Nancy Justine McKeon (born April 4, 1966) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Jo Polniaczek on the NBC sitcom The Facts of Life and Jinny Exstead on The Division. Early life and family Nancy Justine McKeon was born on April 4, 1966, in Westbury, New York to Donald McKeon, a travel agent, and Barbara McKeon. She began her entertainment career by modeling baby clothing for the Sears & Roebuck catalog when she was two. During some of her childhood, the family resided in Forest Hills, New York in Queens. Along with her brother, Philip McKeon, she performed in many commercials. In 1976, her brother was chosen to play a major role on the television show, Alice. As a result, the family moved to Los Angeles, California. Career Youth Nancy McKeon appeared on the soap operas The Secret Storm and Another World. In 1979, she was discovered by a casting director for The Facts of Life on the basis of her performance in a Hallmark advertisement, in which she was able to cry on cue. She was cast as tomboy Jo Polniaczek in the fall of 1980 during the show's second season after four of the first season's cast (including Molly Ringwald) were dismissed from the show. This is considered to be her most well-known role. She portrayed the character until the show ended in 1988. McKeon also provided the voice for many ABC Weekend Special cartoon characters, including the voice for Scruffy. While she was working on The Facts of Life, McKeon attended school on-set with tutors, having attended Catholic school prior to that. In an interview with Tom Snyder in 1998, she joked that she "was given detention a few times" for not adhering to the strict rules of school, which included not wearing her favorite patent leather shoes. Adulthood Following The Facts of Life, McKeon was courted by NBC executives for the title role in the TV sitcom adaptation of the 1988 film Working Girl; the role, played by Melanie Griffith in the movie, instead went to then unknown Sandra Bullock. In 1994, McKeon and Courteney Cox auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on the sitcom Friends. The role went to Cox. When asked in interviews about the audition, McKeon said, "I have no hard feelings. The role went to the right person. Courteney was brilliant. Now, I can't see anybody playing