Jean Smart Is Totally Unrecognizable In Throwback Picture From The '70s
Jean Smart is having a renaissance. After first rising to fame in sitcoms like "Designing Women" and "Frasier," Smart has revitalized her career with her Emmy-winning starring role in the HBO Max comedy "Hacks." She has dazzled on red carpets with elegant gowns and a signature short hairdo. But fans are now doing a double take after seeing a throwback pic of young Jean Smart on X. The black and white photo, taken in the 1970s, shows the actress sweetly smiling. She dons longer locks complete with a classic flip at the bottom of her hair. This picture may have been taken fifty years ago, but Ms. Smart looks as fabulous as ever!
Jean Smart in '70 Jean Smart at 70 https://t.co/lDLPnMIlIZ pic.twitter.com/FDWHuOOkRN
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Not much is known about Smart at this young age, but we do know that she began her life with humble beginnings in Seattle, Washington. In a 2021 conversation with Today, Smart looked back on her early life, remembering, "We didn't have a lot of extras, but I didn't feel deprived whatsoever ... We didn't take vacations much. I didn't even fly on an airplane until I was 20 years old. It was a very happy childhood, but you were just expected to help out." What you may not know about Jean Smart is that her first job was at a hospital serving meals to patients. According to Today, she was only 15 years old at the time.
How Jean Smart became an actress
A veteran of the stage and screen, Jean Smart dreamed of an exciting career from an early age. As a child, Smart put lots of thought into what she really wanted to be when she grew up. Always an entertainer, Smart wanted to be a stand-up comedian! "When I was in middle school, I went to a costume party as Phyllis Diller," she told Town & Country in 2021. "There is something about making an audience laugh, you can't compare to anything else. It's the most glorious feeling." But her dreams changed when she realized that stand up comedy is not for the faint of heart. "When you're doing comedy, it's obvious when you are failing. It's one thing to do a drama, and the audience is silent — you don't know whether they're asleep or hanging on your every word — but when you say something that's supposed to be funny on stage and there's no reaction, it's clear that you're blowing it."
She soon set her sights on acting. According to Variety, Smart started performing as a child, mostly in her garage with her sister. She then partook in high school and college productions and did local theater after she graduated. Before Smart was a famous TV actress, she moved to New York and made her Broadway debut in 1981. She has been working steadily ever since.