Early life

Steenburgen was born in Newport, Arkansas, to Nellie Mae (née Wall; 1923-2010), a school-board secretary, and Maurice Steenburgen (1914-1989), a freight-train conductor who worked at the Missouri Pacific Railroad. She has a sister, Nancy (Steenburgen) Kelly, a teacher. After graduating from high school, Steenburgen enrolled at Hendrix College to study drama. She subsequently traveled to Dallas, Texas under the suggestion of her drama teacher to audition for a slot in New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse, which she won.

Career

Early career

Steenburgen moved to Manhattan, New York City in 1972 after being selected by the Neighborhood Playhouse to study acting. She worked waitressing at Magic Pan and for Doubleday while studying under Will Esper.

Film career

Steenburgen's big break came when she was discovered by Jack Nicholson in the reception room of Paramount's New York office and was cast as the female lead in his second directorial effort, the 1978 Western Goin' South.

Steenburgen had a leading role in the 1979 film Time After Time as a modern woman who falls in love with author H. G. Wells, played by her future-first husband Malcolm McDowell.

In only her third film, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1980 film Melvin and Howard, playing Lynda Dummar, the wife of Melvin Dummar, then a trucker and aspiring singer, who claimed to have befriended reclusive eccentric Howard Hughes. Another notable film appearance came in the well-received 1983 film Cross Creek, in which she played Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling.

In Back to the Future Part III (1990), Steenburgen played Clara Clayton, a school teacher who falls in love with Doc Brown, played by Christopher Lloyd. She was persuaded to play the role by her children, as well as by fans of the Back to the Future films, and reprised the role by providing the character's voice in Back to the Future: The Animated Series.

Other performances have been: in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), as a woman who is having an affair with the title character (played by Johnny Depp); the role of Hannah Nixon in the Oliver Stone biopic, Nixon (1995); and in the Will Ferrell 2003 comedy Elf, as a woman who discovers that her husband is the father of one of Santa's elves.

In recent years, she has been in the comedy films, Step Brothers (2008), starring Will Ferrell, playing the mother of Ferrell's character; Four Christmases (2008) opposite Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon; and The Proposal (2009) opposite Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

Dirty Girl, which features Steenburgen along with Juno Temple, Milla Jovovich and William H. Macy, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed film The Help (2011), starring alongside Emma Stone, Viola Davis and Bryce Dallas Howard, and had a featured role as a lounge singer, who is the romantic interest in a love triangle, in the 2013 comedy Last Vegas.

She had a small part in A Walk in the Woods as Jeannie.

Television career

In television, Steenburgen starred as Kate Montgomery in the CBS sitcom Ink (1996) with her husband, Ted Danson, and co-starred with Danson as Mary Gulliver in the NBC miniseries Gulliver's Travels (1996). She had a recurring role as herself with Danson in the HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm. Steenburgen co-starred as Helen Girardi, the mother of Amber Tamblyn's title character in the CBS fantasy/family drama Joan of Arcadia. In 2011, she had a recurring role as Josephine in the HBO sitcom Bored to Death with Danson again. Steenburgen starred as Anastasia Lee in the 2011 FX pilot, Outlaw Country, but it was passed by the network. She finally appeared on FX in the dark sitcom Wilfred from 2011 through 2013 as Catherine Newman, the title character's eccentric and mentally ill mother. Steenburgen had a recurring role on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock from 2012 to 2013 where she played Diana Jessup.

In 2014, she began a recurring role as former Dixie Mafia boss Katherine Hale in the fifth and sixth seasons of the FX crime drama Justified.

On June 13, 2014, it was announced that Steenburgen would have a recurring role as Delia in the Netflix crime comedy-drama Orange Is the New Black in the third season.

Currently, she plays Gail Klosterman on The Last Man on Earth.

Personal life

In 1978, Steenburgen met and began dating actor Malcolm McDowell while both were co-starring in Time After Time. They married in 1980 and had two children together, daughter Lilly and son Charlie McDowell. Steenburgen and McDowell separated in 1989 and divorced in 1990.

On October 7, 1995, Steenburgen married actor Ted Danson, whom she met on the set of the film Pontiac Moon in 1993, and became the stepmother to Danson's daughters Kate and Alexis from his previous marriage to producer Cassandra Coates. Steenburgen currently resides in the Los Angeles area with her family.

An alumna of Hendrix College, Steenburgen received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 1989. In 2006, Steenburgen received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Lyon College in Batesville, Arkansas. In September 2005, she and Danson gave a guest lecture for students at the Clinton School of Public Service where they discussed their roles in public service as well as the foundations and causes in which they are involved.

Steenburgen is a close friend of former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and supported Clinton's 2008 Presidential campaign along with Danson.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Goin' South	Julia Tate Moon
1979	Time After Time	Amy
1980	Melvin and Howard	Lynda West Dummar
1981	Ragtime	Mother
1982	Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, AA Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy	Adrian
1983	Cross Creek	Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
1983	Romantic Comedy	Phoebe Craddock
1985	One Magic Christmas	Ginny Grainger
1987	Dead of Winter	Julie Rose / Katie McGovern / Evelyn
1987	Whales of August, TheThe Whales of August	Young Sarah
1987	End of the Line	Rose Pickett
1989	Miss Firecracker	Elain Rutledge
1989	Parenthood	Karen Buckman
1990	Back to the Future Part III	Clara Clayton Brown
1990	Long Walk Home, TheThe Long Walk Home	Narrator (voice)
1991	Butcher's Wife, TheThe Butcher's Wife	Stella Keefover
1993	What's Eating Gilbert Grape	Betty Carver
1993	Philadelphia	Belinda Conine
1994	Clifford	Sarah Davis
1994	Pontiac Moon	Katherine Bellamy
1994	It Runs in the Family	Mrs. Parker (Mother)
1995	My Family	Gloria
1995	Grass Harp, TheThe Grass Harp	Sister Ida
1995	Powder	Jessie Caldwell
1995	Nixon	Hannah Milhous Nixon
2001	Nobody's Baby	Estelle
2001	Trumpet of the Swan, TheThe Trumpet of the Swan	Mother (voice)
2001	Life as a House	Colleen Beck
2001	I Am Sam	Dr. Blake
2002	Sunshine State	Francine Pinkney
2002	Wish You Were Dead	Sally Rider
2003	Hope Springs	Joanie Fisher
2003	Casa de los Babys	Gayle
2003	Elf	Emily Hobbs
2005	Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School	Marienne Hotchkiss
2006	Dead Girl, TheThe Dead Girl	Leah's Mother
2007	Elvis and Annabelle	Geneva
2007	Nobel Son	Sarah Michaelson
2007	Numb	Dr. Blaine
2007	Brave One, TheThe Brave One	Carol
2007	Honeydripper	Amanda Winship
2008	Step Brothers	Nancy Huff
2008	Four Christmases	Marilyn
2009	In the Electric Mist	Bootsie Robicheaux
2009	Proposal, TheThe Proposal	Grace Paxton
2009	Open Road, TheThe Open Road	Katherine
2009	Did You Hear About the Morgans?	Emma Wheeler
2010	Dirty Girl	Peggy
2011	Keepin' It Real Estate	Claire	Short film
2011	Help, TheThe Help	Elain Stein
2012	Mrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood	Mary
2013	Last Vegas	Diana
2013	Brahmin Bulls	Helen West
2013	The Tale of the Princess Kaguya	The Bamboo Cutter's Wife	Voice role
2014	Song One	Karen
2015	A Walk in the Woods	Jeannie
2016	The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea	Julia	In post-production
2016	Katie Says Goodbye	TBA	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Faerie Tale Theatre	Mary / Little Red Riding Hood	Episode: "Little Red Riding Hood"
1985	Tender Is the Night	Nicole Warren Diver	Television miniseries
1988	Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank, TheThe Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank	Miep Gies	Television film
1991-92	Back to the Future	Clara Clayton (voice)	Main role (26 episodes)
1994	Gift, TheThe Gift	Catherine	Television short film
1995	Frasier	Marjorie (voice)	Episode: "Retirement Is Murder"
1996	Gulliver's Travels	Mary Gulliver	Television miniseries
1996-97	Ink	Kate Montgomery	Main role (22 episodes)
1998	About Sarah	Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey	Television film
1999	Noah's Ark	Naamah	Television film
2000	Picnic	Rosemary Sydney	Television film
2000-09	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Mary Steenburgen	5 episodes
2002	Living with the Dead	Det. Karen Condrin	Television film
2002	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Grace Rinato	Episode: "Denial"
2003-05	Joan of Arcadia	Helen Girardi	Main role (45 episodes)
2004	Becker	Patient	Episode: "DNR"
2004	It Must Be Love	Clem Gazelle	Television film
2004	Capital City	Elaine Summer	Television film
2007	Reinventing the Wheelers	Claire Wheeler	Television film
2009	Happiness Isn't Everything	Audrey Veill	Television film
2010	Southern Discomfort		Television film
2011-13	Wilfred	Catherine Newman	4 episodes
2011	Robot Chicken	Athena (voice)	Episode: "The Core, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover"
2011	Bored to Death	Josephine	4 episodes
2012	30 Rock	Diana Jessup	5 episodes
2012	Outlaw Country	Anastasia Lee	Television film
2014-15	Justified	Katherine Hale	13 episodes
2015	Orange Is the New Black	Delia Powell	5 episodes
2015	Togetherness	Linda	2 episodes
2015-present	The Last Man on Earth	Gail Klosterman	16 episodes
2015	7 Days in Hell	Louisa Poole	Television film
2015	Turkey Hollow	Aunt Cly

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1978	Golden Globe Awards	New Star of the Year - Actress	Goin' South	Nominated
1979	Saturn Awards	Best Actress	Time After Time	Won
1980	Academy Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Melvin and Howard	Won
1980	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Supporting Actress	Melvin and Howard	Won
1980	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture	Melvin and Howard	Won
1980	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress	Melvin and Howard	Won
1980	National Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Melvin and Howard	Won
1980	New York Film Critics Circle	Best Supporting Actress	Melvin and Howard	Won
1981	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture	Ragtime	Nominated
1985	Genie Awards	Actress in a Leading Role	One Magic Christmas	Nominated
1985	British Academy Television Awards	Best Actress	Tender Is the Night	Nominated
1988	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress - Miniseries or a Movie	The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank	Nominated
1989	Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress	Miss Firecracker	Nominated
1990	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Back to the Future Part III	Nominated
1995	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	Nixon	Nominated
1998	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie	About Sarah	Nominated
2004	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress - Television Series	Joan of Arcadia	Won
2011	Screen Actors Guild	Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture	The Help	Won

In addition to these recognitions, Steenburgen received the 1,337th star on Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 16, 2009.

Charities

Mary Steenburgen supports the following charitable cause: AIDS.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]