Overview
Frances Louise McDormand (born June 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is one of the few performers who have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting , with an Academy Award for Fargo (1996), a Tony Award for the Broadway play Good People (2011), and an Emmy Award for the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014).
She has been married to filmmaker Joel Coen since 1984 and has starred in various films by the Coen brothers, including Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Fargo (1996), The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001), Burn After Reading (2008), and Hail, Caesar! (2016). She was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000), and North Country (2005). Her other films include Short Cuts (1993), Primal Fear (1996), Wonder Boys (2000), Something’s Gotta Give (2003), and The Good Dinosaur (2015).
McDormand made her Broadway debut in the 1984 revival of 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, leading to a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play.
Early life
McDormand was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was adopted at one-and-a-half years of age by a couple originally from Canada 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 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 actress 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 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.
After appearing in several theatrical and television roles during the 1980s, McDormand gradually gained renown and critical acclaim for her dramatic work in film. In 1988, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 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 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 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 North Country (2005). The same year she won an Independent Spirit Award for her supporting role in Nicole Holofcener‘s dark comedy Friends with Money (2006). 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.
In 2008, McDormand starred in the films Burn After Reading and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. She then appeared in the action movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon, playing the US government’s National Intelligence Director, alongside her 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 earned her the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. In the animated film Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (2012), she voiced Capitain Chantel Dubois and also sang a version of the French song “Non, je ne regrette rien“.
McDormand starred in Promised Land with Matt Damon, filmed in April 2012 and released on December 28, 2012. 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. The role won her the Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. With her Emmy win, McDormand became the 12th actress in history to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, for competitive Oscar, Emmy and Tony Award wins in the acting categories.
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.
Filmography
Awards and nominations
Year | Nominated work | Award | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Film and television | |||||
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 | ||||
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 | Gijn 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 | ||||
Stage | |||||
1988 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||||
2008 | The Country Girl | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play | Nominated | ||
2011 | Good People | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play | Won | ||
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play | Won | ||||
Non-competitive special awards | |||||
1993 | Short Cuts | Venice Film Festival Special Ensemble Award | Honored | ||
Golden Globe Special Award for Ensemble Cast | Honored | ||||
2001 | n/a | Elle Women in Hollywood Icon Award (shared) | Honored | ||
2014 | Venice Film Festival Visionary Award | Honored |