Early life

Metcalf was born in Carbondale, Illinois, the eldest of three children, with her brother James, and sister Linda, and was raised in Edwardsville, Illinois, which she has said "isn't anywhere near a theatre". Her father, James, was the budget director at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville at the time of his sudden death in 1984, and her mother, Libby, was a librarian. Her great-aunt was the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Zoë Akins. Metcalf is an alumna of Illinois State University, class of 1976. She worked as a "damn good" secretary while in college and thoroughly enjoyed seeing a pile of paper in the to-do box on one side of her desk move over to the completed side by the end of the day, as she often zoned in on the task at hand and worked through lunch. She originally majored in German thinking she could work as an interpreter and then in Anthropology before accepting that majoring in Theatre was her true passion, and has said that theatre work also involves the interpreting and studying human behavior. She has described herself as hideously shy, yet found the courage to audition for a few plays in high school and was "hooked", yet never considered acting as a career because of the unlikelihood of it actually leading to regular work. She liked bike riding as a child.

Career

Stage

Metcalf attended Illinois State University and obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Theater in 1977. While at ISU, she met fellow theater students, among them John Malkovich, Glenne Headly, Joan Allen, Terry Kinney, and Jeff Perry, the latter two of whom, along with Perry's high school classmate Gary Sinise, went on to establish Chicago's famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Metcalf began her professional career at Steppenwolf, of which she was a charter member. In 1983, Metcalf went to New York to appear in a Steppenwolf production of Balm in Gilead, for which she received the 1984 Obie Award for Best Actress and a 1984-1985 Theatre World Award (for best debut in a Broadway or Off-Broadway performance). Metcalf was showered with praise for her performance as "Darlene", and was specifically singled out for her tour de force twenty-minute Act Two monologue.

There's a moment when Laurie Metcalf - who plays this poor young thing that comes to the big city and hangs out at this greasy spoon diner where the play is set - is talking about her once boyfriend who is an albino; I think it's a monologue of about five, six, seven minutes. Just to sit there and watch and hear Laurie unspool that story, it just brought tears coming down your eyes-oh, boy, it was something.

— Chicago critic Richard Christiansen on Balm in Gilead

Thereafter, Metcalf relocated to Manhattan and began to work in both film and theater, including such productions as David Mamet's November.

Through the end of June 2009, Metcalf starred with French Stewart in Justin Tanner's play, Voice Lessons, in Hollywood before beginning rehearsals to play Kate Jerome in the Broadway revival of Neil Simon's semi-autobiographical plays Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, directed by David Cromer. The former production's run, however, lasted but one week, while the latter was canceled prior to opening. Voice Lessons, however, with its original cast intact, went on to two more runs - one Off-Broadway in May 2010, and another in Hollywood in May 2011.

In September 2010, Metcalf returned to Steppenwolf and starred in Lisa D'Amour's play, Detroit. In the Spring of 2011, she began work on an Off-Broadway play, The Other Place by Sharr White.

In 2012, Metcalf joined British actor David Suchet in a British stage production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night.

She performed in The Other Place again in 2013, this time on Broadway and earning a Tony nomination. She starred with her real life daughter, Zoe Perry. In October 2013, Metcalf performed with Jeff Goldblum in Domesticated, by playwright Bruce Norris at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater of Lincoln Center. She was then cast in the role of Annie Wilkes in the Broadway production of Stephen King's Misery, opposite Bruce Willis. The play premiered on Sunday, November 15, 2015. It received mixed reviews from critics, however Metcalf's performance was universally acclaimed. She received another Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.

Television and film

Metcalf has performed in roles that range from very large to very small in many films, including Desperately Seeking Susan, Making Mr. Right, Miles from Home, Internal Affairs, Stars and Bars, Beer League, Mistress, A Dangerous Woman, Uncle Buck, Blink, The Secret Life of Houses, Treasure Planet, Toy Story, Runaway Bride, Bulworth, Meet the Robinsons, Georgia Rule, Fun with Dick and Jane, Leaving Las Vegas, Scream 2, Stop Loss, and Hop.

Metcalf has often appeared against type in both film and television; in JFK, she played a dramatic role as one of Jim Garrison's chief investigators. She appeared as the murderous mother of Billy Loomis in the horror film Scream 2, and portrayed real-life Carolyn McCarthy in the television movie The Long Island Incident.

Metcalf has appeared in several television series, including being a cast member for a single episode of Saturday Night Live - the final episode of the show's tumultuous 1980-1981 season. In 1981, she appeared as a feature player on the first Dick Ebersol-produced episode of Saturday Night Live following the firing of Jean Doumanian. She appeared in a Weekend Update segment about taking a bullet for the President of the United States. Because of the sketch show's severe decline in quality at the time and the 1981 Writers Guild of America strike, the show was put on hiatus for retooling. Metcalf was never asked back to be a cast member.

Metcalf is perhaps best known for her role as "Jackie", the multiple-careered, low self-esteemed, amiable sister of the title character in the hit series Roseanne. Her performance garnered her three consecutive Emmy Awards. Roseanne ran from 1988 to 1997, and Laurie appeared as Jackie over the show's entire run.

She subsequently appeared with Norm Macdonald on The Norm Show (or Norm), which ran for three seasons, and was also a regular character on the 2003 Nathan Lane series Charlie Lawrence, which was cancelled after the airing of two episodes. Metcalf has made guest appearances on Absolutely Fabulous, Malcolm in the Middle, My Boys, Dharma & Greg, Frasier, The Big Bang Theory, Without a Trace, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Monk; she was nominated for the Emmy Award as Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series for both of the latter two listed roles.

She took a recurring role on Desperate Housewives - for which she received an Emmy (also in the category Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series) and a Satellite Award nomination - and also appeared alongside her ex-husband Jeff Perry in an episode of Grey's Anatomy. In fall 2008, Metcalf starred in the CW dramedy Easy Money, as the matriarch of a family of loan sharks. The series was canceled after three episodes.

Metcalf starred in HBO's Getting On during its run from 2013-2015.

Personal life

In 1983, Metcalf married Jeff Perry, co-founding member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. They had a daughter, Zoe, in 1984, and later divorced, in 1992.

Metcalf later began a relationship with Matt Roth, the Roseanne co-star who played her abusive boyfriend, Fisher. By November 1993 they had a son, Will, and eventually married. They also worked together on occasion, as in the 1994 feature film thriller Blink and the 1998 drama Chicago Cab; they also appeared together in an episode of Desperate Housewives. Their daughter, Mae Akins, was born in 2005 via surrogate. They had a second son, Donovan, whom they fostered at six years old in 2006 and permanently adopted. On November 26, 2008, Metcalf and Roth separated. In September 2011, Roth filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In May 2014, the divorce was finalized.

Metcalf enjoys doing yoga before a performance and practices all of her lines out loud before a show. She also enjoys playing Bananagrams and not wearing makeup. She has self-disclosed as a workaholic and that she is hard on herself during rehearsals. She has often said that she prefers theatre to any acting medium as it is where she feels most comfortable.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Wedding, AA Wedding	Maid	Uncredited Role
1985	Desperately Seeking Susan	Leslie Glass
1987	Making Mr. Right	Sandy
1988	Candy Mountain	Alice
1988	Stars and Bars	Melissa
1988	Appointments of Dennis Jennings, TheThe Appointments of Dennis Jennings	Emma	Short film
1988	Miles from Home	Exotic Dancer
1989	Uncle Buck	Marcie Dahlgren-Frost
1990	Internal Affairs	Amy Wallace
1990	Pacific Heights	Stephanie MacDonald
1991	JFK	Susie Cox
1992	Mistress	Rachel Landisman
1993	Dangerous Woman, AA Dangerous Woman	Anita Bell
1994	Secret Life of Houses, TheThe Secret Life of Houses	Ann
1994	Blink	Candice
1995	Leaving Las Vegas	Landlady
1995	Toy Story	Mrs. Davis	Voice role
1996	Dear God	Rebecca Frazen
1997	U Turn	Bus Station Clerk
1997	Chicago Cab	Female Ad Exec
1997	Scream 2	Debbie Loomis/Debbie Salt
1998	Bulworth	Mimi
1999	Runaway Bride	Betty Trout	Uncredited Role
1999	Toy Story 2	Mrs. Davis	Voice role
2000	Timecode	Dava Adair	Scenes Deleted
2002	Treasure Planet	Sarah Hawkins	Voice role
2005	Fun with Dick and Jane	Phyllis	Uncredited Role
2006	Steel City	Marianne Karn
2006	Beer League	Artie's Mom
2007	Meet the Robinsons	Lucille Krunklehorn-Robinson	Voice role
2007	Georgia Rule	Paula Richards
2008	Stop-Loss	Mrs. Colson
2008	Persepolis	Mother of a young teenage boy	Voice role
2010	Toy Story 3	Mrs. Davis	Voice role
2011	Hop	Mrs. Bunny	Voice role

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Saturday Night Live	Weekend Update Reporter	Episode 119
1985	Execution of Raymond Graham, TheThe Execution of Raymond Graham	Carol Graham	Television film
1986	Equalizer, TheThe Equalizer	Theresa	Episode: "No Conscience"
1988-97	Roseanne	Jackie Harris	221 episodes Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series (1992-94) Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series (1995) Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film (1993, 1995)
1995-96	Duckman		Voice role Episodes: "Research and Destroy" and "Forbidden Fruit"
1997	King of the Hill	Cissy Cobb	Episode: "Peggy the Boggle Champ"
1997	Eddie Files, TheThe Eddie Files	Special Agent Hicks	Episode: "Decimals - The Fake Money Caper"
1997	Life with Louie	Miss Kinney	Voice role Episode: "The Kiss Is the Thing"
1997	Dharma & Greg	Spyder	Episode: "Instant Dharma"
1998	Always Outnumbered	Halley Grimes	Television film
1998	Long Island Incident, TheThe Long Island Incident	Carolyn McCarthy	Television film
1998	3rd Rock from the Sun	Jennifer Ravelli	Episodes: "What's Love Got to Do, Got to Do With Dick?", "I Am Dick Pentameter!" and "D3 - Judgment Day" Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
1999	Balloon Farm	Casey Johnson	Television film
1999-2001	Norm Show, TheThe Norm Show	Laurie Freeman	54 episodes
2000	God, the Devil and Bob	Donna Allman	Voice role 13 episodes
2002	Two Families		Unsold pilot
2003	Phil at the Gate	Teddy Duffy	Unsold pilot
2003	Charlie Lawrence	Sarah Dolecek	7 episodes
2004	Malcolm in the Middle	Susan	Episode: "Lois's Sister"
2004	Frasier	Nanny G	Episode: "Caught in the Act"
2004	Absolutely Fabulous	Crystalline	Episode: "White Box"
2005	Without a Trace	Susan Hopkins	Episode: "A Day in the Life"
2006	Monk	Cora	Episode: "Mr. Monk Bumps His Head" Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
2006	Grey's Anatomy	Beatrice Carver	Episode: "The Name of the Game"
2006	Desperate Housewives	Carolyn Bigsby	4 episodes Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2006	My Boys	Aunt Phyllis	Episode: "When Heroes Fall from Grace"
2007	Virgin of Akron, Ohio, TheThe Virgin of Akron, Ohio	Lydia	Pilot episode
2007	Raines	Alice Brody	Episode: "Reconstructing Alice"
2007-present	Big Bang Theory, TheThe Big Bang Theory	Mary Cooper	Season 1-present (recurring)
2008-09	Easy Money	Bobette Buffkin	8 episodes
2009	Farm, TheThe Farm	Warden Margaret Elder	Unsold pilot
2013	Goodwin Games, TheThe Goodwin Games	Dr. Richland	2 episodes
2013-15	Getting On	Dr. Jenna James	Series regular
2014	Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories	Gabrielle	Episode: "Baby"
2014-15	The McCarthys	Marjorie McCarthy	Series regular
2016	Horace and Pete	Sarah	Guest star

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1992	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Roseanne	Won
1993	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Roseanne	Nominated
1993	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Roseanne	Won
1994	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Roseanne	Won
1995	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Roseanne	Nominated
1995	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Roseanne	Nominated
1999	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	3rd Rock from the Sun	Nominated
2006	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	Monk	Nominated
2006	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Desperate Housewives	Nominated
2007	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives	Nominated
2007	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives	Nominated
2008	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Play	November	Nominated
2009	Ovation Awards	Lead Actress in a Play	Voice Lessons	Nominated
2011	Ovation Awards	Lead Actress in a Play	Voice Lessons	Won
2013	Tony Awards	Best Actress in a Play	The Other Place	Nominated
2016	Tony Awards	Best Actress in a Play	Misery	Pending

[ Source: Wikipedia ]