Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is a two-time Oscar(r)-nominated actress, recognized for her character roles in both period and present-day screen roles, as well as an extensive history of acting in stage and film. Mary Eileen McDonnell is a Pennsylvania-born actress. She was the daughter of Eileen (Mundy), an American computer consultant from Ireland, and John McDonnell. She was raised in Ithaca and graduated from Fredonia State University of New York. Later, she attended drama school , and was admitted to the highly regarded Long Wharf Theatre Company on the East Coast. She was only 22 when she scored her first movie role in Dances with Wolves (1990) in which she played "Stands with a Fist" Sioux Indian woman who was white. She earned her first Academy Award nomination for the part. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan's Grand Canyon (1991) & Mumford (1999), opposite veteran actors like Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley; Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); the famous art house cult film Donnie Darko (192001); and Margin Call (2011). The film won her the Robert Altman Awards at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell played a prominent role in the Syfy Network's award-winning show Battlestar Galactica (2004), in which she was praised for her portrayal of President Laura Roslin. McDonnell received an Emmy for her regular guest appearance on the television show ER (1994). TNT's acclaimed drama series Major Crimes (2012) stars her as Captain Sharon Raydor. It is McDonnell's second season and she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy(r). Her portrayal as a paraplegic character in 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.