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 born on April 28, 1952, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and John McDonnell, a computer consultant Both of Irish origin. She was raised in Ithaca and attended Fredonia State University of New York. Then, she went to the drama school and was accepted to the Long Wharf Theatre Company in East Coast. She was 22 years old when she scored her first film role in Dances with Wolves (1990), where she was "Stands with a Fist" Sioux Indian woman who was white. In the film, 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 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 President Laura Roslin in the critically loved show Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She was the lead in four seasons. She garnered an Emmy nomination for her frequent guest spot on the popular television show ER (1994). TNT's acclaimed drama series Major Crimes (2012) features McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell played the character. She was nominated for an Emmy(r) from Primetime. Emmy(r). Her portrayal of an actress with paraplegia in soap opera in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination as well as an Academy Award nomination. Golden Globe nod.