Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell, a two-time Oscar(r),-nominated actress, is famous for her performance on screen in modern and historical roles. She also has a long list of roles on stage as well as screen. Mary Eileen McDonnell was the daughter of John McDonnell (a computer consultant) and Eileen (Mundy) she was who is a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania native. Raised in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. After that, she went to drama school , and was admitted to the well-known Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. Her film debut came in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the role 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 well-known actors like 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 brought her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was president Laura Roslin in the critically acclaimed series Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She was the lead for four seasons. McDonnell received an Emmy for her regular guest appearance on the television show ER (1994). TNT's hit drama show Major Crimes (2012) stars her as Captain Sharon Raydor. It is McDonnell's first series and she received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy(r). For her role as a paraplegic soap-opera actress in John Sayles’s critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992), she was awarded a Best Actress Academy Award(r) nomination, nomination, and Golden Globe nomination.