Janel Moloney
Moloney in 2014
Born	(1969-10-03)October 3, 1969 (age 56)[1][2][3] Woodland Hills,California, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Marcelo Zarvos ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2

Janel Moloney (born October 3, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her role asDonna Moss on the television seriesThe West Wing, a role for which she received nominations for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2002 and 2004. From 2014 to 2017, she starred in the television seriesThe Leftovers.

Her early work included television guest roles onER,Sports Night,The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr., andMurder, She Wrote. Starting in 1999, Moloney had a main role onThe West Wing asDonna Moss, beginning as an assistant to DeputyWhite House Chief of StaffJosh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) before pursuing further ambitions in the next election.^[4] Moloney was originally credited only as a guest star, but she appeared in every episode of the first season. From the second season onward, Moloney was listed in the main credits. She has received twoEmmy Award nominations, one in 2002 and one in 2004, for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama.^[5][6]

Moloney appeared in the television filmBang Bang You're Dead withThomas Cavanagh andRandy Harrison, which was first broadcast on October 13, 2002, onShowtime.^[7] She played the part ofAmber Frey in the made-for-TV movieAmber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution, broadcast May 25, 2005 onCBS.^[8] In 2007, Moloney played Dana Chase, who has a relationship with Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) in six episodes of the second season ofBrotherhood.^[9]

In 2008, Moloney appeared in one episode ("It's a Wonderful Lie") ofHouse M.D.^[10] In 2008, she guest-starred in an episode of30 Rock. Moloney appeared in the 3rd installment of the Lstudio.com web seriesPuppy Love.

In 2009, she appeared in the American seriesLife on Mars as Professor Pat Olsen in the episode "Revenge of the Broken Jaw". She also appeared in the episode "Faithfully" ofLaw & Order: Criminal Intent as Allison Wyler.

Moloney had a recurring role in the first season of HBO dramaThe Leftovers, and was bumped up to a main role for the following two seasons (2014-2017).

In 2007, Moloney made herOff-Broadway stage debut as Theresa in thePlaywrights Horizons production100 Saints You Should Know, written byKate Fodor and directed byEthan McSweeny.^[11] She appeared in the Off-Broadway playLove, Loss, and What I Wore in September through October 2, 2011.^[12]

Moloney starred in the 2010 feature filmArmless, as Anna.^[13] She made a brief appearance as Earlene in the 1995 Walter Hill directed westernWild Bill, and appears in the 2013 filmConcussion.

Moloney has two sons, Julian and Fernando, with composerMarcelo Zarvos, whom she married in 2010.^[14][15] She launched a newsletter onSubstack in 2025.^[16]

• Janel Moloney atIMDb
• Janel Moloney Listing, Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Janel Moloney on Twitter
• Janel Moloney on Instagram
• Janel Moloney on Bluesky

• 1969 births
• American film actresses
• American television actresses
• Living people
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Los Angeles
• American stage actresses
• People from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles

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