Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell is a renowned actress for her work in film, television, as well as theatre. As a two-time Oscar-nominee, McDonnell has transformed both period and present-day screen roles into dynamic character portrayals.

McDonnell received her first Oscar nomination, Best Supporting Actress, for her portrayal of Stands With a Fist, a white woman raised by the Sioux, in Kevin Costner's DANCES WITH WOLVES. She also received her first of two Golden Globe nominations for her performance. McDonnell garnered a Best Actress Academy Award nomination and Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of a paraplegic soap-opera star in John Sayles' critically acclaimed PASSION FISH, a story portraying the relationship between a woman and her taciturn caretaker.

Some of the films in her extensive filmography include: acclaimed art-house cult hit DONNIE DARKO; NOLA with Emmy Rossum; two Lawrence Kasden films, GRAND CANYON and MUMFORD; Roland Emmerich’s Sci-Fi thriller INDEPENDENCE DAY, with Bill Pullman and Will Smith; William Friedkin’s BLUE CHIPS, with Nick Nolte; and SNEAKERS, with Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier and Sir Ben Kingsley.

McDonnell received outstanding reviews for her portrayal as President Laura Roslin in the Sci-Fi channel’s hit show “Battlestar Galactica,” one of the highest rated shows on Friday nights, beating both cable and network programs in key demographics.

McDonnell also garnered an Emmy nomination for her recurring guest role on the television series “ER.” Some of her other television credits include CBS series “High Society,” TNT’s adaptation of Arthur Miller’s “The American Clock”; critically acclaimed CBS movie “Behind The Mask”; and “Two Small Voices” with Gail O’Grady for Lifetime Television. On ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” McDonnell played Dr. Virginia Dixon, a brilliant Cardiothoracic surgeon who battles with Asperger’s Syndrome. Currently McDonnell has a recurring role on “The Closer,” as Captain Sharon Raydor, a police captain who goes toe-to-toe with Kyra Sedwick’s Brenda.

McDonnell began her career in theatre and has starred in a wide variety of both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. She received an Obie Award for her performance in Emily Mann’s “Still Life” and has starred in Off-Broadway productions such as: Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Buried Child”; John Patrick Shanley’s “Savage in Limbo”; John O’Keefe’s “All Night Long”; Michael Cristofer’s “Black Angel”; Kathleen Tolan’s “A Weekend Near Madison”; Paula Cizmar’s “Death of a Miner”; and Dennis McIntyre’s “National Anthem”. Her Broadway credits include Tennessee Williams’ “Summer and Smoke”; Wendy Wasserstein’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, “The Heidi Chronicles”; and Emily Mann’s “Execution of Justice.”

The Weinstein Company