Mary Eileen McDonnell (born April 28, 1952) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles as Stands With A Fist in Dances with Wolves and May-Alice Culhane in Passion Fish. McDonnell is well known for her performances as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica, the First Lady in Independence Day, and Rose in Donnie Darko. She currently stars as Captain Sharon Raydor on the TNT series Major Crimes.

Biography

McDonnell was born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and was raised in Ithaca, New York. She is the daughter of Eileen (née Mundy; 1921–1990) and John "Jack" McDonnell (1923–1973), a computer consultant. Her siblings are Jane (1950–2005), Sally, Judith, Jackie, and John. She is of Irish descent. After graduating from the State University of New York at Fredonia, she attended drama school and joined the East Coast's prestigious Long Wharf Theatre Company, with which she worked for over 20 years. McDonnell is married to Randle Mell (born 1951), who is also an actor. McDonnell and Mell currently reside in Pacific Palisades, California. They have two children: Olivia (born 1987) and Michael (born 1994).

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