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 daughter of Eileen (Mundy) the American computer consultant from Ireland, and John McDonnell. She was born in Ithaca and graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. In the following years, she was a student at a the drama school and was accepted to the Long Wharf Theatre Company in East Coast. She was just 22 when she was offered her breakthrough film role in Dances with Wolves (1990) in which she was "Stands with a Fist" Sioux Indian woman who is white. She earned her first Academy Award nomination for the role. McDonnell's film credits include the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite the likes of 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) as well as Margin Call (2011) (opposite Kevin Spacey), which earned her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was a regular in the Syfy Network's award winning series Battlestar Galactica (2004), where she was praised for her portrayal of President Laura Roslin. Her regular guest role as host on the TV show ER (1994) was rewarded with an Emmy nomination. The popular drama series on TNT Major Crimes (2012) stars her as Captain Sharon Raydor. It is McDonnell's second series and she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy(r). The character she played as a paraplegic character in soap operas in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination and an Academy Award nomination. Golden Globe nod.