Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is a two-time Oscar(r)-nominated actress who is known for her character portrayals in both period and present-day screen roles, as well as many films and stage roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell was the daughter of John McDonnell (a computer consultant) and Eileen (Mundy), the daughter of a Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania native. She was raised in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. Later, she attended the drama school and was accepted to the Long Wharf Theatre Company in East Coast. Her most memorable film role was in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the part of "Stands with a Fist" an Indian Sioux-raised white woman. Her first Academy Award nomination was for this role. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite other experienced actors as Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and 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 earned her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. McDonnell was the president Laura Roslin in the critically popular show Battlestar Galactica (2004) on Syfy. She was the lead for four seasons. McDonnell was nominated for an Emmy for her regular guest appearance on the tv show ER (1994). She is the lead character of Captain Sharon Raydor on the TNT's successful drama series Major Crimes (2012), the sequel to The Closer (2005), where McDonnell was the sole actor and was awarded a Primetime Emmy(r) nomination. McDonnell received a Best Actress Academy Award(r) nomination and an Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of an actress with paraplegia in soap opera in John Sayles's critically acclaimed film, Passion Fish (1992).