Jane Lynch Wins Golden Globe Nomination for 'Glee'

Dolton native Jane Lynch received a Golden Globe nomination Tuesday for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the conniving and bitchy cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester in the Fox musical comedy "Glee."

It has been a busy year for Lynch, who so effectively lay down granny law in the Will Ferrell auto-racing comedy "Talladega Nights."

In July, she was one of the recent newcomers invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the 6,000 or so Hollywood types who vote on the Oscars each year.

She also announced in July that because of her role in the new Fox comedy "Glee," which just ended its fall season, she would bow out of her role in "Party Down," a comedy show on the Starz cable channel that was recently picked up for a second season. In "Glee," Lynch portrays a cheerleading coach who is the enemy of a high school's tarnished Glee Club.

Thankfully, her new gig has not prevented her from reprising her terrific role as the shrink who tries to help Charlie Sheen cope in the CBS comedy "Two and a Half Men." Her give and take with the self-absorbed Charlie is priceless. She also had a great recurring role on "Boston Legal" with William Shatner and James Spade.

Earlier this year, Lynch co-starred on the silver screen as Julia Child's sister in "Julie & Julia." You also heard her as the voice of a dinosaur in "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs."

She's also not been afraid to appear in movie shorts, including a turn as the title character in "Memoirs of an Evil Stepmother," which is an 18-minute film told from the view of a soap opera star being replaced by her stepdaughter, Snow White.

Lynch has been plying her trade in movies and TV since the late 1980s and eagle-eyed viewers might recall her as a doctor colleague of Harrison Ford's Dr. Richard Kimble in "The Fugitive."

Here are six performances available on video and DVD that highlight the Thornridge High School graduate's career so far.

"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" (2006) -- Lynch co-stars as Will Ferrell's mom who helps her son bounce back as a racecar driver after his emotional collapse. She also lays down granny law to control Ferrell's wild children. Other cast members include Chicago-area natives John C. Reilly and Michael Clarke Duncan, and Gary Cole, Amy Adams and Leslie Bibb.

"The 40 Year Old Virgin" (2005) -- Lynch co-stars as Steven Carell's boss who constantly reminds him that she's available to help him shed his virgin status. Other stars include Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks and Kat Dennings.

"A Mighty Wind" (2003) -- Lynch co-stars as a former porn star who now leads a folk band with John Michael Higgins in this Christopher Guest improv movie about a folk music reunion. She even throws in a mention about her south suburban roots. Other stars include Guest, Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy and Bob Balaban.

"Best In Show" (2000) -- Lynch's portrayal as a lesbian dog trainer in another Guest improv movie, about a national dog show, is considered to be her breakthrough role. Other stars include Guest, Posey, O'Hara, Levy, Higgins, Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge and Michael Hitchcock.

"Role Models" (2008) -- Lynch co-stars as the psycho mentoring director who makes Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd rethink their decision to act as big brothers for a couple of inner-city youths instead of going to jail after they go on an energy-drink induced wild ride. Other stars include Bobb'e J. Thompson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Elizabeth Banks.

"The L Word" (2005 to 2009) -- Lynch co-stars in 15 episodes as a high-powered lesbian divorce lawyer who becomes an occasional friend and lover to the Southern California women this Showtime series was about. Stars include Jennifer Beals, Laurel Holloman, Mia Kirshner and Pam Grier.