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Mary McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an Academy Award-nominated American film, stage, and television actress. She currently stars as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica.
Early life McDonnell was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Ithaca, New York. After graduating from the State University of New York at Fredonia, she attended drama school and joined the East Coast's prestigious Long Wharf Theatre Company, with whom she worked for over 20 years. She won an Obie in 1980 for her work in the play Still Life. On Broadway, she has performed in productions of Execution of Justice, The Heidi Chronicles, and Summer and Smoke. Film Career After more than 20 years of theater and television work, McDonnell made her film breakthrough in 1990 as Stands With A Fist, a European American raised by Lakota Indians, in Kevin Costner's Dances With Wolves. She received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the role. McDonnell's role in Passion Fish (1992) brought her another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her other notable films include Grand Canyon (1991), Sneakers (1992), Independence Day (1996), and Donnie Darko (2001). On television, McDonnell had her first regular role in 1980 on the soap opera As the World Turns. She starred in 1984 on the short-lived medical sitcom E/R, alongside Elliott Gould and George Clooney. Coincidentally, she guest-starred in 2001 on the NBC medical series of the same name, ER, which also featured Clooney. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role on the show as Eleanor Carter, the mother of Dr. John Carter. In 2003, McDonnell starred in the miniseries remake of Battlestar Galactica as President Laura Roslin. When the show was picked up as a television series in 2004, McDonnell returned to the role as a regular cast member. Private Life McDonnell is married to actor Randle Mell, with whom she has two children, Olivia and Michael. Selected filmography | |||||||||||||||||||||
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