HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's
Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural a ...
in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film '' Goin' South''. Steenburgen went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in
Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...
's 1980 comedy-drama film '' Melvin and Howard'', for which she received the
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Award that was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year. The fo ...
and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Steenburgen also received nominations for a
Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...
for
Miloš Forman Jan Tomáš "Miloš" Forman (; ; 18 February 1932 – 13 April 2018) was a Czech and American film director, screenwriter, actor, and professor who rose to fame in his native Czechoslovakia before emigrating to the United States in 1968. Forman ...
's drama film ''
Ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...
'' (1981), a BAFTA TV Award for the drama miniseries '' Tender Is the Night'' (1985), and a
Primetime Emmy Award The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the Primetime ...
for the television film '' The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank'' (1988). Her other film appearances include '' Time After Time'' (1979), '' Cross Creek'' (1983), '' Parenthood'' (1989), ''
Back to the Future Part III ''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Ste ...
'' (1990), ''
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
'' (1993), ''
What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store cle ...
'' (1993), '' Nixon'' (1995), '' Elf'' (2003), '' The Brave One'' (2007), '' Step Brothers'' (2008), '' The Proposal'' (2009), '' The Help'' (2011), '' A Walk in the Woods'' (2015), '' Book Club'' (2018), '' Happiest Season'' (2020), and '' Nightmare Alley'' (2021). Steenburgen appeared in television series such as '' Back to the Future'' (1991–1992), '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1996), ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...
'' (2000–2017), ''
Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...
'' (2003–2005), '' Wilfred'' (2011–2013), ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', tak ...
'' (2012), '' Justified'' (2014–2015), '' Orange Is the New Black'' (2015–2017), '' The Last Man on Earth'' (2015–2018), '' Bless the Harts'' (2019–2021), and '' Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' (2020–2021). She also worked as a singer-songwriter for numerous films, some of which she starred in. For her song "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)", which was featured in the musical film '' Wild Rose'' (2018), she received the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song.


Early life

Steenburgen was born February 8, 1953, in Newport, Arkansas, to Nellie Mae (née Wall), a school-board secretary, and Maurice Hoffman Steenburgen, a freight-train conductor who worked for the
Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...
. She has a sister, Nancy Kelly (née Steenburgen), a teacher. Her ancestry includes Dutch, English, Scottish, and Welsh. In 1971, she enrolled at Hendrix College to study drama. She subsequently traveled to
Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...
at the suggestion of her drama teacher where she successfully auditioned for New York City's
Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural a ...
.


Career


Early career

Steenburgen moved to
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
in 1972 after the Neighborhood Playhouse offered her an opportunity to study acting. She worked as a server at
The Magic Pan The Magic Pan is a small American chain of fast-food and take-away creperies using the recipes of a now-closed chain of full-service restaurants that specialized in crêpes, popular in the early 1970s through early 1990s, which peaked at 110 Magic ...
and for Doubleday while studying under William Esper.


Film career

Steenburgen's break came when she was discovered by Jack Nicholson in the reception room of Paramount's New York office and was cast as the female lead in his second directorial work, the 1978 Western '' Goin' South''. Steenburgen had a leading role, for which she won the
Saturn Award for Best Actress The Saturn Award for Best Actress is one of the annual Saturn Awards given by the American professional organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films. The Saturn Awards are the oldest film-specialized reward of achievements ...
, in the 1979 film '' Time After Time'', as a modern woman who falls in love with author H. G. Wells, played by Malcolm McDowell, whom she married the following year. In her third film, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1980 film '' Melvin and Howard'', playing Lynda Dummar, the wife of Melvin Dummar, then a trucker and aspiring singer, who claimed to have befriended reclusive eccentric
Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...
. Another notable film appearance came in the well-received 1983 film '' Cross Creek'', portraying Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of '' The Yearling''. In 1985, she also starred in the movie '' One Magic Christmas'' as a mother and wife who falls on devastating times at Christmas only to rely on a Christmas miracle to save her family. In 1989, she played Karen Buckman in '' Parenthood''. In ''
Back to the Future Part III ''Back to the Future Part III'' is a 1990 American science fiction Western film and the final installment of the ''Back to the Future'' trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Ste ...
'' (1990), Steenburgen played Clara Clayton, a school teacher who falls in love with Doc Brown. She was persuaded to play the role by her children, as well as by fans of the ''Back to the Future'' films, and reprised the role by providing the character's voice in '' Back to the Future: The Animated Series''. Other performances have been: in ''
What's Eating Gilbert Grape ''What's Eating Gilbert Grape'' is a 1993 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Darlene Cates. It follows 25-year-old Gilbert (Depp), a grocery store cle ...
'' (1993), as a woman who is having an affair with the title character; '' My Summer Story'' (1994), as the mother of Ralphie Parker (the sequel to ''
A Christmas Story ''A Christmas Story'' is a 1983 Christmas comedy film directed by Bob Clark and based on Jean Shepherd's semi-fictional anecdotes in his 1966 book '' In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash'', with some elements from his 1971 book ''Wanda Hickey's ...
''); the role of Hannah Nixon in the
Oliver Stone William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...
biopic, '' Nixon'' (1995); and the Will Ferrell 2003 comedy '' Elf'', as a woman who discovers that her husband is the father of one of Santa's
elves An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes ...
. She has appeared in the comedy films '' Step Brothers'' (2008), playing the mother of Will Ferrell's character; '' Four Christmases'' (2008); and '' The Proposal'' (2009). '' Dirty Girl'', which featured Steenburgen, premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed film '' The Help'' (2011) and had a featured role as a lounge singer, who is the romantic interest in a love triangle, in the 2013 comedy ''
Last Vegas ''Last Vegas'' is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub, written by Dan Fogelman and starring Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline and Mary Steenburgen. Three retirees travel to Las Vegas to have a bachel ...
''. She had a small part in the 2015 film '' A Walk in the Woods'' as Jeannie. In 2018, Steenburgen starred in the romantic comedy film '' Book Club''.


Television career

In television, Steenburgen appeared as Kate Montgomery in '' Ink'' (1996) and co-starred as Mary Gulliver in '' Gulliver's Travels'' (1996). She has a recurring role as herself in ''
Curb Your Enthusiasm ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' is an American television sitcom produced and broadcast by HBO since October 15, 2000, and created by Larry David, who stars as a semi-fictionalized version of himself. It follows David's life as a semi-retired televi ...
''. Steenburgen co-starred as Helen Girardi, the mother of Amber Tamblyn's title character in ''
Joan of Arcadia ''Joan of Arcadia'' is an American fantasy family drama television series telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi ( Amber Tamblyn), who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays on CBS ...
''. In 2011, she had a recurring role as Josephine in the HBO sitcom ''
Bored to Death ''Bored to Death'' is an American comedy series that ran on HBO from September 20, 2009, to November 28, 2011. The show was created by author Jonathan Ames, and stars Jason Schwartzman as a fictional Jonathan Ames—a writer based in Brooklyn, N ...
''. Steenburgen starred as Anastasia Lee in the 2011 FX pilot, '' Outlaw Country'', but it was passed by the network. She appeared in the dark sitcom '' Wilfred'' from 2011 through 2013 as Catherine Newman, the title character's eccentric and mentally ill mother. Steenburgen had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom ''
30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', tak ...
'' from 2012 to 2013 where she played Diana Jessup. In 2014, she began a recurring role as former Dixie Mafia boss Katherine Hale in the fifth and sixth seasons of '' Justified''. From 2015 to 2018, she starred as Gail Klosterman on the comedy series '' The Last Man on Earth''. From 2020 to 2021, she played the role of Maggie Clarke in the NBC musical comedy-drama series '' Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist'' for two seasons. She reprised the role for The Roku Channel television film ''Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas''.


Music career

In 2007, Steenburgen underwent minor surgery on her arm, which required a
general anesthetic General anaesthetics (or anesthetics, see spelling differences) are often defined as compounds that induce a loss of consciousness in humans or loss of righting reflex in animals. Clinical definitions are also extended to include an induced com ...
; shortly thereafter, she began experiencing "music (...) playing in her head day and night". She subsequently took music lessons so that she could write down what she was hearing, and by 2013 had almost 50 songwriting credits. She has collaborated with musicians from Nashville and was also signed to
Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and it ...
as a songwriter. She performs one of her own songs in ''Last Vegas''. In 2018, her composition "Glasgow (No Place Like Home)" as performed by Jessie Buckley featured as the climactic musical moment in the film '' Wild Rose'' and won Steenburgen several awards, including Critics Choice Award. On October 30, 2020, Steenburgen signed a global publishing deal with
Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...
.


Personal life

In 1978, Steenburgen met and began dating actor Malcolm McDowell while both were co-starring in ''Time After Time''. They married and had two children together, including son
Charlie McDowell Charles Malcolm McDowell (born July 10, 1983) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is most known for his film '' The One I Love'' (2014). Early life McDowell was born on July 10, 1983, in Los Angeles, California to English actor Mal ...
. They later divorced. On October 7, 1995, Steenburgen married actor Ted Danson, whom she had met on the set of the film ''
Pontiac Moon ''Pontiac Moon'' is a 1994 adventure film directed by Peter Medak, and produced by Robert Schaffel and Youssef Vahabzadeh. The film stars Ted Danson as Washington Bellamy, a "pigheaded" science teacher in a small town of California, as well as M ...
'', and became the stepmother to Danson's two daughters from his previous marriage to producer Cassandra Coates. Steenburgen resides in the Los Angeles area with her family. An alumna of Hendrix College, she received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 1989. In 2006, Steenburgen received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. In September 2005, she and Danson gave a guest lecture for students at the
Clinton School of Public Service The Clinton School of Public Service is a branch of the University of Arkansas system and is the newest of the presidential schools. It is located on the grounds of the Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock. The school is housed in the Choct ...
where they discussed their roles in public service as well as the foundations and causes in which they are involved. Steenburgen is a friend of former
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
and supported, along with Danson, Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. She also spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. Steenburgen also is involved with various groups ranging from human rights to environmental causes. Since 2014, Steenburgen's son Charlie McDowell has had a running joke at her expense, claiming on numerous occasions on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
that his mother is actress Andie MacDowell.


Filmography


Film


Television


Awards and nominations

In addition to these recognitions, Steenburgen received the 1,337th star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 16, 2009.


References


External links

* *
Mary Steenburgen: The Gift of Giving
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steenburgen, Mary Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 1953 births Actresses from Arkansas American film actresses American people of Dutch descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American people of Welsh descent American television actresses Arkansas Democrats Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Hendrix College alumni Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Chilmark, Massachusetts People from Newport, Arkansas William Esper Studio alumni Comedians from Arkansas Comedians from Los Angeles County California Democrats