Jeanette Grayson

Jeanette Grayson is the main villainess from the 2017 film, Taken Too Far (alternately titled, Deadly Dance Mom).

She was played by Christina Cox, who also played Zoey Kruger on Dexter, Maggie Finch on Castle, Christa Pullman on Elementary, and Anne Marie Ostenbach on Bones.

Jeanette Grayson's backstory reveals that she is a former beauty pageant contestant; finishing as the runner-up in the Miss Indiana pageant--though Jeanette continuously claims that she was cheated out of the crown. Since then, Jeanette married district attorney Dean Grayson and had two children, and in the film, teenage daughter Sara has been taking dance classes--at the urgency of Jeanette. Sara participated in the qualifying round for a competition where the winner receives a scholarship to a dance academy, and also appears in a music video, and regarding Jeanette, she was looking to get back in the spotlight through her daughter. Believing that Sara's best friend, Melanie Hoyson, is a top threat in the competition, Jeanette devised a villainous plot to make sure Sara wins.

Jeanette manipulated Stevie, the family's gardener, into abducting Melanie; first by falsely claiming to him that Dean suspected that he stole his golf clubs, while also promising to pay for the care of his mother-in-law. She also used Stevie's criminal past as a threat; stating that she would send him back to jail for violating his parole (which was revealed to be false). Under Jeanette's orders, Stevie disguised himself as a chauffeur and picked up Melanie, only to knock her out with chloroform. Melanie's mother, Beth, received a text for help from Melanie, and successfully tracked her daughter in the limo with Stevie, who phoned Jeanette when he realized he was being followed. The villainess drove up behind Beth and ran her off the road, and following this, the evil Jeanette helped Stevie abduct Beth.

After the Hoysons were taken to a storage locker, Jeanette went to the competition and watched Sara perform--unaware (at the time) that Beth and Melanie escaped and arrived at the competition. She received a text from Stevie stating that something was wrong, and she rushed to meet him, only to encounter Beth (who sent the text). A confrontation ensued, where Jeanette stated that she could have easily taken care of Melanie had she not decided to get Stevie involved. This was part of Beth's plan to trap Jeanette, and she was later arrested by police, with Dean (who was phoned about Stevie by Alba, Stevie's wife) fully at the defense of Beth and telling his wife to use her right to remain silent. As she was led away in handcuffs, Jeanette informed Sara that her arrest is all a misunderstanding and she'll be back at home.