C. J. Cregg

Claudia Jean 'C. J.' Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet. After that, she is White House Chief of Staff until the last episode, when Bartlet's successor is inaugurated. The character is supposedly loosely based on Clinton Press Secretary Dee ... more

Claudia Jean 'C. J.' Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the television serial drama The West Wing. From the beginning of the series until the sixth season, she is White House Press Secretary in the administration of President Josiah Bartlet. After that, she is White House Chief of Staff until the last episode, when Bartlet's successor is inaugurated. The character is supposedly loosely based on Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, who has served as a consultant to the show. Cregg appears in 149 of the 155 episodes of The West Wing, which is more than any other character. According to series creator Aaron Sorkin, casting for C.J. Cregg was a problem. While everybody had "fallen in love" with Allison Janney, she, like every other actor who had been cast at the time, was Caucasian. The cast's lack of racial diversity was making the network nervous, and another "wonderfully talented" Afro-Guyanese actress (CCH Pounder) was also reading very well for the role of C... less