Marcia Gay Harden was born on August 14, 1959, in La Jolla, California, the third of five children. Her mother, Beverly and twins Julitta and Hudson.
Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1990" in John Willis Screen World, Vol. 42.
Her father, brother, and husband are all named Thaddaeus.
Graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in theater and earned an MFA from the graduate theater program at New York University.
On December 15, 2003, her young nephew and niece were killed in a tragic fire. The deaths occurred when the Queens, New York, apartment, owned by her former sister-in-law, went up in flames after a burning candle set a sofa on fire. Her ex-sister-in-law also later died from injuries received in the fire.
She was the first University of Texas at Austin graduate to win an Oscar. She won for Best Supporting Actress in 2001 for Pollock . The second UT grad to win was Rene Zellweger in 2004.
Achieved a degree of notoriety for making the rounds of the spring 2004 awards ceremonies while near-term with twins. When asked about all of the talk her hugely-pregnant figure was generating, she was quoted as saying that, when it comes to pregnancy, when youve got it, flaunt it.
Graduated from Surrattsville Sr. High in Clinton, Maryland. Laura Wright also graduated from Surrattsville H.S., but in 1988.
Was nominated for Broadways 1993 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for Tony Kushner s "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches."
When she first saw her future husband on the set of The Spitfire Grill , she asked her co-star, Ellen Burstyn , her opinion of him. Ellen didnt think he was Marcias type. Fortunately, Marcia didnt take her advice. Ellen became godmother of Marcias three children.
MFA in Acting - New York University, Tisch School of the Arts.
Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in March 2005 in Austin, Texas.
Since the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) started giving out competitive awards, in 1994, she and Christoph Waltz are only performers to win an Academy Award without being nominated for the same performance at the SAG.
She was awarded the 2009 Tony Award for Actress in a Leading Role in a Play for "God of Carnage" on Broadway in New York City.
Ms. Harden was honored as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin in the fall of 2008.
A close friend of Shohreh Aghdashloo.
She was the 2010 Spring Commencement speaker at the University of Texas at Austin.
Filed for divorce from her husband Thaddaeus Scheel after 15 years of marriage [February 2012].
Gave birth to twins (her second and third child) at age 44, a son Hudson Scheel Harden and a daughter Julitta Dee Scheel on April 22, 2004. Childrens father is her ex-husband, Thaddaeus Scheel.
Gave birth to her first child at age 39, a daughter Eulala Grace Scheel (aka Eulala Scheel ) in September 1998. Childs father is her ex-husband, Thaddaeus Scheel.
Her daughter, Eulala Scheel, played her daughter in Felicity: An American Girl Adventure and in Whip It .
She, Geena Davis , Marisa Tomei , Russell Crowe and Adrien Brody are the only actors to win an Oscar without being awarded for the same performance in none of its predecessor awards (Golden Globe, Critics Choice Awards, SAG and BAFTA). She, Geena Davis and Marisa Tomei were not even nominated for those awards for their performances in Pollock The Accidental Tourist and My Cousin Vinny , and Crowes only award for Gladiator before the Oscar was the Critics Choice award.
Was the 118th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Pollock at The 73rd Annual Academy Awards on March 25, 2001.
Is one of 15 Oscar-winning actresses to have been born in the state of California. The others are Fay Bainter , Gloria Grahame , Jo Van Fleet , Liza Minnelli , Tatum ONeal , Diane Keaton , Sally Field , Anjelica Huston , Cher , Jodie Foster , Helen Hunt , Gwyneth Paltrow , Angelina Jolie and Brie Larson.
Has worked with her real-life child, daughter, Eulala Grace Scheel (aka Eulala Scheel ), on five occasions. Pollock ; TV Movie, Felicity: An American Girl Adventure ; Home ; Whip It ; "Trophy Wife" {The Tooth Fairy (#1.13)} .
Played mother, to her real-life daughter, Eulala Grace Scheel (aka Eulala Scheel ), in 2008s, Home , Eulala is her first daughter, to ex-husband Thaddaeus Scheel.
Jeff Daniels, James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and she were awarded the 2012 Back Stage Garland Award for Ensemble for "God of Carnage" at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, California.
[2012, on Spy Hard (1996) ] Ugh. I hated doing that movie. It was,I thought, going to be an opportunity to have a lot of fun, but it was,just chaos and, uh, not so much fun. And not so funny. I mean, Leslie,[Nielsen] was great, but it was really his show, and it was just. . .
very chaotic. Behind schedule, over budget.
[2003 interview] The Oscar is disastrous on a professional level.
We can be incredibly disconnected in this day and age with computers and cell phones.
I had a science teacher in middle school who inspired me. . . simply because she acknowledged me and made me feel that what I had to offer was worthy.
