Mary Steenburgen

Mary Nell Steenburgen[1] (/ˈstiːnbɜːrɡən/) (born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York’s Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film Goin’ South. Steenburgen went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in Jonathan Demme’s 1980 comedy-drama film Melvin and Howard, for which she received the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Steenburgen also received nominations for a Golden Globe Award for Miloš Forman’s drama film Ragtime (1981), a BAFTA TV Award for the drama miniseries Tender Is the Night (1985), and a Primetime Emmy Award for the television film The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank (1988). Her other film appearances include Time After Time (1979), Cross Creek (1983), Parenthood (1989), Back to the Future Part III (1990), Philadelphia (1993), What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Nixon (1995), Elf (2003), The Brave One (2007), Step Brothers (2008), The Proposal (2009), The Help (2011), A Walk in the Woods (2015), Book Club (2018), Happiest Season (2020), and Nightmare Alley (2021).