Ann Marie Tallman Joins JCPenney Board of Directors; Former MALDEF Executive Brings Substantive Leadership to JCPenney Board.

PLANO, Texas -- J. C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) today announced that Ann Marie Tallman, a highly accomplished leader in the public, private and non-profit sectors, will join the Company's Board of Directors, effective May 19. Ms. Tallman, an attorney, most recently served as president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF).

Myron E. (Mike) Ullman, III, chairman and chief executive officer, said, "Ms. Tallman is an innovative leader and a compelling advocate of equal rights for all people. Her broad-based business expertise in finance, governance, and marketing, coupled with a deep understanding of the Latino market will be a significant value to our Board. We look forward to Ms. Tallman's contributions as we continue to make JCPenney a great place to work and a top retailer in terms of performance and execution."

Ms. Tallman added, "I am delighted to be involved in the next phase of JCPenney's growth and success as the company continues to execute its long range plan to become the preferred shopping choice of Middle America."

Ms. Tallman, 42, has been actively involved with the Latino community and MALDEF for more than 18 years. Also a financial services expert, Ms. Tallman held the position of senior vice president with mortgage lending giant, Fannie Mae. In this position, Ms. Tallman led Fannie Mae's Single Family Mortgage Business for the Western United States, which covered 25 states west of the Mississippi River. Prior to that, Ms. Tallman held various executive positions at the Fannie Mae Corporation and was president and chief executive officer for the Fannie Mae Foundation, a non-profit organization in Washington, D.C., where she directed five offices and a $400 million endowment.

Before joining Fannie Mae in 1994, Tallman was deputy director of office planning and community development for the City and County of Denver. Ms. Tallman began her professional career in 1990 as an attorney with Kutak Rock in Denver. While a practicing attorney, Tallman was a founding board member of Hispanic PAC USA, a federal political action committee dedicated to supporting local and national Hispanic candidates for political office.

Ms. Tallman received a B.S. in psychology and political science from the University of Iowa, and a J.D. from the University of California Berkeley -- Boalt Hall School of Law. She has completed executive programs at the JFK School of Government at Harvard University, the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and The Aspen Institute.

About JCPenney

J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc., the wholly owned operating subsidiary of J. C. Penney Company, Inc., is one of America's largest department store, catalog, and e-commerce retailers, employing approximately 151,000 associates. As of April 29, 2006, J. C. Penney Corporation, Inc. operated 1,021 JCPenney department stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico. JCPenney is the nation's largest catalog merchant of general merchandise, and jcp.com is one of the largest apparel and home furnishings sites on the Internet. JCPenney refers to the catalog/Internet business as Direct.