Age: 52
Birthplace: Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada
Molly Parker (born June 30, 1972) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her roles in independent films, and for her roles in television as House Majority Whip Jacqueline Sharp on the Netflix Original Series House of Cards and as Alma Garret on the HBO series Deadwood. She won a Genie Award in 1997 as Best Actress in a Leading Role for Kissed, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award as best female lead in 2001 for her role in The Center of the World, and has twice been nominated for a Genie Award as best supporting actress (she won in 2002 for Last Wedding).
Parker was born in Maple Ridge, British Columbia and spent her childhood on a farm in Pitt Meadows. She attended ballet classes from ages 3 to 17 but began acting in local productions at age 14. Her uncle's agent represented her early in her career, when she had parts in various Canadian television roles before studying with Vancouver's Gastown Actors' Studio.
Parker portrayed Alice Ramsey in "The Wrath of Kali" (1995), a fourth season episode of Highlander: The Series. Her breakthrough role was as the daughter of a lesbian military officer in the TV movie Serving in Silence (1995). She then won a Gemini nomination for her performance in the TV movie Paris or Somewhere and later, the Genie Award for best actress for playing a necrophiliac in Lynne Stopkewich's film Kissed (1996).
Parker is known for taking on controversial roles, such as her aforementioned performance in Kissed, as a sympathetic lap dancer and paid escort in The Center of the World (2001), and a female rabbi in Six Feet Under. From 2004-06 she started on HBO's Deadwood.
In 2008, she starred in the CBS show Swingtown. She filmed a pilot for a series called The Wonderful Maladys, but the series was not picked up, and in 2010, she starred in the video for "Cold Love" by Tim Kasher.
In 2012, Parker joined the cast of the television series The Firm, based on John Grisham's eponymous 1991 novel and its 1993 film adaptation; she portrayed Abby McDeere, wife of Mitch McDeere (portrayed by Josh Lucas). She also made several appearances on the sixth season of the Showtime series Dexter.
In 2014, she appeared as Congresswoman Jacqueline Sharp in the second season of the Netflix series House of Cards. Parker continued in the role in seasons 3 and 4, released on Netflix in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
Her most recent project contains a role alongside Jamie Dornan, Sarah Gadon, and Aaron Paul in Miramax's upcoming supernatural thriller The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2016), which started shooting principal photography on Monday, October 27, 2014.
Parker is divorced from director, writer, and producer Matt Bissonnette. They have a son.
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992 | Hate Mail | Maggie | Short film |
1993 | Just One of the Girls | Lynne | Video |
1995 | Last of the Dogmen | nurse | Film |
1996 | Hard Core Logo | Jenifur | |
1996 | Kissed | Sandra Larson | |
1996 | Chain, TheThe Chain | Mathilde | Short film |
1997 | Bliss | Connie | |
1998 | Under Heaven | Cynthia | |
1998 | From Morning on I Waited Yesterday | Lina | Short film |
1999 | Wonderland | Molly | |
1999 | Five Senses, TheThe Five Senses | Anna Miller | |
1999 | Sunshine | Hannah Whippler | |
1999 | Intruder, TheThe Intruder | Daisy | |
1999 | Ladies Room | Julia | |
2000 | Waking the Dead | Juliet Beck | |
2000 | Suspicious River | Leila Murray | |
2001 | The War Bride | Sylvia | |
2001 | Center of the World, TheThe Center of the World | Florence | |
2001 | Last Wedding | Sarah | |
2001 | Rare Birds | Alice | |
2002 | Men with Brooms | Amy Foley | |
2002 | Looking for Leonard | Monica | |
2002 | Marion Bridge | Agnes | |
2002 | Max | Nina Rothman | |
2002 | Pure | Mel | |
2004 | Good Shepherd, TheThe Good Shepherd | Madeline Finney | |
2005 | Nine Lives | Lisa | |
2005 | Break a Leg | Kate | |
2006 | Wicker Man, TheThe Wicker Man | Sister Rose / Sister Thorn | |
2006 | Hollywoodland | Laurie Simo | |
2006 | Who Loves the Sun | Maggie Claire | |
2009 | The Road | Motherly Woman | |
2010 | Trigger | Kat | |
2010 | Oliver Sherman | Irene Page | |
2011 | That's What I Am | Sherri Nichol | |
2012 | Playroom, TheThe Playroom | Donna Cantwell | |
2013 | Hold Fast | Aunt Ellen | |
2015 | 9th Life of Louis Drax, TheThe 9th Life of Louis Drax | Post-production | |
2015 | Darwin | Lillian | Post-production |
2016 | American Pastoral | Dr. Sheila Smith | Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | My Son Johnny | Lori Spoda | TV film |
1991 | Neon Rider | Dora 'Susie' Brody | Episode: "Parent's Day" |
1992 | Neon Rider | Kate | Episode: "The Good, the Bad, and Eleanor" |
1992 | Nightmare Cafe | Ivy | Episode: "Fay & Ivy" |
1993 | Madison | Karen | Episode: "Tough Cries" |
1993 | Substitute, TheThe Substitute | Courtney | TV film |
1994 | One More Mountain | Eliza Williams | TV film |
1994 | Neon Rider | Gloria Miller | Episode: "St. Vincent" |
1994 | Paris or Somewhere | Peg Kennedy | TV film |
1995 | Marshal, TheThe Marshal | Teri Sinclair | Episode: "Pilot" |
1995 | Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story | Lynette | TV film |
1995 | Freefall: Flight 174 | Norma Sax | TV film |
1995 | Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky, TheThe Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky | Sue | TV film |
1995 | Outer Limits, TheThe Outer Limits | Jennifer | Episode: "If These Walls Could Talk" |
1995 | Deceived by Trust: A Moment of Truth Movie | Rachel Morton | TV film |
1995 | Highlander: The Series | Alice Ramsey | Episode: "The Wrath of Kali" |
1995 | Ebbie | Francine 'Frannie' | TV film |
1996 | Sentinel, TheThe Sentinel | The Switchman | Episode: "The Switchman" |
1996 | Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years | Frances Phillips | Episodes: "Betrayal", "When She Was Good" |
1996 | Poltergeist: The Legacy | Liz Barrow | Episode: "Do Not Go Gently" |
1996 | Titanic | Lulu Foley | TV miniseries |
1997 | Contagious | Flt. Att. Stephanie | TV film |
1997 | Intensity | Chyna Shepherd | TV film |
1998-2000 | Twitch City | Hope | Main role (13 episodes) |
2002 | Six Feet Under | Rabbi Ari | Episodes: "Back to the Garden", "The Liar and the Whore" |
2004 | Iron Jawed Angels | Emily Leighton | TV film |
2004-2006 | Deadwood | Alma Garret | Main role (36 episodes) |
2006 | Odd Job Jack | Alberta Malone (voice) | Episode: "Jack Ryder and the Fountain of Life" |
2008 | Swingtown | Susan Miller | Main role (13 episodes) |
2009 | Party Down | Melinda Weintraub | Episode: "James Rolf High School 20th Reunion" |
2010 | Human Target | Rebecca Brooks | Episode: "The Wife's Tale" |
2010 | Shattered | Ella Sullivan | Main role |
2010 | Wonderful Maladys, TheThe Wonderful Maladys | Mary Malady | Unsold TV pilot |
2010 | Quinn-tuplets, TheThe Quinn-tuplets | Rebecca Quinn-Adatto | TV film |
2011 | Gone | Amy Kettering | TV film |
2011 | Dexter | Lisa Marshall | (4 episodes) |
2011 | Meet Jane | Jane Bilinski | |
2012 | Hemingway & Gellhorn | Pauline Hemingway | TV film |
2012 | Firm, TheThe Firm | Abby McDeere | Main role (22 episodes) |
2013 | Motive | Chloe Myton | Episode: "Public Enemy" |
2013 | Pete's Christmas | Dr. Pamela Kidder | TV film |
2014 | Outlaw Prophet: Warren Jeffs | Janine Jeffs | TV film |
2014- | House of Cards | Jackie Sharp | Regular role (24 episodes) |
2015 | Heritage Minutes | Narrator | Voice role |