This soft-spoken, offbeat, and appealing stage-trained actress won raves and a Best Supporting Actress... (Learn more)
Top Projects: Joan of Arcadia, Noah's Ark, Parenthood (View All)
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Mary Steenburgen’s Milestones
| Born and raised in Arkansas | |
| Co-founded (with four other Playhouse graduates) and acted with Cracked Tokens, an improvisational comedy troupe | |
| Invited to return for the second year program; eliminated her thick Southern accent | |
| Performed with Cracked Tokens for the NYC Bureau of Alcoholism | |
| 1972 | Moved to NYC and sold books at Doubleday's while attending the first-year program at the Neighborhood Playhouse |
| 1978 | Made film debut in Jack Nicholson's western, "Goin' South" |
| 1979 | First leading role in a feature, "Time After Time" playing a modern woman who falls in love with author H.G. Wells (played by husband-to-be Malcolm McDowell) |
| 1980 | Won an Academy Award for her performance in Jonathan Demme's "Melvin and Howard" as the wife of a man who claims to have befriended reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes |
| 1982 | Featured in Woody Allen's "A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy" |
| 1985 | TV debut, playing the lead in the Showtime adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender Is the Night" |
| 1987 | Made London stage debut in Lindsay Anderson's "Holiday" |
| 1988 | Earned an Emmy nomination for her role in the CBS movie "The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank" |
| 1988 | Executive producing debut, "End of the Line"; also co-starred |
| 1989 | Played Steve Martin's wife in the Ron Howard directed "Parenthood" |
| 1990 | Played Clara Clayton, Doc's love interest, in Robert Zemeckis' "Back to the Future Part III" |
| 1991 - 1993 | Provided the voice of Clara Clayton for the CBS Saturday morning cartoon "Back to the Future: The Animated Series" |
| 1993 | Made Broadway stage debut in the title role of "Candida" |
| 1993 | Played an adulterous wife, having an affair with Johnny Depp in Lasse Hallström's "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" |
| 1994 | Made Los Angeles stage debut in "Marvin's Room" |
| 1995 | Portrayed the mother of Richard Nixon in the Oliver Stone biopic "Nixon" |
| 1996 - 1997 | Cast opposite real-life husband Ted Danson in the CBS sitcom "Ink" |
| 1996 | Played the wife of the title character, opposite husband Ted Danson in the NBC miniseries, "Gulliver's Travels" |
| 2000 | Appeared several times opposite real life husband, Ted Danson on Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (HBO) |
| 2000 | Returned to the NYC stage in "The Beginning of August" |
| 2001 | Featured in the drama, "Life as a House" starring Kevin Kline |
| 2002 | Joined the ensemble cast of "Sunshine State" written and directed by John Sayles |
| 2003 - 2005 | Cast as the title character's mother in the CBS drama "Joan of Arcadia" |
| 2003 | Played the wife of James Caan in the Jon Favreau comedy "Elf" |
| 2006 | Played the title role in Randall Miller's "Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School" |
| 2007 | Co-starred with Jodie Foster in the crime drama, "The Brave One" |
| 2008 | Cast as Will Ferrell's mother in the comedy "Step Brothers" |
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