- Mary McDonnell
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Mary McDonnell 
at Comicon 2007Born Mary Eileen McDonnell
April 28, 1952
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.Years active 1970s–present Spouse Randle Mell (1984?–present; 2 children) Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves, and she is also very well known for her performance as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the President's wife in Independence Day, and for her starring role in Donnie Darko as the title character's mother.
Contents
Personal life
McDonnell was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and raised in Ithaca, New York. After graduating from the State University of New York at Fredonia, she attended drama school and joined the East Coast's prestigious Long Wharf Theatre Company, with which she worked for over 20 years. McDonnell is married to Randle Mell, who is also an actor. They have two children, Olivia and Michael. In a question and answer session for SyFy regarding her role as Laura Roslin, she was asked if any of her character's political views caused her any discomfort because of her own views. She stated that several of the things her character did in Season Three of Battlestar Galactica "(ran) deeply against being a liberal progressive" and that portraying those views sometimes caused her "a bit of angst in having to commit to them."[1]
Career
She won an Obie in 1980 for her work in the play Still Life. On Broadway, she has performed in productions of Execution of Justice, The Heidi Chronicles, and Summer and Smoke.
After more than 21 years of theater and television work, McDonnell made her film breakthrough in 1990 as Stands With A Fist, a European American raised by Sioux Indians, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves. Portraying the adopted daughter of Graham Greene's character Kicking Bird, McDonnell, then 37, was actually two months older than Greene and less than two years younger than Tantoo Cardinal, who played Black Shawl, her adoptive mother. McDonnell was extremely nervous about shooting her sex scene with Kevin Costner, requesting it to be toned down from what was scripted.[2]
She received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. McDonnell's role in Passion Fish (1992) brought her another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
Her other notable films include Grand Canyon (1991), Sneakers (1992), Passion Fish (1992), Independence Day (1996), and Donnie Darko (2001). McDonnell also starred with Patrick Swayze in the 1988 movie, Tiger Warsaw. In 1997 she played the judge in the film 12 Angry Men. The film also featured future Battlestar Galactica cast mate Edward James Olmos.
On television, McDonnell had her first regular role in 1980 on the soap opera As the World Turns. She starred in 1984 on the short-lived medical comedy E/R, alongside Elliott Gould and George Clooney. Coincidentally, she guest-starred in 2001 on the NBC medical series of the same name, ER, which also featured Clooney. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role on the show as Eleanor Carter, the mother of Dr. John Carter played by Noah Wyle, who also had a role in Donnie Darko. She plays Dr. Virginia Dixon, a surgeon with Asperger syndrome for three episodes of Grey's Anatomy in 2008 and 2009.[3]
In 2003, McDonnell starred in the mini-series Battlestar Galactica as Laura Roslin. The mini-series led to the subsequent weekly series, with McDonnell reprising her Laura Roslin role. The series ended in March 2009. McDonnell received worldwide recognition for her performance in the show, part of which was shown when she was invited to the United Nations for a retrospective and discussion with Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama).
McDonnell took part in a special session entitled Battlestar Galactica at the 2009 World Science Festival.[4] The session also included Michael Hogan, as well as scientists Nick Bostrom and Kevin Warwick. In 2011, she appeared briefly in the role of Kate Roberts, the mother of Emma Roberts's character in Scream 4.[5]
Since 2009, McDonnell has had a recurring role in The Closer as Capt. Sharon Raydor, a police captain in the Force Investigation Division, who butts heads with Kyra Sedgwick's Golden Globe and Emmy-awarded character.[6] McDonnell received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011 for the role. [7] Her character will be the lead in the upcoming spin-off, Major Crimes, which will debut sometime after The Closer wraps up its final season in the summer of 2012.[8]
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes 1980 As the World Turns Claudia Colfax 1984 Garbo Talks Lady Capulet 1984–85 E/R Dr. Eve Sheridan 20 episodes 1987 Matewan Elma Radnor 1988 Tiger Warsaw Paula Warsaw 1990 Dances with Wolves Stands With A Fist Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture1991 Grand Canyon Claire 1992 Passion Fish May-Alice Culhane Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama1992 Sneakers Liz 1994 Blue Chips Jenny Bell 1995–96 High Society Dorothy 'Dott' Emerson 13 episodes 1996 Independence Day First Lady Marilyn Whitmore 1996 Mariette in Ecstasy Prioress 1997 Woman Undone Terri Hansen 1998 You Can Thank Me Later Diane 1999 Replacing Dad Linda Marsh Television film 1999 Mumford Althea Brockett 2001–02 ER Eleanor Carter 5 episodes
Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2002)2001 Donnie Darko Rose Darko 2002 The Locket Helen Staples Television film 2003 Nola Margaret Langworthy 2004 Crazy Like a Fox Amy Banks 2004–09 Battlestar Galactica President Laura Roslin 73 episodes
Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television (2009)2005 Mrs. Harris Vivian Schulte Television film 2008–09 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Virginia Dixon 3 episodes 2009 Killer Hair Rose Television film 2009 Hostile Makeover Rose Smithsonian Television film 2011 Scream 4 Kate Roberts 2011 Margin Call Mary Rogers 2009-–present The Closer Captain Sharon Raydor Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2011) 2012 Major Crimes Captain Sharon Raydor References
- ^ "Syfy Video - Battlestar Galactica - Mary McDonnell Q & A, Part 1". Video.syfy.com. http://video.syfy.com/shows/battlestar/behind_the_scenes_3/q_a/mary-mcdonnell-q--a-part-1/v37452. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ "Dances with Wolves". IMDB. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099348/. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- ^ "Zap2it Interview". MSNBC. http://blog.zap2it.com/frominsidethebox/2008/11/mary-mcdonnell.html. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Battlestar Galactica World Science Festival, 10–14 June 2009, New York City
- ^ Creepy, Uncle (2010-07-02). "And the Body Count Continues – More Scream 4 Casting: Mary McDonnell and Alison Brie". Dreadcentral.com. http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/38329/and-body-count-continues-more-scream-4-casting-mary-mcdonnell-and-alison-brie. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (2009-03-22). "'The Closer' exclusive: It's McDonnell vs. Sedgwick!". Entertainment Weekly. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2009/03/the-closer-excl.html. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
- ^ "Primetime Emmy Awards nominations for 2011 - Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series". Emmys.com. http://www.emmys.com/nominations/2011/Outstanding%20Guest%20Actress%20In%20A%20Drama%20Series. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
- ^ Fienberg, Daniel (May 18, 2011). "TNT orders 'Closer' spinoff 'Major Crimes' starring Mary McDonnell". HitFix. http://www.hitfix.com/articles/tnt-orders-closer-spinoff-major-crimes-starring-mary-mcdonnell. Retrieved May 31, 2011.
External links
- Mary McDonnell at the Internet Movie Database
- Mary McDonnell at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mary McDonnell at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Mary McDonnell at TV Guide
- Mary McDonnell at Battlestar Wiki
- "The OBIES". Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20071114020348/http://www.villagevoice.com/cgi-bin/obies/winner.cgi?selection=person&winner=mary+mcdonnell.
Categories:- American film actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Actors from New York
- People from Ithaca, New York
- People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
- State University of New York at Fredonia alumni
- 1952 births
- Living people
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