Mary Steenburgen is an Academy Award-winning American actress. She was born February 8, 1953, in Newport, Arkansas, USA. Her mother, Nellie May , and the couple is living in Los Angeles area.
A notable patron of the arts who has set up exhibits in the past, her husband actor Ted Danson sculpts as a sideline.
Returned to old high school in North Little Rock, Arkansas in April 2002, to teach drama workshops to students, fulfilling promise made to parents of teenager Thea Leopoulos, who was killed in a traffic accident in 2001.
Referred to multiple times on "Stargate SG-1" as the heartthrob of Colonel Jack ONeill, played by Richard Dean Anderson.
In both Time After Time and Back to the Future Part III , she played the love interest of a time traveller who later became one herself. In the former, she was from the time travellers future and in the latter, she was from his past.
Shares a birthday with Mtley Cre singer Vince Neil , her The Trumpet of the Swan co-star Seth Green , James Dean and Ethan Phillips.
She played Jason Ritter s mother in "Joan of Arcadia" . Her husband Ted Danson played Ritters father in Mumford .
She appeared with Christopher Lloyd in three different films: Goin South , Back to the Future Part III and Wish You Were Dead .
She was the third of four consecutive winners of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to have the initials "M.S.". The others are: Maggie Smith for California Suite , Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer , and Maureen Stapleton for Reds .
President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton attended Steenburgens 1995 wedding to Ted Danson. Steenburgen had personally known Clinton since he was governor of Arkansas when she resided in Little Rock. The President celebrated his 51st birthday at the Marthas Vineyard home of the couple.
Discovered by Jack Nicholson in the reception room of Paramounts New York office. Nicholson cast her as his leading lady in Goin South , Steenburgens feature debut.
When she lived in a Manhattan apartment, her next door neighbor was Steve Martin.
She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 16, 2009.
Stepmother of Kate Danson and Alexis Danson.
Has Dutch, English, Scottish and Welsh ancestry.
Her mother, Nellie May Wall Steenburgen, died on January 26, 2010 at age 86.
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 27, a daughter Lilly Amanda McDowell (aka Lilly McDowell ) on January 22, 1981. Childs father is her 1st [now ex] husband, Malcolm McDowell.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 30, a son Charles Malcolm McDowell (aka Charlie McDowell ) on July 10, 1983. Childs father is her 1st [now ex] husband, Malcolm McDowell.
Became a grandmother for the 1st time at age 58 when her daughter Lilly McDowell gave birth to a daughter, Clementine Mae Walton in January 2012.
Was the 84th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Melvin and Howard at The 53rd Annual Academy Awards on March 31, 1981.
Parents are Maurice H. Steenburgen (1914-1989) and Nellie May Wall Steenburgen (1923-2010).
Was in the film End of the Line in which she played the wife of a railroad worker. The film used Union Pacific tracks in Arkansas, which were formerly the tracks of the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Marys father was a freight train conductor on the Missouri Pacific Railroad in Arkansas.
Is one of 27 actresses to have won an Academy Award for their performance in a comedy; hers being for Melvin and Howard . The others, in chronological order, are: Claudette Colbert ( It Happened One Night ), Loretta Young ( The Farmers Daughter ), Josephine Hull ( Harvey ), Judy Holliday ( Born Yesterday ), Audrey Hepburn ( Roman Holiday ), Goldie Hawn ( Cactus Flower ), Glenda Jackson ( A Touch of Class ), Lee Grant ( Shampoo ), Diane Keaton ( Annie Hall ), Maggie Smith ( California Suite ), Jessica Lange ( Tootsie ), Anjelica Huston ( Prizzis Honor ), Olympia Dukakis ( Moonstruck ), Cher ( Moonstruck ), Jessica Tandy ( Driving Miss Daisy ), Mercedes Ruehl ( The Fisher King ),Marisa Tomei ( My Cousin Vinny ), Dianne Wiest ( Bullets Over Broadway ), Mira Sorvino ( Mighty Aphrodite ), Frances McDormand ( Fargo ), Helen Hunt ( As Good as It Gets ), Judi Dench ( Shakespeare in Love ), Gwyneth Paltrow ( Shakespeare in Love ), Penlope Cruz ( Vicky Cristina Barcelona ), and Jennifer Lawrence ( Silver Linings Playbook ).
Is one of 6 actresses to have won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing a character who is pregnant at some point during the film, hers being for Melvin and Howard . The others are Mary Astor for The Great Lie , Kim Hunter for A Streetcar Named Desire , Brenda Fricker for My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown , Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener , and Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls .
I think that we need to look hard at our beliefs and be responsible,about how we speak out.
I was definitely the one that was least likely to get it, because,everyone else was an already established star.
I was this person with this weird last name from New York that no one,had ever heard of. But my screen test I guess, according to him, was,the best. So I got the part, which was incredible.
I grew up believing in Santa Claus, and we still treat our house at Christmas with a huge reverence for that belief - even though our children are 19 through 23.
I studied with Sandy Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse. I was in the last class to study with him before he had his larynx removed, so I actually remember the sound of his voice. He was an incredible teacher.
I love to paint. And I have another profession - an interior design business. .
