Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell is an actress who has
been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is popular for her portrayals as
characters in contemporary and period screen roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell was
the daughter of John McDonnell (a computer consultant) and Eileen (Mundy) is an
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania native. Born in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from
the State University of New York (SUNY) in Fredonia. She then went to drama
school and was then accepted into the Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast).
She was just 22 when she got her first movie role in Dances with Wolves (1990),
where she was "Stands with a Fist", a Sioux Indian woman who was
white. The role was so well-loved that she received her first Academy Award
nomination. McDonnell has appeared in the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon
(1991), and Mumford (1999) opposite such famous actors such as Robert Redford
as well as Sidney Poitier. She also starred in Roland Emmerich’s Independence
Day (1996), featuring Will Smith. Margin Call (2011), which was a duet with
Kevin Spacey, earned McDonnell the Robert Altman award at the 2012 Independent
Spirit Awards. On the small screen, McDonnell starred in four seasons of Syfy
Network's award-winning series Battlestar Galactica (2004) in her highly
acclaimed role as President Laura Roslin. Her regular guest role as host on the
popular television series ER (1994) resulted in an Emmy nomination. She is the
Captain Sharon Raydor on the TNT's top drama show Major Crimes (2012), the
follow-up to The Closer (2005), in which McDonnell originated the role and
earned an primetime Emmy(r) nomination. Her portrayal as an actress with
paraplegia in soap operas in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion
Fish (1992) earned her an Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination as well as
a Golden Globe nod.
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