A doe-eyed American player adept at portraying ethereal or slightly neurotic waifs, Jane Adams made her stage debut as the title role in a grade-school production of "Pinocchio.” While she took drama classes at Seattle's Cornish Institute, she enrolled in college as a political science major, but soon began to appear in local theater. Eventually, she moved east to New York City and enrolled at the prestigious Juilliard School while supporting herself as a nursery school teacher. Her acting career received a boost when, shortly after graduation in 1989, she landed the pivotal role of Michael J.