Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand

McDormand at 2015 Screen Actors Guild Awards
Born Frances Louise McDormand
(1957-06-23) June 23, 1957
Chicago, Illinois, United States
Education Guthrie Theater
Alma mater Bethany College (B.A.)
Yale University (M.F.A)
Occupation Actress
Years active 1984–present
Spouse(s) Joel Coen (m. 1984)
Children 1

Frances Louise McDormand (born June 23, 1957) is an American actress. She has been married to director and writer Joel Coen since 1984 and has starred in several of the Coen brothers' films, including Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Fargo (1996), The Man Who Wasn't There (2001), Burn After Reading (2008), and Hail, Caesar! (2016). McDormand is one of the few performers who have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. In 1997, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for Fargo.[1] In 2011, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the original Broadway production of Good People, and in 2015 she won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Olive Kitteridge.

McDormand made her Broadway debut in the 1984 revival of the play Awake and Sing, and received a Tony Award nomination for her performance as Stella Kowalski in the 1988 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. She returned to Broadway for the first time in 20 years to star in the 2008 revival of The Country Girl, receiving a Drama Desk Award nomination. Her work in the films Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000) and North Country (2005), earned her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nominations. Her other films include Short Cuts (1993), Primal Fear (1996), Wonder Boys (2000) and Something's Gotta Give (2003), and The Good Dinosaur (2015).

Early life

McDormand was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was adopted by a couple originally from Canada – Noreen E. (Nickleson), a registered nurse and receptionist, and Vernon W. McDormand, a Disciples of Christ pastor.[2] 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 Monessen, Pennsylvania, where she graduated from Monessen High School in 1975. McDormand attended Bethany College in West Virginia, earning a Bachelor of Arts in theater in 1979. In 1982, she earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama. She was a roommate of Holly Hunter at the time.

Career

McDormand's first professional acting job was in Trinidad and Tobago, performing in a play written by Derek Walcott and funded by the MacArthur Foundation. Her film debut was in the 1984 Coen brothers first film, Blood Simple. In 1985, Frances, 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,[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 was nominated for the Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her portrayal of an overbearing mother in Almost Famous. 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 fourth 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.[7] She also voiced the role of the 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.[8][9] Her performance earned her a Tony Award win for Best Leading Actress in a Play.[10] In the animated film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, she voiced Capitain Chantel 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.[11] In November 2014, HBO telecast a four-part mini-series based upon the series of short stories by Elizabeth Strout, Olive Kitteridge, co-produced by and starring McDormand.[12] The role won her an Primetime Emmy Award and a SAG Award. With her Emmy win, she became only the 12th actress in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, for competitive Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award wins in the acting categories.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Year Nominated Work Award Result
1988 Mississippi Burning Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
1989 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
1993 Short Cuts Golden Globe Special Award for Best Ensemble Cast Won
Volpi Cup for Best Ensemble Cast Won
1996 Fargo Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress 2nd place
National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress 2nd place
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Won
Society of Texas Film Critics Award for Best Actress Won
1997 Academy Award for Best Actress Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Won
Saturn Award for Best Actress Nominated
American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) Won
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Won
Empire Award for Best Actress Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Won
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead Won
Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Won
London Film Critics' Circle Award for Actress of the Year Won
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress 3rd place
Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Actress Won
Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Won
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Won
1996 Lone Star Lone Star Film & Television Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
1997 Hidden in America Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated
2000 Wonder Boys / Almost Famous Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
2001 Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
2000 Almost Famous New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
2001 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role and the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture Nominated
American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama/Romance Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Cast Performance Won
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, Comedy or Musical Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
2002 The Man Who Wasn't There Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
2003 Laurel Canyon Gijón International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Won
2004 Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Nominated
2005 North Country Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Won
Satellite Award for Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role, Drama Nominated
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Female Images in a Movie Won
2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated
Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
2008 Burn After Reading St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
2009 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Nominated
2012 Moonrise Kingdom Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Ensemble Cast 2nd place
Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Nominated
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting Nominated
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast 2nd place
Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screen Couple Won
2013 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble Won
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Behind The Voice Acting Feature Film Voice Acting Award for Best Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film Nominated
2014 Olive Kitteridge Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Won
2015 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Won
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated
Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries Won
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Won

References

External links

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