<Tr> <Th> Occupation </Th> <Td> Actress, playwright, professor </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> Official website Projects website </Td> </Tr> <P> Anna Deavere Smith (born September 18, 1950) is an American actress, playwright, and professor . She is currently the artist - in - residence at the Center for American Progress . Smith is widely known for her roles as National Security Advisor Dr. Nancy McNally in The West Wing (2000--06), and as hospital administrator Gloria Akalitus in the Showtime series Nurse Jackie (2009--15). She is a recipient of The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize (2013), one of the richest prizes in the American arts, with a remuneration of $300,000, and was named the Jefferson Lecturer for 2015 . </P> <P> Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Anna Rosalind (née Young), an elementary school principal, and Deaver Young Smith, Jr., a coffee merchant . She has four younger siblings. Smith is an alumna of the historic Western High School . She then studied acting at Beaver College (now Arcadia University), graduating in 1971 . She received her M.F.A. in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California . </P>

Who played nancy mcnally on the west wing