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 is a Pennsylvania-born actress. She was the daughter of Eileen (Mundy), an American computer consultant from Ireland, and John McDonnell. She was raised in Ithaca and then graduated from 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. Her first film role came in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the character "Stands with a Fist", a Sioux Indian-raised white woman. The actress received her first Academy Award nomination for the part. McDonnell has been in the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991), and Mumford (1999) in the role of veteran actors like Robert Redford as well as Sidney Poitier. She also was a part of Roland Emmerich's Independence Day (1996), featuring Will Smith. Margin Call (2011) which was directed by Kevin Spacey, earned McDonnell the Robert Altman award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was president Laura Roslin in the critically popular show Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She was the lead for four seasons. McDonnell was nominated for an Emmy for her regular guest appearance in the television series ER (1994). She is the Captain Sharon Raydor on the TNT's hit drama series Major Crimes (2012), the sequel to The Closer (2005), where McDonnell was the sole actor and was awarded a Primetime Emmy(r) nomination. Her role as a paraplegic soap-opera star in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992), she received a Best Actress Academy Award(r) nomination, as well as a Golden Globe nomination.