Jayne Atkinson (born 18 February 1959) is a British-American actress. She is best known for the role of Karen Hayes on 24, as well as her Tony Award–nominated roles in The Rainmaker and Enchanted April. She has also appeared in the CBS drama Criminal Minds as BAU Section Chief Erin Strauss, the CBS drama Madam Secretary as United States Vice President Teresa Hurst, and in the Netflix political drama House of Cards as U.S. Secretary of State Catherine Durant.
Atkinson was born on 18 February 1959 in Bournemouth, England. Her family moved to the United States in 1968 when she was 9 years old. She grew up in North Miami Beach, Florida, and graduated from Pine Crest School, where she was elected Homecoming Queen in 1977. She attended Northwestern University (BS Communications, 1981), where she was initiated as a member of Alpha Chi Omega and a sorority sister of Laura Innes; and graduated with an MFA from the Yale Drama School in 1985.
After working in regional theatres, Atkinson appeared off-Broadway in the Manhattan Theatre Club's production of Bloody Poetry in 1987. She made her Broadway debut the same year in a revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons.

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