Mary McDonnell

 Mary McDonnell is an actress who has been nominated for two Oscars(r). She is famous for her portrayals of characters from both contemporary and period screen roles. Mary Eileen McDonnell was born on the 28th of April 1952 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to Eileen (Mundy) and John McDonnell, a computer consultant, both from Irish origin. She was raised in Ithaca, New York, she graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. She then attended theatre school, and was then accepted into Long Wharf Theatre Company (East Coast). Her first film role came in Dances with Wolves (1990) by Kevin Costner. She played the role of "Stands with a Fist" an Indian Sioux-raised white woman. McDonnell received her first Academy Award nomination for the role. McDonnell's film credits include Lawrence Kasdan films Grand Canyon (1991) and Mumford (1999) (opposite other well-known actors like Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Ben Kingsley); Roland Emmerich's Independence Day (1996) (starring Will Smith); acclaimed art house cult hit Donnie Darko (2001); and Margin Call (2011) (opposite Kevin Spacey), which brought her the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Independent Spirit Awards. On the small screen, McDonnell starred in four seasons of Syfy Network's award-winning show Battlestar Galactica (2004) in her critically praised performance as President Laura Roslin. McDonnell received an Emmy for her regular guest appearance in the television series ER (1994). The popular drama series on TNT 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 star of soap opera in John Sayles' critically acclaimed film Passion Fish (1992) earned her an Best Actress Academy Award (r) nomination and a Golden Globe nod.