Frances McDormand Biography

Frances Louise McDormand (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, and was nominated for the same category in 1988 for her performance in A Streetcar Named Desire.

McDormand is also a three-time nominee of the Academy Award For Best Supporting Actress for her performances in Mississippi Burning, Almost Famous, and North Country, and has also been nominated for four Golden Globes, three BAFTA Awards, and an Emmy Award. She also starred in the Coen Brothers debut, Blood Simple.

Early life

McDormand was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was adopted by a Canadian-born couple " Noreen E. (Nickleson), a registered nurse and receptionist, and Vernon W. McDormand, a Disciples of Christ pastor. She has said that her biological mother may have been one of the parishioners at Vernon's church. She has a sister, Dorothy A. McDormand, who is an ordained Disciples of Christ minister and chaplain, 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, he frequently moved their family, and they lived in several small towns in Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, before settling in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area town of Monessen, where she graduated from Monessen 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. In 1987, she appeared as the wacky friend 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, 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 after Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. She played the US government's National Intelligence Director, alongside Burn After Reading co-star John Malkovich. She 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. Her performance garnered her a Tony Award win for Best Leading Actress in a Play.

In the animated film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, she voiced Capitain Chantal Dubois and also sang a version of the French song "Non, je ne regrette rien". She also starred in Promised Land with Matt Damon, filmed in April 2012 and released on December 28, 2012.

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. She 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.

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	'	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	'	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	'	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 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (2nd place) National Board of Review Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (2nd place) San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Society of Texas Film Critics 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 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) 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 Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast 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	'	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	'	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	'	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 Nominated"?St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2011	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Charlotte Mearing
2011	This Must Be the Place	Jane
2012	Moonrise Kingdom	Mrs. Bishop
2012	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted	Captain Chantal Dubois	Voice
2012	Promised Land	Sue Thomason
2014	The Good Dinosaur	Momma	Voice

As producer

• Every Secret Thing (2014)