Mary mcdonnell biography

Mary McDonnell is a two-time Oscar®-nominated actress, who is known for her character portrayals in both period and present-day screen roles, as well as a long history of stage and film roles.

Mary Eileen McDonnell was born on April 28, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and John McDonnell, a computer consultant, both of Irish descent. Raised in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. She later attended drama school and was accepted into the prestigious Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. Two decades later, she landed her breakthrough film role, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (), playing "Stands with a Fist", a white woman raised by the Sioux Indians. She earned her first Academy Award nomination for the role.

McDonnell's film credits include the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon () and Mumford () (opposite such seasoned performers as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, and Ben Kingsley); Roland Emmerich's Independence Day () (starring Will Smith); acclaimed art house cult-hit Donnie Darko (); and Margin Call () (opposite Kevin Spacey), which earned her the Robert Altman Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. On the small screen, McDonnell starred in four seasons on the Syf

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Mary McDonnell Biography

Date of Birth:
Apr 28, Birth Place:
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA

Biography

After a highly respected and long-running career on stage, actress Mary McDonnell broke into movie stardom as Stands With A Fist, a white woman raised by Native Americans in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning Western "Dances With Wolves" (). Prior to her breakout performance, McDonnell made her feature debut in John Sayles' acclaimed "Matewan" (), and followed "Dances" with a long and impressive stint in features, where McDonnell often played complex and fiercely independent women. She appeared as an unhappy wife in "Grand Canyon" () and a self-absorbed actress who rediscovers herself after a tragic accident in "Passion Fish" (). McDonnell alternated easily between features and television, playing the First Lady in the blockbuster "Independence Day" (), the judge in "12 Angry Men" (Showtime, ) and the mother of a delusional teenager in the indie favorite, "Donnie Darko" (). But it was her performance as the reluctant president of a group of ragtag survivors on the cult hit series "Battlestar Galactica" (The Sci Fi Channel, ) that elevated her status and career to the next level. Through her widely hailed performance on "Battlestar," McDonnell had finally found the per