Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is an actress who has been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is famous for her portrayals of characters from the past and present screen roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell was the daughter of John McDonnell (a computer consultant) and Eileen (Mundy) who was who is a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania native. Raised in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) in Fredonia. She went on to theatre school, and was later accepted into Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast). In the following two decades she was offered her first film role, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990), playing "Stands with a Fist" who is a white woman that is raised by Sioux Indians. In the film, she was awarded her first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite to such veteran actors such as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier as well as 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 brought her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. On the small screen, McDonnell starred in four seasons of the Syfy Network's award-winning series Battlestar Galactica (2004) in her highly acclaimed role as President Laura Roslin. Her frequent guest appearance as host on the TV series ER (1994) earned her an Emmy nomination. TNT's hit drama series Major Crimes (2012) features McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell created the role. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy(r). Her role as the soap opera star who is paraplegic in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992), she received a Best Actress Academy Award(r) nomination and a Golden Globe nomination.