C.J. Cregg

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"If I were to stand on high ground in Key West with a good pair of binoculars, I would be as informed as I am right now." - Leo McGarry This article is featured for imporvement. You can help The West Wing Wiki by adding to it. There may be further information about changes that need to be made on the article's talk page.

Claudia Jean Cregg was the former White House Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to President Josiah Bartlet.

She was portrayed by Allison Janney. The character is supposedly loosely based on Clinton Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers, who served as a consultant to the show.

Contents 1 Biographical information 2 Resume 2.1 Education 2.2 Work History 2.3 Political History 3 References

[edit] Biographical information

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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Originally from Dayton, Ohio, C.J. attended U.C. Berkeley. Her father [Talmidge Cregg] was a high school math teacher. C.J. has a couple of older brothers and a niece, Hogan. She was paid a six-figure income for her work at a prominent California public relations firm before coming to work for Bartlet's 1998 presidential campaign. Coincidentally, she was fired from that job on the same day that Toby came to California to ask her to join the Bartlet campaign. Though a conversation held in a previous episode suggests that CJ was already part of the West Wing staff when Ziegler was recruited to his job.

As White House Press Secretary, C.J. was sharp, well-spoken and witty. She was less than pleased to discover that her Secret Service codename was "Flamingo", a bird which C.J. described as being "ridiculous-looking". On festive occasions, C.J. can be persuaded to perform her dead-on lip synch of The Jackal by Ronnie Jordan, which Sam Seaborn described as "Shakespeare the way it's meant to be done."

During the third season, C.J. received a series of death threats, which led to her being placed under the protection of Secret Service agent Simon Donovan, with whom she became romantically involved. As the FBI detain the perpetrator President Bartlet and his entourage visit New York to watch 'The War of the Roses'. Shortly after going off-duty, Donovan visited a local grocery shop. He detained one gunman, but was shot and killed by a second gunman he had been unaware of."Posse Comitatus". C.J. has also had a long on-again, off-again flirtation with the White House correspondent for The Washington Post, Danny Concannon, although C.J. felt that they could not date because it would be a conflict of interest. A "flash-forward" three years into the future, shown at the beginning of the Season 7 premiere at the dedication of the Bartlet Presidential Library, establishes that C.J. married Danny Concannon, and they had a child.

In the fourth season CJ returns home to deliver a speech at her 20th high school reunion. CJ finds her dad, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, is struggling to cope with life. His second wife, previously CJs english teacher, struggled to care for him and has left him. CJ struggles to come to terms with the deterioration of her dads condition. After a near miss car incident CJ and her dad visit a doctor friend. CJ also visits her step-mother, who later returns to care for her husband. CJ is called back to Washington when bad news breaks during her speech.

C.J. succeeded Leo McGarry as White House Chief of Staff in the sixth season, after McGarry suffered a heart attack at Camp David. C.J.'s elevation to this post would make her the first woman to serve in this position in our universe - however, this may not be true in the world of The West Wing.

As the Bartlett administration winds down CJ is forced to consider her future career. Shunning a series of lucrative offers, she is equally tempted by offers from a billionaire philanthropist [Frank Hollis] and President Elect Santos. Eventually, after advice from Danny, CJ chooses to take the offer from Hollis.

[edit] Resume

[edit] Education

• National Merit Scholar
• Master's degree in Political Science - University of California at Berkeley

[edit] Work History

• 1998 Triton-Day Public Relations Agent at a California public relations firm
• 2007-present : Manager of Frank Hollis' charitable foundation

[edit] Political History

• Member of EMILY's List
• 1998 : Press Secretary for the "Bartlet for America" presidential campaign
• 1999-2005 : White House Press Secretary
• 2005-2007 : White House Chief of Staff

[edit] References

• Bartlet White House
• Relationship between C.J. and Danny

Cabinet of President Josiah Bartlet
Berryhill | Browning | Bryce | Buckland | Cregg | Deloit | Fisher | Fisk | Horton | Hoynes | Hutchinson | Kane | Kato | Larson | McGarry | O'Leary | Reid | Russell | Tribbey | Trotter | Zaharian

Preceded by: (unknown)

White House Press Secretary 1999-2005

Succeeded by: Vacant (duties taken over by White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler)

Preceded by: Leo McGarry

White House Chief of Staff 2005-2007

Succeeded by: Josh Lyman