Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is an actress who has been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is popular for her portrayals as 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. 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. Two decades later she scored her first major film role, in Kevin Costner's Dances with Wolves (1990) as "Stands with a Fist", a white woman who is raised by the Sioux Indians. In exchange for the role, she was awarded her first Academy Award nomination. McDonnell's film credits also include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) & Mumford (1999) in which she starred alongside veteran actors like 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) as well as Margin Call (2011). It earned her the Robert Altman Awards at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell played a prominent role in the Syfy Network's award winning series Battlestar Galactica (2004), where she was recognized for her portrayal of the President Laura Roslin. McDonnell was nominated for an Emmy for her regular guest appearance in the television series ER (1994). TNT's acclaimed drama series Major Crimes (2012) stars her as Captain Sharon Raydor. It is McDonnell's second show and she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy(r). Her role as the soap opera star who is paraplegic in John Sayles' critically-acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992), she won a Best Actress Academy Award(r) nomination, nomination, and Golden Globe nomination.