Jean Smart vs. Amy Smart: Unraveling the Mystery of Their Last Name

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Given their profession and surname, it’s no wonder many people believe Jean Elizabeth Smart is related to Amy Lysle Smart. However, despite sharing the same last name, they are not related.

Jean Smart’s Career and Personal Life

Jean Smart, best known for her roles as Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, Laurie Blak on the American superhero drama limited television series Watchmen, and Lana Gardner on the NBC sitcom Frasier (2000–01), was born in Seattle on September 13, 1951. She recently starred alongside Evan Peters in the critically acclaimed HBO series Mare of Easttown and is also celebrated for her role in the hit comedy series Hacks.

Jean Smart and her husband, Richard Gilliland, attending the 25th Annual Critics' Choice Awards on January 12, 2020, in Santa Monica, CaliforniaJean Smart and her husband, Richard Gilliland, attending the 25th Annual Critics’ Choice Awards on January 12, 2020, in Santa Monica, California (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

While starring in Designing Women, she met her husband Richard Gilliland, who played J.D. Shackelford, the boyfriend of Annie Potts’s character, Mary Jo Shively. Jean Smart wears a shoe size 9 (US).

They have a son, voice actor Connor Douglas Gilliland (born 1989), and a daughter, Bonnie Kathleen Gilliland, who was adopted as a baby from China in May 2009 (born 2008).

Jean Smart shows off her feet in glittering INC Zitah pointed-toe pumpsJean Smart shows off her feet in glittering INC Zitah pointed-toe pumps (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Amy Smart’s Career and Personal Life

Twenty-five years younger than Jean, Amy Smart is known for her role as sassy girlfriend Jules Harbor in the 1999 American coming-of-age sports comedy-drama film Varsity Blues and for her recurring role as Ruby on the television series Felicity (1999–2001).

Carter Oosterhouse and his wife Amy Smart attend The Art Of Elysium Presents WE ARE HEAR'S HEAVEN 2020 at Hollywood PalladiumCarter Oosterhouse and his wife Amy Smart attend The Art Of Elysium Presents WE ARE HEAR’S HEAVEN 2020 at Hollywood Palladium on January 4, 2020, in Los Angeles, California (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

She married American television personality Carter Nicholas Oosterhouse on September 10, 2011, in Traverse City, Michigan. Their daughter, Flora Oosterhouse, was born via surrogate in 2016. Amy wears a shoe size 8.5 (US).

Amy Smart shows off her feet in wedge sandals at Heal the Bay's annual Bring Back the Beach GalaAmy Smart shows off her feet in wedge sandals at Heal the Bay’s annual Bring Back the Beach Gala on June 9, 2016, in Santa Monica, California (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Commonalities and Differences

Smart is a common English surname. Other celebrities with the same last name include English actress Tamara Valerie Smart, child kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart, and Olympic fencer Keeth Thomas Smart.

Amy Smart with her mother, Judy, at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards at Ebell Club of Los Angeles on October 19, 2005Amy Smart with her mother, Judy, at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards at Ebell Club of Los Angeles on October 19, 2005 (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Although Jean is old enough to be Amy’s mother, they are unrelated. Amy is the daughter of Judy Lysle (née Carrington) and John Boden Smart.

American actresses Jean Smart (right) and Amy Smart (left) share no familial relation despite their common surnameAmerican actresses Jean Smart (right) and Amy Smart (left) share no familial relation despite their common surname (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Jean Smart, born on September 13, 1951, in Seattle, Washington, has a Scottish father and an English, Irish/Northern Irish, and Welsh mother. Amy Smart, born on March 26, 1976, in Topanga, California, is of German, English, Irish, Dutch, Swiss-German, and Welsh descent.

Amy Smart’s Casual Denim Look

You can’t go wrong with the basics. And by basics, I mean denim pants matched with a button-down top. It can’t get simpler than that. To many of us, this pretty much sums up all ideas of easy dressing.

In June 2013, actress Amy Smart flaunted her legs wearing this basic silhouette in Los Angeles.

Amy Smart styled skinny jeans with a checkered button-down topAmy Smart styled skinny jeans with a checkered button-down top (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Amy looked relaxed and put-together in her denim skinny jeans and checkered button-down top. I’m not so sure about the ankle-high boots in the summer heat, though. However, aside from that, she looked simple, comfy, and classy. The pants fit her like a glove!

Amy Smart filling her meter in Beverly Hills, Los AngelesAmy Smart filling her meter in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, on June 8, 2013 (Credit: Michael Wright / WENN / Avalon / Nicky Nelson / FayesVision / Reggie Collier)

Except for those boots, this is a go-to look for any fashion dilemmas you might face this summer.