Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell
Mary McDonnell
	McDonnell at the 2019 GalaxyCon Raleigh
Born	Mary Eileen McDonnell; April 28, 1952 (age 72); Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	State University of New York at Fredonia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Randle Mell (m. 1984; sep. 2021)
Children	2

Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in Dances With Wolves and May-Alice Culhane in Passion Fish. McDonnell is well known for her performances as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, First Lady Marilyn Whitmore in Independence Day, and Rose in Donnie Darko. She was featured as Captain Sharon Raydor during seasons 5–7 of the TNT series The Closer and starred as Commander Sharon Raydor in the spin-off series Major Crimes on the same network. In 2023, she played Madeleine Usher in the miniseries The Fall of the House of Usher on Netflix.

Early life and education

Mary Eileen McDonnell was born April 28, 1952,^[1]^[2]^[3] in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, one of six children born to Eileen (née Mundy) and John "Jack" McDonnell, a computer consultant.^[4] She is of Irish descent^[5] and was raised Roman Catholic.^[6] As a child, McDonnell relocated with her family to Ithaca, New York, where she spent the remainder of her upbringing.^[6]

She attended the State University of New York at Fredonia.^[7]

McDonnell's father died when she was 21 years old.^[8]

Career

McDonnell appeared off-Broadway in two separate productions of Buried Child in 1978 and 1979, both times in the role of "Shelly".^[9] She won an Obie Award for Best Actress in 1981 for her work in the play Still Life.^[10] On Broadway, she has performed in productions of Execution of Justice, The Heidi Chronicles, and Summer and Smoke.

After more than 21 years of theater and television work, McDonnell made her film breakthrough in 1990 as the daughter of American settlers raised by Sioux Indians named Stands With A Fist in Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves. Portraying the adopted daughter of Graham Greene's character Kicking Bird, McDonnell, then 37, was only 10 months younger than Greene and less than two years younger than Tantoo Cardinal, who played Black Shawl, her adoptive mother. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role.^[11]

McDonnell's role in Passion Fish (1992) brought her another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress in a Leading Role.^[12] Her other notable films include Grand Canyon (1991), Sneakers (1992), Independence Day (1996), and Donnie Darko (2001). McDonnell also starred with Patrick Swayze in the 1988 movie, Tiger Warsaw. In 1997, she played the judge in the film 12 Angry Men.

On television, McDonnell had her first regular part in 1980 on the soap opera As the World Turns. She starred in 1984 on the short-lived CBS medical comedy E/R. Coincidentally, she guest-starred in 2001 on the NBC medical series of the same name ER. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role on the show as Eleanor Carter. She played Dr. Virginia Dixon, a surgeon with Asperger syndrome for three episodes of Grey's Anatomy in 2008 and 2009.^[13]

In 2003, McDonnell starred in the miniseries Battlestar Galactica as Laura Roslin. The miniseries led to the weekly series, with McDonnell's reprising her Laura Roslin role. The series ended in March 2009. McDonnell received worldwide recognition for her performance in the show, part of which was shown when she was invited to the United Nations for a retrospective and discussion with Edward James Olmos (Admiral Adama).

McDonnell took part in a special session entitled Battlestar Galactica at the 2009 World Science Festival.^[14] The session also included Michael Hogan, as well as scientists Nick Bostrom and Kevin Warwick.

In 2011, she appeared in the role of Kate Roberts, the mother of Emma Roberts's character in Scream 4.^[15]

From 2009 to 2012, McDonnell had a recurring role in The Closer as Capt. Sharon Raydor, a police captain in the Force Investigation Division, who often butts heads with Kyra Sedgwick's Golden Globe and Emmy award-winning character.^[16] McDonnell received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2011 for the role.^[17]

After The Closer wrapped up its final season 2012, McDonnell's character continued as the lead in the spin-off, Major Crimes, which debuted August 13, 2012 and ended in January 2018.^[18]

Personal life

McDonnell married actor Randle Mell in 1984. They have two children, Michael and Olivia.^[19] The couple separated in December 2021.^[20]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Garbo Talks	Lady Capulet
1987	Matewan	Elma Radnor
1988	Tiger Warsaw	Paula Warsaw
1990	Dances With Wolves	Stands With A Fist
1991	Grand Canyon	Claire
1992	Passion Fish	May-Alice Culhane
1992	Sneakers	Liz
1994	Blue Chips	Jenny Bell
1996	Independence Day	First Lady Marilyn Whitmore
1996	Mariette in Ecstasy	Prioress
1997	Woman Undone	Terri Hansen
1998	You Can Thank Me Later	Diane
1999	Mumford	Althea Brockett
2001	Donnie Darko	Rose Darko
2003	Nola	Margaret Langworthy
2004	Crazy Like a Fox	Amy Banks
2011	Scream 4	Kate Roberts
2011	Margin Call	Mary Rogers
2021	The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf	Lady Zerbst	Voice role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	As the World Turns	Claudia Colfax	Unknown episodes
1982	Money on the Side	Terri	Television film
1984–1985	E/R	Dr. Eve Sheridan	Main role; 20 episodes
1995–1996	High Society	Dorothy "Dott" Emerson	Main role; 13 episodes
1997	12 Angry Men	Judge Cynthia Nance	Television film
1998	Evidence of Blood	Dora Overton	Television film
1999	Replacing Dad	Linda Marsh	Television film
1999	Ryan Caulfield: Year One	Rachel Caulfield	2 episodes
2000	A Father's Choice	Susan Shaw	Television film
2000	For All Time	Laura Brown	Television film
2001–2002	ER	Eleanor Carter	5 episodes
2002	Touched by an Angel	Sister Theodore	Episode: "Minute by Minute"
2002	The Locket	Helen Staples	Television film
2003	Battlestar Galactica	President Laura Roslin	Television miniseries
2004–2009	Battlestar Galactica	President Laura Roslin	Main role; 71 episodes
2005	Mrs. Harris	Vivian Schulte	Television film
2008–2009	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Virginia Dixon	3 episodes
2009	Killer Hair	Rose	Television film
2009	Hostile Makeover	Rose Smithsonian	Television film
2009–2012	The Closer	Captain Sharon Raydor	Recurring Role (seasons 5–6) Main Cast (season 7) 23 episodes
2012–2018	Major Crimes	Captain (later Commander) Sharon Raydor	Main role; 105 episodes
2017	Fargo	Ruby Goldfarb	4 episodes
2019	Veronica Mars	Jane	Episode: "Years, Continents, Bloodshed"
2021	Rebel	Helen Peterson	7 episodes
2023	The Fall of the House of Usher	Madeline Usher	Main role, 8 episodes

Awards and nominations

In 1992 McDonnell received an Outstanding Achievement Award from Fredonia's alumni association.^[7]

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1991	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Dances With Wolves	Nominated
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture		Nominated
1993	Academy Awards	Best Actress	Passion Fish	Nominated
1993	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama	Passion Fish	Nominated
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	ER	Nominated
2009	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	Battlestar Galactica	Won
2011	Gotham Awards	Best Ensemble Cast	Margin Call	Nominated
	Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards	Best Cast	Margin Call	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer	Nominated
2024	Astra TV Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie	The Fall of the House of Usher	Pending
	Critics' Choice Television Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Movie/Miniseries		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Super Awards	Best Villain in a Series		Nominated