Claudia Jean Cregg was the former White House Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to President Josiah Bartlet.
- She was portrayed by Allison Janney. The character is supposedly loosely based on Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, who served as a consultant to the show.
Biographical information
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Originally from Dayton, Ohio, C.J. attended U.C. Berkeley. She was paid a six-figure income for her work at a prominent California public relations firm before coming to work for Bartlet's 1998 presidential campaign. Ironically, she was fired from that job on the same day that Toby came to California to ask her to join the Bartlet campaign. As White House Press Secretary, C.J. was sharp, well-spoken and witty. She was less than pleased to discover that her Secret Service codename was "Flamingo", a bird which C.J. described as being "ridiculous-looking". On festive occasions, C.J. can be persuaded to perform her dead-on lip synch of The Jackal by Ronnie Jordan, which Sam Seaborn described as "Shakespeare the way it's meant to be done."
During the third season, C.J. received a series of death threats, which led to her being placed under the protection of Secret Service agent Simon Donovan, with whom she became romantically involved. Shortly after going off-duty, Donovan was shot and killed after becoming caught up in the armed robbery of a New York City grocery store in the episode "Posse Comitatus". C.J. has also had a long on-again, off-again flirtation with the White House correspondent for The Washington Post, Danny Concannon, although C.J. felt that they could not date because it would be a conflict of interest.
CJ's resigns as Press Secretary.
C.J. succeeded Leo McGarry as White House Chief of Staff in the sixth season after McGarry suffered a heart attack at Camp David. C.J.'s elevation to this post would make her the first woman to serve in this position in our universe - however, this may not be true in the world of The West Wing.
A "flash-forward" three years into the future, shown at the beginning of the Season 7 premiere at the dedication of the Bartlet Presidential Library, establishes that C.J. married Danny Concannon, and they had a child.
Resume
Education
- Master's degree in Political Science - University of California at Berkeley
Work History
- 1998 : Public Relations Agent at a California public relations firm
- 2007-present : Manager of Frank Hollis' charitable foundation
Political History
- Member of EMILY's List
- 1998 : Press Secretary for the "Bartlet for America" presidential campaign
- 1999-2005 : White House Press Secretary
- 2005-2007 : White House Chief of Staff
References
- Bartlet White House
- Relationship between C.J. and Danny
| bartlet cabinet | ||
|---|---|---|
| Vice President | John Hoynes • Bob Russell | |
| Secretary of State | Lewis Berryhill | |
| Secretary of the Treasury | Ken Kato • Karen Browning | |
| Secretary of Defense | Miles Hutchinson | |
| Attorney General | Dan Larson • Alan Fisk | |
| Secretary of the Interior | Bill Horton | |
| Secretary of Agriculture | Roger Tribbey | |
| Secretary of Commerce | Mitch Bryce | |
| Secretary of Labor | Carl Reid • Jack Buckland | |
| Secretary of Health and Human Services | Blieden | |
| Secretary of Education | Jim Kane | |
| Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | Deborah O'Leary • Bill Fisher | |
| Secretary of Transportation | Keaton | |
| Secretary of Energy | Bill Trotter • Ben Zaharian • Gerald Deloit | |
| Secretary of Veterans Affairs | Jason Weaver | |
| White House Chief of Staff | Leo McGarry • C.J. Cregg | |
| Director of Central Intelligence | Tom • Rob Konrad • George Rollie | |
| PREDECESSOR (unknown) |
White House Press Secretary 1999-2005 |
SUCCESSOR Vacant |
| PREDECESSOR Leo McGarry |
White House Chief of Staff 2005-2007 |
SUCCESSOR Josh Lyman |