Judith Lee Ivey (born September 4, 1951) is an American actress and director. Ivey was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Dorothy Lee (née Lewis), a teacher, and Nathan Aldean Ivey, a college instructor and dean. She spent 1965–1968 in Dowagiac, Michigan, where she attended Union High School through tenth grade. Judith graduated from Marion High School in Marion, Illinois in 1970. Ivey is an alumna of John A. Logan College, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, and Illinois State University. She is married to Tim Braine (her second marriage) and the couple have two children, Maggie and Tom. Despite a long history of theater and film performances, Ivey is often associated with her one-year run on Designing Women in its final season, playing the Texan B.J. Poteet. Ivey replaced Julia Duffy's Alison Sugarbaker, who was herself a replacement for Delta Burke's character, Suzanne Sugarbaker. She also played a notable role on the television show Will & Grace where she portrayed the mother of Dr. Leo Markus. Ivey won two Tony Awards as Best Featured Actress in a Play for Steaming in 1983 and Hurlyburly in 1985. She was also nominated for Park Your Car in Harvard Yard in 1992.