Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell, a two-time Oscar(r),-nominated actress, is most well known for her portrayals on screen in both traditional and contemporary roles. She has also had a long line of roles both on stage and screen. 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. She was raised in Ithaca and then graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. She went on to the drama school and then was accepted into the Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast). She was just 22 when she landed her breakthrough movie part in Dances with Wolves (1990) in which she played "Stands with a Fist", a Sioux Indian woman who is white. For the role, she earned her first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell was a part of the Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991), and Mumford (1999) with such famous actors such as Robert Redford as well as Sidney Poitier. She also played in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day (1996), with Will Smith. Margin Call (2011), which was against Kevin Spacey, earned McDonnell the Robert Altman award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. On the smaller screen, McDonnell starred in four seasons of the Syfy Network's award-winning show Battlestar Galactica (2004) in her critically praised performance as President Laura Roslin. She garnered an Emmy nomination for her frequent guest spot on the popular television series ER (1994). TNT's hit drama show Major Crimes (2012) stars her as Captain Sharon Raydor. It is McDonnell's first series and she was nominated to win a Primetime Emmy(r). Her performance as a paraplegic soap opera in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her an Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination as well as a Golden Globe nod.