Early life

Margo Martindale was born July 18, 1951 in Jacksonville, Texas, the youngest of three children and only daughter of William Everett and Margaret (Pruitt) Martindale. In addition to owning and operating a lumber company in Jacksonville, her father was known as a champion dog handler in Texas and throughout the southern United States.

Her oldest brother is professional golfer and golf course designer Billy Martindale. Middle child, brother Bobby Tim, died in 2004. Margo Martindale participated in golf, cheerleading and drama while in school and was crowned "Football Sweetheart" as well as "Miss Jacksonville High School 1969."

Following graduation from Jacksonville High School in 1969, Martindale attended Lon Morris College, then transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. While at Michigan, she did summer study at Harvard University, appearing onstage with future movie and TV stars Jonathan Frakes and Christopher Reeve.

Career

Theater

In the early 1980s, Martindale worked for four years at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in Kentucky. While there she became good friends with fellow actress Kathy Bates. Margo Martindale made her Broadway debut in 2004 as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, for her work in the role. Prior to that, Martindale had starred in several Off-Broadway stage productions, most notably as Truvy Jones in the 1987 production of Steel Magnolias. Other Off-Broadway appearances include Always...Patsy Cline and The Sugar Bean Sisters.

Film

Her film roles include turns as Susan Sarandon's character's fellow nun in Dead Man Walking, and, again with Sarandon, in Lorenzo's Oil. She appeared as Leonardo DiCaprio's character's doctor in Marvin's Room; and as Hilary Swank's character's selfish mother in Million Dollar Baby. Other films include The Human Stain with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, 28 Days with Sandra Bullock, Proof of Life with Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan and Practical Magic again with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. She was also featured in Paris, je t'aime, starring in the final segment directed by Alexander Payne. She played Mama Cox in the 2007 film Walk Hard and played Ruby, Miley Stewart's maternal grandmother, in Hannah Montana: The Movie and Miss Elizabeth Ham in the movie Secretariat, starring Diane Lane.

Martindale had a role in August: Osage County (2013), a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts. She played Mattie Fae Aiken, the sister of lead character Violet Weston (Meryl Streep). Other major cast in the project included Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and Sam Shepard. Filming took place in the fall and winter of 2012.

Television

One of Martindale's first television roles came in the miniseries Lonesome Dove. A series of character and guest appearances followed in a wide range of TV shows. Martindale played recurring character Camilla Figg on the first three seasons of Dexter and had a recurring role in the A&E courtroom drama 100 Centre Street with Alan Arkin. In 2007-2008, she had a recurring role as Nina Burns, a neighbor of the Malloy/"Rich" family in The Riches with Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard.

In 2011, Martindale joined the cast of Justified for the second season. She played the role of Mags Bennett, matriarch of the Bennett crime family which controlled much of the drug activity in the fictional version of Harlan County, Kentucky. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance. After learning of the nomination, Martindale told CNN she hoped that it would open up more doors for older women in Hollywood. "People really identify with this character and I think it's because it is a character that is powerful and older and extremely mean," said Martindale.

She won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for her role as Mags Bennett. In her acceptance speech Martindale said "Who said turning sixty was a bad thing" and "I'm so excited, and dead on this show," making reference to the self-inflicted demise of her character in the Justified season 2 finale.

In February 2012 it was announced Martindale had been cast in the ABC comedy pilot Counter Culture, which was not picked up.

Martindale returned to television in late January 2013 in the spy drama The Americans on FX Network. She plays Claudia, the KGB "handler" of two Soviet spies living in 1980s Cold War America. She also starred in the sitcom The Millers on CBS. In 2015, she began a recurring role as Ruth Eastman, Peter Florrick's new campaign manager on The Good Wife.

Martindale also appears as a fictionalized version of herself on the Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman. Bojack consistently refers to her as "Character Actress Margo Martindale."

Martindale portrayed a Dry-cleaning employee in a Yoplait yogurt commercial.

Personal life

Margo Martindale has been married to musician Bill Boals since 1986. They have a daughter, Margaret.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Days of Thunder	Donna
1991	Rocketeer, TheThe Rocketeer	Millie
1992	Lorenzo's Oil	Wendy Gimble
1993	Emma and Elvis	Jenny
1993	Firm, TheThe Firm	Nina Huff
1994	Nobody's Fool	Birdy
1995	Dead Man Walking	Sister Collegeville
1995	Sabrina	Nurse
1996	Marvin's Room	Dr. Charlotte
1996	Ghosts of Mississippi	Clara Mayfield
1997	Critical Care	Constance "Connie" Potter
1997	Eye of the God	Dorothy
1998	Twilight	Gloria Lamar
1998	Practical Magic	Linda Bennett
1999	In Dreams	Nurse Floyd
1999	Ride with the Devil	Wilma Brown
2000	28 Days	Betty
2000	Proof of Life	Ivy
2002	Hours, TheThe Hours	Mrs. Latch
2003	It's All About Love	Betsy
2003	Human Stain, TheThe Human Stain	Psychologist
2004	Best Thief in the World, TheThe Best Thief in the World	Miss Mason
2004	Million Dollar Baby	Earline Fitzgerald
2006	Out There	Jeri
2006	Wedding Daze	Betsy
2006	Paris, je t'aime	Carol
2007	Savages, TheThe Savages	Roz
2007	Rocket Science	Coach Lumbly
2007	Mo	Pam
2007	Death and Life of Bobby Z, TheThe Death and Life of Bobby Z	Macy
2007	Rails & Ties	Judy Neasy
2007	Feast of Love	Mrs. Maggarolian
2007	Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story	Ma Cox
2008	Management	Trish
2009	Winning Season, TheThe Winning Season	Donna
2009	Hannah Montana: The Movie	Ruby
2009	Orphan	Dr. Browning
2009	La soga	Flannigan
2010	Forged	Dianne
2010	Secretariat	Elizabeth Hamm
2010	Main Street	Myrtle Parker
2011	Win Win	Eleanor
2011	Scalene	Janice Trimble
2013	Beautiful Creatures	Aunt Del
2013	Bluebird	Crystal
2013	August: Osage County	Mattie Fae Aiken
2014	Heaven is for Real	Nancy Rawling
2016	The Hollars	Sally
2016	The Boss	Sister Agnes Aluminata
2016	Mother's Day	Flo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	Child Saver, TheThe Child Saver	Alma	TV film
1989	Lonesome Dove	Buffalo Heiffer	Episode: "The Plains"
1994	New York Undercover	Nurse Warner	Episode: "Tasha"
1996	Law & Order	Ms. Best	Episode: "Atonement"
1996	Ruby Jean and Joe	Frankie	TV film
1997	...First Do No Harm	Marjean	TV film
1999	Homicide: Life on the Street	Verna Henderson	Episode: "The Same Coin"
1999	Earthly Possessions	Libby	TV film
1999	Snoops	Hannah Larson	Episode: "Pilot"
2000	Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder	Linda Hoffmann-Pugh	TV film
2001	Welcome to New York	Rose	Episode: "Dusting Diva"
2001	Girl Thing, AA Girl Thing	May	TV film
2001	What Girls Learn	Lainey	TV film
2001-2002	100 Centre Street	Michelle Grande	(14 episodes)
2002	Laramie Project, TheThe Laramie Project	Trish Steger	TV film
2003	Ed	Amanda Myers	Episode: "Partners"
2003	Unexpected Love, AnAn Unexpected Love	Maggie	TV film
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Harriot Blatch	TV film
2004	Plainsong	Mrs. Beckman	TV film
2005	Silver Bells	Mrs. Quinn	TV film
2005-2006	Medium	Catherine	3 episodes
2006	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Rita Gabler	Episode: "Cage"
2006-2008	Dexter	Camilla	5 episodes
2007-2008	Riches, TheThe Riches	Nina Burns	Regular role (20 episodes)
2009	Hung	Molly	Episode: "The Pickle Jar"
2009-2010	Mercy	Nurse Klowden	Recurring role (11 episodes)
2011	Harry's Law	Gina Powell	Episode: "Innocent Man"
2011	Justified	Mags Bennett	Recurring role (10 episodes)
2011	Chaos	Doris Balshik	Episodes: "Pilot", "Proof of Life"
2011-2012	Gifted Man, AA Gifted Man	Rita Perkins-Hall	Main role (16 episodes)
2012	Counter Culture	Billie	TV film
2012	Suits	Nell Sawyer	Episode: "Meet the New Boss"
2012	Person of Interest	Barbara Russell	Episode: "Bad Code"
2013	Smash	Miriam Abramson	Episode: "The Fallout"
2013	New Girl	Bonnie	Episode: "Chicago"
2013	Masters of Sex	Miss Horchow	Episode: "Pilot"
2013-2014	Millers, TheThe Millers	Carol Miller	Main role
2013-present	Americans, TheThe Americans	Claudia	Recurring role (15 episodes)
2014-present	BoJack Horseman	Character Actress Margo Martindale (voice)	Guest starring (3 episodes), fictionalized version of self
2015	Mike & Molly	Rosemary Ritter	2 episodes: "Mudlick or Bust" and "Mother From Another Mudlick"
2015-2016	The Good Wife	Ruth Eastman	Recurring role (13 episodes)
2015	Sneaky Pete	Audrey

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations
Year	Award	Category	Film	Result
2004	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Cat on a Hot Tin Roof	Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play		Nominated
	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play		Nominated
2011	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series	Justified	Won
	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series		Won
	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries, or Television Film		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama		Nominated
2013	Online Film & Television Association Award	Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series	The Americans	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series		Nominated
2014	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries, or Television Film		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	August: Osage County	Nominated
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	The Americans	Nominated
2015	Gracie Awards	Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured or Guest Role		Won
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series		Won
2016	Critics Choice Awards	Best Guest Actor/Actress in a Drama Series	The Good Wife	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]