Frances McDormand is an American actress and film producer who has received numerous accolades including four Academy Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting." Additionally, she has received three British Academy Film Awards, seven Critics' Choice Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and four Actor Awards.
McDormand has received eight Academy Award nominations, winning Best Actress thrice for playing a pregnant police chief in the Coen Brothers black comedy crime film Fargo (1996), a woman bent on revenge in Martin McDonagh's crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and a widow turned nomad in Chloe Zhao's drama Nomadland (2020). As one of the producers of Nomadland, she also won Best Picture. She was also Oscar-nominated for her performances as the wife of a small town sheriff in the crime thriller Mississippi Burning (1988), an overprotective mother in the comedy-drama Almost Famous (2000), and an iron mine worker in the social drama North Country (2005).
Her wins for Nomadland made her the first person in history to win Academy Awards both as producer and performer for the same film, the second woman in history to win Best Actress three times, and the seventh performer overall to win three competitive acting Academy Awards. McDormand was after Katharine Hepburn (who has four in total), Walter Brennan, Ingrid Bergman, Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, and Daniel Day-Lewis. McDormand has also received Academy Award nominations in five consecutive decades,
On television, McDormand won two Primetime Emmy Awards both for the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge (2014), for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as one of the series producers. She was previously Emmy-nominated for her performance as a working class mechanic in the Showtime television film Hidden in America (1996). On stage, McDormand won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play playing a blue collar worker in Boston in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Good People (2011). She was previously Tony-nominated for playing Blanche DuBois in the revival of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire (1988).
Major industry awards Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1989 Best Supporting Actress Mississippi Burning 1997 Best Actress Fargo 2001 Best Supporting Actress Almost Famous 2006 North Country 2018 Best Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2021 Nomadland Best Picture 2023 Women Talking
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 1997 Best Actress in a Leading Role Fargo 2001 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Almost Famous 2006 North Country 2018 Best Actress in a Leading Role Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2021 Nomadland Best Film
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards 1996 Best Actress Fargo 2000 Best Supporting Actress Almost Famous / Wonder Boys 2005 North Country 2012 Best Acting Ensemble Moonrise Kingdom 2017 Best Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Acting Ensemble 2020 Best Picture Nomadland Best Actress 2022 Best Picture Women Talking Best Acting Ensemble Critics' Choice Television Awards 2015 Best Movie/Miniseries Olive Kitteridge Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards 1997 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special Hidden in America 2015 Outstanding Limited Series Olive Kitteridge Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1994 Special Award for Ensemble Short Cuts Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: 1997 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Fargo 2001 Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Almost Famous 2006 North Country 2009 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy Burn After Reading 2015 Best Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture – Television Olive Kitteridge Best Miniseries or TV Movie 2018 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2021 Nomadland Best Motion Picture – Drama
Screen Actors Guild Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1997 Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role Fargo 2001 Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role Almost Famous Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2006 Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role North Country 2015 Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Olive Kitteridge 2018 Outstanding Actress in a Leading RoleThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture 2021 Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role Nomadland 2023 Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Women Talking
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1988 Best Leading Actress in a Play A Streetcar Named Desire 2011 Good People
Miscellaneous accolades Organizations Year Category Work Result American Comedy Awards 1997 Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Leading Role) Fargo 2001 Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture (Supporting Role) Almost Famous AARP Movies for Grownups Awards 2009 Best Actress Burn After Reading 2013 Best Supporting Actress Promised Land 2018 Best Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2021 Nomadland Best Movie for Grownups 2022 Best Actress The Tragedy of Macbeth 2023 Best Movie for Grownups Women Talking Best Ensemble Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards 2018 Best International Lead Actress – Cinema Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2020 Nomadland Alliance of Women Film Awards 2017 Actress Defying Age and Ageism Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Bravest Performance Best Actress 2020 Nomadland Actress Defying Age and Ageism Awards Circuit Community Awards1996 Best Actress in a Leading RoleFargo Best Cast Ensemble 2000 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Almost Famous 2008Best Cast Ensemble Burn After Reading 2017Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Best Actress in a Leading Role Behind The Voice Acting Feature Film Voice Acting Awards 2013 Best Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film Black Reel Awards 2022 Outstanding Film The Tragedy of Macbeth Blockbuster Entertainment Awards2001 Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama/Romance Almost Famous British Independent Film Awards2017 Best Actress in a British Independent Film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2020 Best Foreign Independent Film Nomadland Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2017 Best Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri CinEuphoria Awards 2021 Best Actress - International Competition Nomadland Dorian Awards2015 TV Performance of the Year – Actress Olive Kitteridge 2017Film Performance of the Year – Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2020Nomadland Film of the Year Drama Desk Awards1988 Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play A Streetcar Named Desire 2008 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play The Country Girl 2011 Good People Elle Magazine Awards2001 Women in Hollywood Icon Award Empire Awards1997Best Actress Fargo 2018 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Gijón International Film Festival 2003 Best Actress Laurel Canyon Gotham Awards2012 Best Ensemble Cast Moonrise Kingdom 2020 Best Actress Nomadland Best Feature Audience Award Independent Spirit Awards 1997 Best Female Lead Fargo 2004 Best Supporting Female Laurel Canyon 2007 Friends with Money 2018 Best Female Lead Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2020 Nomadland Best Film 2023 Women Talking Robert Altman Award International Cinephile Society Awards2021 Best ActressNomadland Irish Film & Television Academy Awards 2018 Best International Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Lone Star Film & Television Awards1996 Best Supporting Actress Lone Star National Board of Review Awards 1988 Best Supporting Actress Mississippi Burning 1996 Best Actress Fargo 2022 Best Cast Women Talking North Dakota Film Society Awards2020 Best ActressNomadland Online Film & Television Association Awards1997 Best Lead Actress Fargo 2001 Best Supporting Actress Almost Famous 2020 Best Lead ActressNomadland Best Picture Producers Guild of America Awards2020 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Nomadland Satellite Awards 1997 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Fargo 2001 Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Almost Famous 2005 North Country 2015 Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie Olive Kitteridge Best Miniseries or TV Movie 2018 Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2020 Nomadland Best Motion Picture – Drama 2023 Woman Talking Saturn Awards 1997 Best Film Actress Fargo 2002 Best Film Supporting Actress The Man Who Wasn't There 2018 Best Film Actress Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Venice Film Festival1993 Special Volpi Cup for Best Ensemble Cast Performance Short Cuts 2014 Visionary Award
Critics associations