Smart Mouth: A Memoir

From multiple-Emmy-winning actress Jean Smart comes a memoir that reveals the real woman behind the many memorable characters she has brought to life. Her story is one of uncommon resilience: a deeply personal journey of setbacks and tragedies, perseverance and ultimately triumph, all told in Jean’s own funny, straightforward style.

Few actresses are more accomplished—and more beloved—than Jean. She has played every kind of role imaginable, each one completely different from the last. Flighty Charlene in Designing Women. Flinty mob boss Floyd Gerhardt in Fargo. Meddlesome mom Helen Fahey in Mare of Easttown. Tragic poet Isabelle Scutley in Broadway’s Call Me Izzy. And of course, Hacks’s magnificent Deborah Vance, a role for which she won five straight Emmys.

But who is Jean Smart, really? In Smart Mouth, she tells behind-the-scenes stories of her path from young theatre student to one of the most decorated actresses of her generation. She shares hilarious and heartwarming stories, and also reveals the struggles she faced along the way: her diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. The sudden, tragic death of her first love. Serious injuries on set, and a heart attack suffered during Hacks. And the death of her beloved husband Richard in 2021.

In every case, Jean found a way to move forward. As she asks in the book, “Is it strength if you don’t have a choice? Is it strength if you’re just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other?” In Smart Mouth, Jean movingly recounts her story, exploring the nature of grief, loss, resilience, and hope.