Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell is an actress who has
been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is well-known for her portrayals of
characters in period and contemporary screen roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell was
born on April 28, 1952 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and
John McDonnell, a computer consultant, both of Irish origin. She was born in
Ithaca, New York and graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. She
then went to drama school and was then accepted into the Long Wharf Theatre
Company (East Coast). After a few decades she was offered her first film role
in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990) as "Stands with a Fist"
as a white woman raised by the Sioux Indians. In the film, she received her
first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits include the Lawrence
Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite other experienced
actors as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, and Ben Kingsley); Roland Emmerich's
Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); acclaimed art house cult-hit
Donnie Darko (2001); and Margin Call (2011) (opposite Kevin Spacey), which was
awarded the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards.
McDonnell was President Laura Roslin in the critically loved show Battlestar
Galactica (2004) on Syfy. McDonnell was a star for four seasons. Her recurring
guest role as host on the popular television series ER (1994) was rewarded with
an Emmy nomination. She stars as Captain Sharon Raydor on the TNT's successful
drama series Major Crimes (2012), the follow-up to The Closer (2005), where
McDonnell originated the role and was awarded an Primetime Emmy(r) nomination.
The character she played 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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