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 is a Pennsylvania-born actress. She was the child of Eileen (Mundy) the Irish-American computer consultant, as well as John McDonnell. Her birthplace was Ithaca, New York and graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. After that, she went to drama school and was admitted to the highly regarded Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. Her breakthrough film role was in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the part of "Stands with a Fist" as a Sioux Indian-born white woman. Her first Academy Award nomination for the role. McDonnell's credits in films include Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite the likes of experienced actors 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 won her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was the president Laura Roslin in the critically loved show Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She starred in four seasons. McDonnell received an Emmy for her regular guest appearance on the television show ER (1994). The hit TNT drama series Major Crimes (2012) features McDonnell as Captain Sharon Raydor. This is the sequel to The Closer (2005) in which McDonnell developed the role. She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy(r). Her performance as a paraplegic star of soap opera in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination and a Golden Globe nod.