Mary McDonnell began her incredible career in the '70s, when she first moved to New York City after graduating college. When she wasn't going door to door selling Fuller brushes or waitressing, she was auditioning and rehearsing for various roles all across the city. Years later, all the hard work more than paid off as she's now one of the most recognized faces in acting having several hit shows and movies under her belt!
But do you know everything about Mary McDonnell's impecable career? Now you can! Here are five facts about Mary McDonnell that you might not have known.
She has been nominated for two Academy Awards
McDonnell's stellar career in acting has taken her all the way to two Oscar nominations. Her first being for Best Supporting Actress in 1991 for her role in Dances with Wolves and her second for Best Actress in 1993 for Passion Fish.
She's played both First Lady and the President
In the highly acclaimed disaster movie, Independence Day, she played the First Lady of the United States, Marilyn Whitmore. Following that, in the early 2000s, she was then given the role of President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, who was originally the Secretary of Education.
Both of her most famous roles were written for her to play
Before the movie had even been written, Mary McDonnell was instantly reached out to play the part of May-Alice Culhane in Passion Fish. The role of President Laura Roslin was also written into Battlestar Galactica for the sole purpose of adding McDonnell to the series as well.
She was on both ER and E/R
Just like her co-star on both series, George Clooney, Mary McDonnell held a leading role in both the sitcom E/R (1986) as Dr. Eve Sheridan and the drama ER (1994) as Eleanor Carter.
She spoke at the United Nations
Joined by both Whoopi Goldberg and Battlestar Galactica co-star Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell spoke to the United Nations in 2009 to discuss human rights and the allegorical message of BSG and how it related to society at the time.
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