Joan Mary Cusack (/ˈkjuːsæk/; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the romantic comedy-drama Working Girl (1988) and the romantic comedy In & Out (1997), as well as one Golden Globe nomination for her performance in the latter. She has also provided the voice of Jessie in the Toy Story franchise and Abby Mallard in Chicken Little.
Cusack was a cast member on the comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1986. She starred on the Showtime hit drama/comedy Shameless as Sheila Jackson, a role for which she has received five consecutive Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning for the first time in 2015. She is the sister of actress Ann Cusack and actor John Cusack.
Cusack was born on October 11, 1962 in New York City, New York, and was raised in Evanston, Illinois. Her mother, Ann Paula "Nancy" (née Carolan), is a former mathematics teacher and political activist. Her father, Dick Cusack (1925–2003), was an actor and filmmaker, and two of her five siblings, Ann (born 1961) and John (born 1966), are actors. Her family is Irish American and Catholic. Cusack is an alumna of the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1984).