Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is an actress who has been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is popular for her portrayals as characters in period and contemporary screen roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell is a Pennsylvania-born actress. She was the child of Eileen (Mundy) who was an Irish-American computer consultant, as well as John McDonnell. Born in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. Later, she attended drama school , and was accepted into the prestigious Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. After a few decades she got her first film role, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990) as "Stands with a Fist" she was a white girl who is raised by the Sioux Indians. In exchange for the role, she earned her first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) & Mumford (1999) in which she starred alongside veteran actors like Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley; Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); the highly acclaimed art house hit Donnie Darko (192001); and Margin Call (2011). It earned her the Robert Altman Awards at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell played a prominent role on the Syfy Network's award-winning show Battlestar Galactica (2004), which was highly praised for her portrayal of President Laura Roslin. The role she played as a frequent guest host on the TV show ER (1994) was rewarded with an Emmy nomination. TNT's hit drama series Major Crimes (2012) features her as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell created the role. She was nominated to win the Primetime Emmy(r). The character she played as a paraplegic soap operas in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her an Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination and a Golden Globe nod.