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 born on the 28th of April 1952, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and John McDonnell, a computer consultant both from Irish origin. She was born in Ithaca and then graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. She then went to theatre school, and then was accepted into the Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast). Two decades later she was offered her first film role, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990) as "Stands with a Fist" who is a white woman who is raised by the Sioux Indians. The role was so well-loved that she was the first actress to receive an Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits also include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) & Mumford (1999) in which she starred alongside veteran actors such as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley; Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); the acclaimed art house cult-hit Donnie Darko (192001); and Margin Call (2011). This won her the Robert Altman Awards at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was the President Laura Roslin in the critically well-reviewed series Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She starred for four seasons. The role she played as a frequent guest host on the popular television show ER (1994) brought her an Emmy nomination. The popular drama series on TNT Major Crimes (2012) features her as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell developed the role. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy(r). Her role as a paraplegic soap-opera star in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992), she was awarded the Best Actress Academy Award(r), nomination, and a Golden Globe nomination.