Early life

Ann Dowd was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts on January 30, 1956, the daughter of John (1926-1974) and Dolores (née Clark) Dowd. She is one of seven children (siblings, Kathleen, John, Elizabeth, Clare, Deborah, and Gregory), who were raised by her single mother after her father died when she was a senior in high school. Her mother later re-married to Philip Dean (1929-2010), a doctor. Her brother, Gregory, is a doctor of veterinary medicine and another brother, John Dowd Jr., works for The Dowd Agencies, an insurance company started by her great-grandfather. Her paternal grandfather was James "Kip" Dowd, a former Major League baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Dowd's family is Irish Catholic. She attended the Williston Northampton School, where she performed in school plays. Dowd became interested in acting at a young age but was dissuaded by her family at first because they did not approve of her pursuing an acting career. She graduated in 1978 from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass where much of Dowd's family also attended and she was a premed student and took acting classes. Dowd credits her instructors and roommate at that time for persuading her to forgo medical school and follow her passion for acting. She traveled to New York City to audition for the Goodman School of Drama at Depaul University in Chicago, where she received an MFA in Acting. While at Depaul, Dowd received a prestigious scholarship from the Sarah Siddons Society, an award that had also gone to Carrie Snodgress. Dowd was classmates with Elizabeth Perkins and also worked as a waitress during this time.

Dowd spent several years performing in regional theatre in the Chicago area, performing often at the Court Theatre, later deciding in 1988 to move to New York City to pursue a bigger stage. She pounded the pavement and her first acting gig there was with the Hartford Stage Company.

Film

Dowd starred in Shiloh (1997) and its sequels, Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season (1999) and Saving Shiloh (2006) as Louise Preston. She appears in the 1997 cult film All Over Me and in the 1998 film Apt Pupil, in which she played the mother of Brad Renfro's character. Dowd has acted in two films directed by Jonathan Demme, as Jill Beckett, sister of Tom Hanks's character, Andrew Beckett, in Philadelphia (1993), and in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), starring Meryl Streep. Also in 2004, Dowd played the mother of Natalie Portman in Garden State and appeared in The Forgotten starring Julianne Moore. In 2005, she starred opposite Gretchen Mol in The Notorious Bettie Page, portraying Edna Page, Bettie Page's mother. She also played the role of Mrs. Strank in the 2006 Clint Eastwood film Flags of Our Fathers.

In 2008, Dowd appeared in Marley & Me starring Jennifer Aniston. She received rave reviews for her work in the 2012 movie Compliance, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In the film, Dowd plays Sandra, a fast food restaurant manager caught in a mysterious ethical nightmare. For this role, Dowd was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress and received the National Board of Review award. She has played supporting roles in two Steven Soderbergh films, The Informant! in 2009, and Side Effects in 2013 in which she played the mother of Channing Tatum's character.

Television

Dowd's first appearance was in the 1985 television movie First Steps with fellow Chicago actor Megan Mullally. She has appeared in many popular television shows including House and Louie, on both of which she played a nun. Other shows include Chicago Hope, The X-Files, Third Watch, NYPD Blue, Judging Amy and Freaks and Geeks, in which she played the mother of Busy Phillips. Dowd has also appeared in many episodes of the Law & Order franchise. In 1995 she portrayed Rose Long, Louisiana's first female senator, in the television movie Kingfish, opposite John Goodman. In 2008 she appeared in the television movie Taking Chance starring Kevin Bacon. Dowd was a series regular on Nothing Sacred, which was filmed in Los Angeles and aired for one season (97/98), in which she played a nun. For this role she was nominated for a VQT award for Best Supporting Actress. Dowd currently co-stars on The Leftovers as Patti Levin, leader of the group The Guilty Remnant.

Theatre

Dowd has appeared on Broadway three times. In 1993 she received the Clarence Derwent Award for her Broadway debut performance in the play Candida starring Mary Steenburgen. She next appeared in Taking Sides (1996) with Elizabeth Marvel, and Vera Farmiga, who was Dowd's understudy. In 2008 she appeared in The Seagull starring Carey Mulligan and Kristin Scott Thomas. Dowd has also won three Jeff Awards for her work in Chicago theatre, including a 1987 Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Emma Brookner in The Normal Heart. In 2007, Dowd played the role of Sister Aloysius in Doubt at the George Street Playhouse. The New York Times described her performance as "..chilling..and ..masterful in this role. In 2011, Dowd performed Off-Broadway in Blood from a Stone, playing the mother of Ethan Hawke.

Personal life

Dowd and her husband both coach acting and are frequent collaborators. Her husband is Lawrence "Larry" Arancio, a writer and acting chair for the CAP21 program who has also taught at the HB Studio and Columbia College Chicago. Arancio has worked with Lady Gaga as her acting coach. Dowd and Arancio met while students in Chicago, Arancio being from New York City. They have three children, Liam, Emily, and Trust, and reside in New York City. Dowd is a foster care advocate.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Green Card	Peggy
1992	Lorenzo's Oil	Pediatrician
1993	Philadelphia	Jill Beckett
1994	It Could Happen to You	Carole
1995	Bushwhacked	Mrs. Patterson
1996	Shiloh	Louise Preston
1997	All Over Me	Anne
1998	Apt Pupil	Monica Bowden
1999	Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season	Louise Preston
2001	Amy & Isabelle	Lenora
2004	Garden State	Olivia
2005	The Notorious Bettie Page	Edna Page
2006	Saving Shiloh	Louise Preston
2006	Flags of Our Fathers	Mrs. Strank
2007	Alice Upside Down	Aunt Sally
2007	Gardener of Eden	Ma Harris
2007	The Living Wake	Librarian
2007	The Babysitters	Tammy Lyner
2008	Marley & Me	Dr. Platt
2011	The Art of Getting By	Mrs. Grimes
2012	Compliance	Sandra
2012	Bachelorette	Victoria
2013	Gimme Shelter	Kathy
2013	Side Effects	Mrs. Taylor
2014	St. Vincent	Shirley
2014	The Drop	Dottie Stipler
2015	Our Brand Is Crisis	Nell
2016	Oppenheimer Strategies	Carol Raskin
2016	Captain Fantastic
2016	Collateral Beauty		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	First Steps	Debby	Television movie
1990	The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd	Nurse Courtney	Episode:" Here's a Rare Photo Opportunity"
1991	Law & Order	Teresa Franz	Episode: "Sonata for Solo Organ"
1994	Law & Order	Dorothy Baxter	Episode: "Breeder"
1994	Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III	Maureen	3 episodes
1994	The Cosby Mysteries	N/A	Television movie
1995	Chicago Hope	Eleanor Robertson	Episode: "Growth Pains"
1995	Kingfish: A Story of Huey Long	Rose McConnell Long	Television movie
1996	Law & Order	Patricia Smith	Episode: "Pro Se"
1997-1998	Nothing Sacred	Sister Maureen "Mo" Brody	20 episodes
1999-2000	Judging Amy	Mrs. Schleewee	2 episodes
1999	Providence	Mary	Episode: "Home Again"
1999	The X-Files	Mrs. Reed	Episode: "Rush"
2000	NYPD Blue	Ann Collins	Episode: "Along Came Jones"
2000	Freaks and Geeks	Cookie Kelly	2 episodes
2000	Family Law	N/A	Episode: "Love and Money"
2001-2002	The Education of Max Bickford	Jean	3 episodes
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Louise Durning	Episode: "Victims"
2002-2003	Third Watch	Sgt. Beth Markham	3 episodes
2003	Law & Order	Dr. Beth Allison	Episode: "Compassion"
2003	Touched by an Angel	Paula	Episode: "Song for My Father"
2003	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Sally Wilkens	Episode: "Soulless"
2004	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Laurie Manotti	Episode: "Inert Dwarf"
2004	House	Mother Superior	Episode: "Damned If You Do"
2005	Law & Order: Trial by Jury	Karen Ames	Episode: "Truth or Consequences"
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lillian Siefeld	Episode: "Lead"
2009	Taking Chance	Gretchen	Television movie
2010	Louie	Nun	Episode; "God"
2011	Pan Am	Marjorie Lowrey	Episode: "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
2013-2014	Masters of Sex	Estabrook Masters	7 episodes
2014	Love's a Bitch	Wes' Mom	Episode: "Family Time"
2014	The Divide	Ida Bankowski	2 episodes
2014	True Detective	Betty Childress	Episode: "Form and Void"
2014-present	The Leftovers	Patti Levin	14 episodes
2014	Olive Kitteridge	Bonnie Newton	4 episodes
2014	Big Driver	Ramona Norville	Television movie

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Candida	Miss Proserpine Garnett
1996	Taking Sides	Tamara Sachs
2008	The Seagull	Polina

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1998	Viewers for Quality Television	Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series	Nothing Sacred	Nominated
2012	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Compliance	Nominated
	National Board of Review	Best Supporting Actress		Won
	St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress		Won
	Utah Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
2013	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Female		Nominated
	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
	Toronto Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated
2015	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	The Leftovers	Nominated
2016	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]