Frances McDormand is an American actress and film producer who made her film debut in the Coen brothers' neo-noir Blood Simple (1984) and also made her Broadway debut in the revival Awake and Sing! in the same year. In 1985, she starred in the crime drama series Hunter and played a police officer on the procedural drama Hill Street Blues. For her performance as a sheriff's wife in Mississippi Burning (1988), she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. In the same year, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for playing Stella Kowalski in the revival A Streetcar Named Desire.
McDormand received critical acclaim and won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a pregnant Minnesotan police chief in the Coen brothers' black comedy Fargo. In the same year, she played a psychiatrist in legal thriller Primal Fear. In 1997, McDormand garnered a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role as a mechanic in the television film Hidden in America. She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as an overprotective mother in Almost Famous (2000).
McDormand starred with Charlize Theron in both drama North Country and science fiction action film Æon Flux in 2005. For the former, McDormand received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as a single mother in Good People (2011). McDormand garnered critical acclaim and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for playing the title character of an abrasive schoolteacher in Olive Kitteridge (2014), which she also produced.
McDormand won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and her second Best Actress Oscar for her role as a mother seeking justice in the Martin McDonagh-directed crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). For her performance as a vandwelling nomad in the Chloe Zhao-directed 2020 drama Nomadland, she received her third Best Actress Oscar and second BAFTA for Best Actress. She also produced the film and received both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the BAFTA Award for Best Film.
Film YearTitleRole(s) Notes 1984Blood SimpleAbby1985CrimewaveNun1987Raising Arizona Dot1988Mississippi Burning1989Chattahoochee1990DarkmanMiller's CrossingMayor's SecretaryUncreditedHidden Agenda1991Barton FinkStage ActressVoice only; UncreditedGrace1992Passed Away1993Short Cuts1994Bleeding HeartsWoman on TV1995Beyond RangoonPalookavilleJune1996FargoPrimal FearLone StarBunny1997Paradise Road1998Johnny SkidmarksAliceMadelineTalk of AngelsConlon2000Wonder BoysAlmost Famous20012002Laurel CanyonJaneSearching for Debra Winger Herself DocumentaryCity by the Sea Michelle2003Something's Gotta Give2005North CountryGloryÆon Flux2006Friends with MoneyJane2008Miss Pettigrew Lives for a DayBurn After Reading2011This Must Be the PlaceJaneTransformers: Dark of the Moon2012Moonrise KingdomMadagascar 3: Europe's Most WantedVoice onlyPromised Land2014Every Secret ThingNewscasterVoice only; Uncredited; Also producer2015Voice only2016Hail, Caesar!2017Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri2018Isle of DogsVoice only2020NomadlandFernAlso producer2021Also producer2022Women Talking2024 Wolfs Pamela Dowd-Henry Voice only2027 TBA Post-production
+Key Denotes films that have not yet been released
Television Year(s) Title Role(s) Notes 1985 Hunter Episode: "The Garbage Man" Hill Street Blues 6 episodes 1986 Spenser: For Hire Mary Episode: "A Day's Wages" Segment: "Need to Know" Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo Brigette Television film 1987 Leg Work 10 episodes 1992 Crazy in Love Clare Television film 1995 1996 Hidden in America Gus 1998 Sesame Street: Kids' Guide to Life: Big Bird Gets Lost Herself Short film 2001 American Experience Voice only; Documentary; Episode: "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy" 2001–2002 State of Grace Narrator / Adult Hannah Voice only; 39 episodes 2006 Voice only; Episode: "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" 2014 Olive Kitteridge 4 episodes; also executive producer 2019–2023 Good Omens God Voice only; 7 episodes
Theater Year(s)TitleTheaterRoleNotes1983–1984Painting ChurchesLamb's TheatreUnderstudy; November 22, 1983 – May 20, 19841984Awake and Sing!Circle in the Square TheatreMarch 8 – April 291988February 20 – April 171992–1993Mitzi E. Newhouse TheaterOctober 22, 1992 – February 28, 19931993DoraNovember 9 – December 122002–2003Far AwayNew York Theatre WorkshopHarperNovember 11, 2002 – January 18, 20032006Barrow Street TheatreFatherEach performance has a different guest actor playing Father2008Bernard B. Jacobs TheatreApril 27 – July 202011Good PeopleSamuel J. Friedman TheatreMargaretFebruary 8 – May 292016MacbethBerkeley Repertory TheatreLady Macbeth / Weird SisterFebruary 19 – April 10
See also List of awards and nominations received by Frances McDormand
References
External links