The daughter of Chicago-based documentary filmmaker Richard Cusack, Joan Cusack began her stage career at an early age, through the auspices of her theatrically-inclined mother. Like many of her relatives, Cusack was active with the Pivan Theater Workshop of Evanston, Illinois. She went on to study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, spending her off-hours with the improvisational Ark Theatre. Blessed with a gift for off-the-wall humor Cusack began making film appearances in 1980. From 1985 to 1986, she was a member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on TV's Saturday Night Live. Nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of the acerbic secretary chum of Melanie Griffith in Working Girl (1988), Cusack has gone on to contribute sparkling comedy characterizations in The Hero (1991), Addams Family Values (1994) and 9 1/2 Months (1995). Her more serious side can be seen in her uncredited performance in Say Anything (1989), as the older sister of her real-life sibling John Cusack. Joan Cusack also made a highly acclaimed off-Broadway bow in 1988's Road.