another project: at a 2024 cast reunion, [Molly Ringwald](https://www.edgepedia.org/molly-ringwald) recalled that [John Cusack](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-cusack) was considered for Bender and Joan for Allison in *The Breakfast Club* before John Hughes cast Judd Nelson and Ally Sheedy.[15](https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-famous-sibling-duo-was-almost-cast-in-the-breakfast-club/)
## References
1. [Joan Cusack Biography, Biography.com (A&E Television Networks)](https://www.biography.com/actors/joan-cusack)
2. [Joan Cusack reaparece en una alfombra roja después de 11 años, El País (2026)](https://elpais.com/gente/2026-05-29/joan-cusack-reaparece-en-una-alfombra-roja-despues-de-11-anos-a-que-se-dedica-ahora-la-actriz-dos-veces-nominada-al-oscar.html)
3. [Joan Cusack – Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/joan-cusack/)
4. [Joan Cusack – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000349/bio)
5. [Joan Cusack Reveals Why She Stopped Acting for Years, The Daily Beast (2026)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-stopped-acting-for-years/)
6. [Joan Cusack (Actor) – Biography, Showtimes](https://www.showtimes.com/celebrity/joan-cusack-2453/biography/)
7. [Sixteen Candles Turns 30: Where Are the Stars Now?, Time (2014)](https://time.com/87721/sixteen-candles-where-are-they-now/)
8. [Cusack, Joan 1962–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/cusack-joan-1962-joan-cusak)
9. [Joan Cusack – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/joan-cusack/)
10. [How Good Are They?, Los Angeles Times (1998)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-22-ca-31347-story.html)
11. [One Thing About Toy Story's Jessie Joan Cusack Used To Hate Has Grown On Her, CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/movies/one-thing-toy-story-jessie-joan-cusack-hate-grown-on-her-5)
12. ['Toy Story 5' Star Explains Her Frustrations With Hollywood, The Daily Beast (2026)](https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/joan-cusack-reveals-why-she-cant-stand-hollywood/)
13. [Joan Cusack Walks First Movie Premiere Red Carpets in 11 Years, Variety Australia (2026)](https://au.variety.com/2026/film/global/joan-cusack-toy-story-5-premiere-red-carpets-37512/)
14. ["Hang in There Joan": Recognising Joan Cusack, Screen Queens (2020)](https://screenqueens.wordpress.com/2020/05/30/hang-in-there-joan-recognising-joan-cusack/)
15. [This Famous Sibling Duo Was Almost Cast in 'The Breakfast Club', The Daily Beast](https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-famous-sibling-duo-was-almost-cast-in-the-breakfast-club/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Co to C*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license