Jean Smart inherited magical abilities from her family. In a video on Instagram for IMDb to talk about her show “Hacks,” Smart, who is 72 years old, shared that her ancestor was involved in the Salem Witch Trials. She said, “I found out that my eight times great grandmother on my mom’s side was accused of being a witch in Salem in 1692.” Smart added, “I had no clue about this, and nobody in the family knew! It was a very emotional moment to discover this.”
Jean Smart talking about her ancestor.
Jean Smart talks about her colorful family history.
The comedy drama, coming back for its third season on May 2 on Max, tells the story of Deborah Vance (played by Jean Smart), a famous comedian who wants to update her style and improve her reputation. To do this, she partners with Ava (played by Hannah Einbinder), a struggling comedy writer.
Both Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder, who is 28 years old, received nominations for Golden Globe awards in 2022 and 2023 for their roles in the show. They also got Emmy nominations. Jean Smart won an Emmy in 2021 and 2022 for her performance.
“In my speech when I won in 2021, I wanted to thank my late husband, Richard Gilliland, who passed away six months ago,” Jean Smart shared. “I owe a lot to him. He put his own career on hold so I could pursue amazing opportunities.” She also mentioned her sons, Connor (who is 34) and Forrest (who is 15), saying, “They’re brave too, dealing with me traveling to Philadelphia and back.”
In a Season 2 episode of “Hacks” called “The Click,” they talk about the Salem Witch Trials. Deborah’s daughter, DJ (played by Kaitlin Olson from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”), tells Deborah that they’re related to Betty Paris, who was involved in the Salem Witch Trials. At first, Deborah thinks about using this connection as part of her comedy show and career.
“We could discuss how women were mistreated by a society where men had more power!” she suggests in the show. But, their idea gets shut down by Deborah’s advisor, Marcus (played by Carl Clemons-Hopkins), who checks this online. “Oh no!” he says in the show. “It seems Betty Paris was actually one of the accusers in the Salem Witch Trials. Many innocent women died because of her. It’s her fault!”
So, Deborah and her team quash that idea.
Deborah brings up the Salem Witch Trials in Season 2.
Jean Smart talks about her infamous ancestor.
Smart’s eight-times great grandmother was named Dorcas Galley.
Smart’s journey to find this out was chronicled on an episode of the TLC genealogy series, “Who Do You Think You Are?”
“She was an unconventional gal,” Smart told TV Insider about her ancestor.
The episode uncovered that Dorcas Galley and her daughters ran a burglary rung, and stole from a Massachusetts minister.
She also landed in hot water for fortune-telling, which was frowned upon in Puritan times.
She was arrested for witchcraft in 1692.
“I’ve always been fascinated by that period of history,” Smart told the outlet. “I desperately wanted to be in a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible.”
In the clip, Smart said that this information was “very moving to find out.”
Turning to her co-star, Einbinder, she quipped, “But thank you for making fun of it.”
