Frances McDormand on screen and stage
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Frances McDormand is an American actress and film producer who made her film debut in the Coen brothers' neo-noir Blood Simple (1984) and also made her Broadway debut in the revival Awake and Sing! in the same year.[1][2] In 1985, she starred in the crime drama series Hunter and played a police officer on the procedural drama Hill Street Blues.[3] For her performance as a sheriff's wife in Mississippi Burning (1988), she received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[4][5] In the same year, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for playing Stella Kowalski in the revival A Streetcar Named Desire.[6]
McDormand received critical acclaim and won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of a pregnant Minnesotan police chief in the Coen brothers' black comedy Fargo.[7][8] In the same year, she played a psychiatrist in legal thriller Primal Fear.[9] In 1997, McDormand garnered a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her role as a mechanic in the television film Hidden in America.[10][11] She was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as an overprotective mother in Almost Famous (2000).[12]
McDormand starred with Charlize Theron in both drama North Country and science fiction action film Æon Flux in 2005.[13] For the former, McDormand received a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.[14] She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as a single mother in Good People (2011).[15] McDormand garnered critical acclaim and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for playing the title character of an abrasive schoolteacher in Olive Kitteridge (2014), which she also produced.[10][16]
McDormand won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and her second Best Actress Oscar for her role as a mother seeking justice in the Martin McDonagh-directed crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).[17][18][19] For her performance as a vandwelling nomad in the Chloe Zhao-directed 2020 drama Nomadland, she received her third Best Actress Oscar and second BAFTA for Best Actress. She also produced the film and received both the Academy Award for Best Picture and the BAFTA Award for Best Film.[20][21]
Film
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Blood Simple | Abby | [22][23] | |
| 1985 | Crimewave | Nun | [24] | |
| 1987 | Raising Arizona | Dot | [24] | |
| 1988 | Mississippi Burning | Mrs. Pell | [24] | |
| 1989 | Chattahoochee | Mae Foley | [24] | |
| 1990 | Darkman | Julie Hastings | [24] | |
| Miller's Crossing | Mayor's Secretary | Uncredited | [24] | |
| Hidden Agenda | Ingrid Jessner | [25] | ||
| 1991 | Barton Fink | Stage Actress | Voice only; Uncredited | [26] |
| The Butcher's Wife | Grace | [27] | ||
| 1992 | Passed Away | Nora Scanlan | [24] | |
| 1993 | Short Cuts | Betty Weathers | [24] | |
| 1994 | Bleeding Hearts | Woman on TV | [28] | |
| 1995 | Beyond Rangoon | Andy Bowman | [29] | |
| Palookaville | June | [24] | ||
| 1996 | Fargo | Marge Gunderson | [30] | |
| Primal Fear | Dr. Molly Arrington | [9] | ||
| Lone Star | Bunny | [31] | ||
| 1997 | Paradise Road | Dr. Verstak | [32] | |
| 1998 | Johnny Skidmarks | Alice | [33] | |
| Madeline | Miss Clavel | [34] | ||
| Talk of Angels | Conlon | [35] | ||
| 2000 | Wonder Boys | Dean Sara Gaskell | [36] | |
| Almost Famous | Elaine Miller | [37] | ||
| 2001 | The Man Who Wasn't There | Doris Crane | [38] | |
| 2002 | Laurel Canyon | Jane | [24] | |
| Searching for Debra Winger | Herself | Documentary | ||
| City by the Sea | Michelle | [39] | ||
| 2003 | Something's Gotta Give | Zoe Barry | [40] | |
| 2005 | North Country | Glory | [24] | |
| Æon Flux | The Handler | [13] | ||
| 2006 | Friends with Money | Jane | [24] | |
| 2008 | Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day | Guinevere Pettigrew | [24] | |
| Burn After Reading | Linda Litzke | [24] | ||
| 2011 | This Must Be the Place | Jane | [24] | |
| Transformers: Dark of the Moon | Charlotte Mearing | [24] | ||
| 2012 | Moonrise Kingdom | Mrs. Bishop | [24] | |
| Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted | Captain Chantel DuBois | Voice only | [24] | |
| Promised Land | Sue Thomason | [24] | ||
| 2014 | Every Secret Thing | Newscaster | Voice only; Uncredited; Also producer | [41] |
| 2015 | The Good Dinosaur | Momma Ida | Voice only | [42] |
| 2016 | Hail, Caesar! | C. C. Calhoun | [43] | |
| 2017 | Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri | Mildred Hayes | [44] | |
| 2018 | Isle of Dogs | Interpreter Nelson | Voice only | [45] |
| 2020 | Nomadland | Fern | Also producer | [46] |
| 2021 | The French Dispatch | Lucinda Krementz | [47] | |
| The Tragedy of Macbeth | Lady Macbeth | Also producer | [48] | |
| 2022 | Women Talking | Scarface Janz | [49] | |
| 2024 | Wolfs | Pamela Dowd-Henry | Voice only | [50] |
| 2027 | Jack of Spades † | TBA | Post-production | [51] |
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Television
| Year(s) | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Hunter | Nina Sloan | Episode: "The Garbage Man" | [52] |
| Hill Street Blues | Connie Chapman | 6 episodes | [3] | |
| 1986 | Spenser: For Hire | Mary | Episode: "A Day's Wages" | [53] |
| The Twilight Zone | Amanda Strickland | Segment: "Need to Know" | [54] | |
| Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo | Brigette | Television film | [55] | |
| 1987 | Leg Work | Willie Pipal | 10 episodes | [24] |
| 1992 | Crazy in Love | Clare | Television film | [56] |
| 1995 | The Good Old Boys | Eve Calloway | [57] | |
| 1996 | Hidden in America | Gus | [58] | |
| 1998 | Sesame Street: Kids' Guide to Life: Big Bird Gets Lost | Herself | Short film | [59] |
| 2001 | American Experience | Victoria Price | Voice only; Documentary; Episode: "Scottsboro: An American Tragedy" | [60] |
| 2001–2002 | State of Grace | Narrator / Adult Hannah | Voice only; 39 episodes | [61] |
| 2006 | The Simpsons | Melanie Upfoot | Voice only; Episode: "Girls Just Want to Have Sums" | [62] |
| 2014 | Olive Kitteridge | Olive Kitteridge | 4 episodes; also executive producer | [63] |
| 2019–present | Good Omens | God | Voice only; 7 episodes | [64] |
Theater
| Year(s) | Title | Theater | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983–1984 | Painting Churches | Lamb's Theatre | Margaret Church | Understudy; November 22, 1983 – May 20, 1984 | [65][66] |
| 1984 | Awake and Sing! | Circle in the Square Theatre | Hennie Berger | March 8 – April 29 | [2] |
| 1988 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella Kowalski | February 20 – April 17 | [2] | |
| 1992–1993 | The Sisters Rosensweig | Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater | Pfeni Rosensweig | October 22, 1992 – February 28, 1993 | [65] |
| 1993 | The Swan | The Public Theater | Dora | November 9 – December 12 | [65] |
| 2002–2003 | Far Away | New York Theatre Workshop | Harper | November 11, 2002 – January 18, 2003 | [65] |
| 2006 | An Oak Tree | Barrow Street Theatre | Father | Each performance has a different guest actor playing Father | [65][67][68] |
| 2008 | The Country Girl | Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre | Georgie Elgin | April 27 – July 20 | [2] |
| 2011 | Good People | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre | Margaret | February 8 – May 29 | [2] |
| 2016 | Macbeth | Berkeley Repertory Theatre | Lady Macbeth / Weird Sister | February 19 – April 10 | [69] |