archytele The Vault

Mary McDonnell

Acting Born Apr 28, 1952 Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA 24 credits

Biography

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.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Mary McDonnell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Ask the Vault

Ask anything about Mary McDonnell.

Known for

Grey's Anatomy

as Virginia Dixon

Fargo

as Ruby Goldfarb

ER

as Eleanor Carter

The Closer

as Sharon Raydor

The Closer

as Captain Sharon Raydor

The Closer

as Sharon Raydor (archive footage) (uncredited)

Full filmography

  • Grey's Anatomy (2005) as Virginia Dixon
  • Fargo (2014) as Ruby Goldfarb
  • ER (1994) as Eleanor Carter
  • The Closer (2005) as Sharon Raydor
  • The Closer (2005) as Captain Sharon Raydor
  • The Closer (2005) as Sharon Raydor (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • American Experience (1988) as Narrator (voice)
  • Battlestar Galactica (2004) as Laura Roslin
  • Veronica Mars (2004) as Jane
  • Golden Globe Awards (1944) as Self
  • Touched by an Angel (1994) as Sister Theodore Claire
  • Major Crimes (2012) as Captain Sharon Raydor
  • Independence Day (1996) as Marilyn Whitmore
  • The Oscars (1953) as Self
  • Donnie Darko (2001) as Rose Darko
  • The Fall of the House of Usher (2023) as Madeline Usher
  • Dances with Wolves (1990) as Stands With A Fist
  • Scream 4 (2011) as Kate Roberts
  • Battlestar Galactica (2003) as President Laura Roslin
  • Sneakers (1992) as Liz
  • VisionQuest (2026)
  • Rebel (2021) as Helen Peterson
  • Rebel (2021) as Helen
  • Margin Call (2011) as Mary Rogers