Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand

On the set of Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in May 2007
Born Frances Louise McDormand
June 23, 1957 (1957-06-23) (age 54)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1984–present
Spouse Joel Coen
(1984–present)

Frances Louise McDormand[1] (born June 23, 1957) is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 2011 for her performance in Good People as Margie Walsh, having been nominated for the same category in 1988 for the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.

McDormand was nominated for the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress three times for her performances in Mississippi Burning, Almost Famous, and North Country, and has also been nominated for four Golden Globes, three BAFTA Awards,[2] and an Emmy Award.

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Early life

McDormand was born in Chicago and was adopted by the McDormands, a Canadian couple – Noreen, a registered nurse and receptionist, and Vernon, a Disciples of Christ pastor. She has said that her biological mother may have been one of the parishioners at Vernon's church.[3] She has a sister, Dorothy A. McDormand, who is an ordained Disciples of Christ minister and chaplain,[4] as well as another sibling, both of whom were adopted by the McDormands, who had no biological children. As her father specialized in restoring congregations,[3] he frequently moved their family, and they lived in several small towns in Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee,[5] before settling in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area town of Monessen, where she graduated from high school in 1975. She attended Bethany College, West Virginia, and earned a B.A. in Theater in 1979.

In 1982, McDormand earned an M.F.A. from the Yale University School of Drama. She was a roommate of Holly Hunter at the time. Her first professional acting job was in Trinidad and Tobago, performing in a play written by poet (and Nobel laureate) Derek Walcott and funded by the MacArthur Foundation.

Career

McDormand's film debut was in Joel and Ethan Coen's first film, 1984's Blood Simple. In 1985, McDormand, the Coen brothers, Holly Hunter, and director Sam Raimi shared a house in The Bronx.[citation needed] In 1987 she appeared as the wacky neighbor Dot in the hit film Raising Arizona, starring Holly Hunter and Nicolas Cage.

In addition to her early film roles, McDormand played Connie Chapman in the fifth season of the television police drama Hill Street Blues. In 1988, she played Stella Kowalski in a stage production of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. McDormand is an associate member of the experimental theater company The Wooster Group.

McDormand appeared in several theatrical and television roles during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. She has gained renown and critical acclaim for her dramatic work,[6] and is a respected actress, having been nominated for Academy Awards four times. In 1988, she was nominated for a Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Mississippi Burning; in 1996, she won the Academy award for Best Actress for her performance as police chief Marge Gunderson in Fargo; in 2000, she earned her second nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her portrayal of an overbearing mother in Almost Famous. Also for Almost Famous, she won the Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Chicago Film Critics Association, Los Angeles Film Critics Association, San Diego Film Critics Society, Southeastern Film Critics Association, and the Florida Film Critics Circle. For her role in Wonder Boys (2000), she won Best Supporting Actress from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.

In 2006, McDormand received her third nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in 2005's North Country, although she lost to Rachel Weisz. She also had a role in the film Friends with Money, a dark comedy co-starring Jennifer Aniston, Catherine Keener, and Joan Cusack, and directed by Nicole Holofcener. She received an Independent Spirit Award for her role in Friends with Money. She also voiced the role of the lady principal Melanie Upfoot in the Simpsons episode Girls Just Want to Have Sums, which aired on April 30, 2006. McDormand has recently starred in the films Burn After Reading and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

McDormand starred in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the sequel to the hit film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. She played the US government's National Intelligence Director, alongside Burn After Reading co-star John Malkovich.

She has returned to the stage in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Good People, in a limited engagement on Broadway from February 8, 2011 to May 29, 2011.[7][8] Her performance garnered her a Tony Award win for Best Leading Actress in a Play.[9]

Personal life

McDormand has been married to director Joel Coen since 1984, and the two adopted a son from Paraguay, Pedro McDormand Coen, in 1994. They live in New York City. McDormand has starred in six of the Coen Brothers films, including a minor appearance in Miller's Crossing, a secondary role in Raising Arizona and lead roles in Blood Simple, The Man Who Wasn't There, Fargo, for which she won an Academy Award, and more recently Burn After Reading. Additionally, she contributed an uncredited offscreen (voice only) appearance to the opening scene in the Coens' Barton Fink.

Frances McDormand also participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City Film Festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.[10]

Filmography

Films
Year Film Role Notes
1984 Blood Simple Abby
1985 Crimewave A nun
1985 Hill Street Blues Connie Chapman six episodes
1985 Scandal Sheet TV
1985 Hunter Nina Sloan Episode: "The Garbage Man"
1986 Spenser: For Hire Mary Episode: "A Day's Wages"
1986 Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo Brigette
1986 Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone Amanda Strickland (segment "Need to Know")
1987 Raising Arizona Dot
1987 Leg Work Willie Pipal seven episodes
1988 Mississippi Burning Mrs. Pell Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
1989 Chattahoochee Mae Foley
1990 Miller's Crossing Mayor's secretary uncredited
1990 Darkman Julie Hastings
1990 Hidden Agenda Ingrid Jessner
1991 Butcher's Wife, TheThe Butcher's Wife Grace
1991 Barton Fink Stage Actress (voice) uncredited
1992 Passed Away Nora Scanlan
1992 Sôsei kishi Gaiâsu Pool Girl (voice: English version)
1992 Crazy in Love Clare TV
1993 Short Cuts Betty Weathers Golden Globe Special Ensemble Cast Award
Volpi Cup
1994 Bleeding Hearts Woman on TV
1995 Palookaville June
1995 Good Old Boys, TheThe Good Old Boys Eve Calloway TV
1995 Beyond Rangoon Andy Bowma
1996 Primal Fear Dr. Molly Arrington
1996 Plain Pleasures
1996 Fargo Marge Gunderson Academy Award for Best Actress
American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
Empire Award for Best Actress
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress
Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
1996 Lone Star Bunny Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best Supporting Actress
1996 Hidden in America Gus Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie
1997 Paradise Road Dr. Verstak
1998 Madeline Miss Clavel
1998 Talk of Angels Conlon
1998 Johnny Skidmarks Alice
2000 Wonder Boys Dean Sara Gaskell Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
2000 Almost Famous Elaine Miller Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama/Romance
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2001 Man Who Wasn't There, TheThe Man Who Wasn't There Doris Crane Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2001 State of Grace Narrator, Adult Hannah (voice) unknown episodes
2001 Upheaval Anne Short film
2002 City by the Sea Michelle
2002 Laurel Canyon Jane Gijón International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2003 Something's Gotta Give Zoe Barry
2004 Last Night Marit Such Short film
2005 AEon FluxÆon Flux The Handler
2005 Precinct Hollywood Narrator (voice) TV
2005 North Country Glory Dodge Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2006 Friends with Money Jane Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2006 Simpsons, TheThe Simpsons Melanie Upfoot Episode: "Girls Just Want to Have Sums"
2008 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Guinevere Pettigrew
2008 Burn After Reading Linda Litzke Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2011 Transformers: Dark of the Moon Charlotte Mearing
2011 This Must Be The Place Jane
2012 Moonrise Kingdom TBA in production
2012 Madagascar 3 Animal Control Officer in production

References

External links


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