Frances McDormand

Frances McDormand

Birth : 1957-06-23, Chicago, Illinois, USA

History

An American film, stage and television actress. McDormand began her career on stage and made her screen debut in the 1984 film Blood Simple, having since appeared in several theatrical and television roles. McDormand has been recognized for her performances in 'Mississippi Burning' (1988), 'Short Cuts' (1993), 'Fargo' (1996), 'Wonder Boys' (2000), 'Almost Famous' (2000), 'North Country' (2005), 'Moonrise Kingdom' (2012), 'Hail, Caesar!' (2016), 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' (2017), 'Nomadland' (2020) and 'The Tragedy of Macbeth' (2021). Throughout her career, she has been nominated for eight Golden Globes, five Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, and three Emmy Awards. She is one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting", winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She won her first Academy Award for Best Actress in 1997 for her role as Marge Gunderson in 'Fargo'.  She also won Best Supporting Actress from the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Florida Film Critics Circle, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association for her performance in 'Wonder Boys' (2000). McDormand returned to the stage in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Good People on Broadway from February 8, 2011 to April 24, 2011. In 2017, McDormand starred in 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' which earned her a second Academy Award for Best Actress. McDormand has been married to filmmaker Joel Coen since 1984, they reside in New York City along with their adopted son Pedro.

Profile

Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand

Movies

Keys
Mrs. Key
A directionless piano player finds a key he should not have, suddenly leading him into a world of crime.
Women Talking
Producer
A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.
Women Talking
Scarface Janz
A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.
Crafting the Tragedy of Macbeth
Self
This behind the scenes documentary split across five chapters focuses on the many aspects of the filmmaking journey and includes interviews with lead actor and actress Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand. As well as various crew members.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Producer
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
The French Dispatch
Lucinda Krementz
The staff of an American magazine based in France puts out its last issue, with stories featuring an artist sentenced to life imprisonment, student riots, and a kidnapping resolved by a chef.
Nomadland
Producer
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Nomadland
Fern
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
The Oedipus Project
Jocosta
The Oedipus Project is an innovative new digital initiative by Theater of War Productions that will present acclaimed actors performing scenes from Sophocles’ Oedipus the King as a catalyst for powerful, healing online conversations about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic upon diverse communities throughout the world. Sophocles’ ancient play, written and performed in 429 BC during the time of a plague that killed one-third of the Athenian population, is a timeless story of arrogant leadership, ignored prophecy, and a pestilence that ravages the city of Thebes. At the time the play was first performed, the audience would have been reeling in the wake of a pestilence and its economic, political, and social aftermath. Seen through this lens Oedipus the King appears to have been a powerful public health tool for helping Athenians communalize the trauma of the plague, through a story that is as relevant now as it was in its own time.
The Origins of Ebbing
Herself/''Mildred''
Isle of Dogs
Interpreter Nelson (voice)
In the future, an outbreak of canine flu leads the mayor of a Japanese city to banish all dogs to an island that's a garbage dump. The outcasts must soon embark on an epic journey when a 12-year-old boy arrives on the island to find his beloved pet.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Mildred Hayes
After seven months have passed without a culprit in her daughter's murder case, Mildred Hayes makes a bold move, painting three signs leading into her town with a controversial message directed at Bill Willoughby, the town's revered chief of police. When his second-in-command Officer Jason Dixon, an immature mother's boy with a penchant for violence, gets involved, the battle between Mildred and Ebbing's law enforcement is only exacerbated.
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin
Self (voice)
The Untold Tales of Armistead Maupin celebrates one of the world’s most beloved storytellers, following his evolution from a conservative son of the Old South into a gay rights pioneer whose novels inspired millions to reclaim their lives.
Hail, Caesar!
C. C. Calhoun
When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.
The Good Dinosaur
Momma (voice)
An epic journey into the world of dinosaurs where an Apatosaurus named Arlo makes an unlikely human friend.
Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
Self
Martin Scali, who was Wes Anderson's assistant on "Fantastic Mr. Fox," shot this short documentary in Newport, Rhode Island, during the filming of "Moonrise Kingdom."
She's The Best Thing in It
Self
Mary Louise Wilson is the most accomplished character actor you've never heard of. While teaching skeptical young students, she examines whether her life has been successful.
Every Secret Thing
Producer
One clear summer day in a Baltimore suburb, a baby goes missing from her front porch. Two young girls serve seven years for the crime and are released into a town that hasn't fully forgiven or forgotten. Soon, another child is missing, and two detectives are called in to investigate the mystery in a community where everyone seems to have a secret.
Moonrise Kingdom: Welcome to the Island of New Penzance
Self
Narrator Bob Balaban briefly profiles Murray, Willis, Norton, and Anderson. There's some lovely behind-the-scenes clips here, and a few laughs.
Promised Land
Sue Thomason
A salesman for a natural gas company experiences life-changing events after arriving in a small town, where his corporation wants to tap into the available resources.
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Captain Chantel DuBois (voice)
Animal pals Alex, Marty, Melman, and Gloria are still trying to make it back to New York's Central Park Zoo. They are forced to take a detour to Europe to find the penguins and chimps who broke the bank at a Monte Carlo casino. When French animal-control officer Capitaine Chantel DuBois picks up their scent, Alex and company are forced to hide out in a traveling circus.
Moonrise Kingdom
Mrs. Bishop
Set on an island off the coast of New England in the summer of 1965, Moonrise Kingdom tells the story of two twelve-year-olds who fall in love, make a secret pact, and run away together into the wilderness. As various authorities try to hunt them down, a violent storm is brewing off-shore – and the peaceful island community is turned upside down in more ways than anyone can handle.
This Must Be the Place
Jane
A bored, retired rock star sets out to find his father's executioner, an ex-Nazi war criminal who is a refugee in the U.S.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Mearing
The Autobots continue to work for NEST, now no longer in secret. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.
The Botany of Desire
Narrator
Featuring Michael Pollan and based on his best-selling book, this special takes viewers on an exploration of the human relationship with the plant world -- seen from the plants' point of view. Narrated by Frances McDormand, the program shows how four familiar species -- the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato -- evolved to satisfy our yearnings for sweetness, beauty, intoxication.
Burn After Reading
Linda Litzke
When a disc containing memoirs of a former CIA analyst falls into the hands of gym employees, Linda and Chad, they see a chance to make enough money for Linda to have life-changing cosmetic surgery. Predictably, events whirl out of control for the duo, and those in their orbit.
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Guinevere Pettigrew
London, England, on the eve of World War II. Guinevere Pettigrew, a strict governess who is unable to keep a job, is fired again. Lost in the hostile city, a series of fortunate circumstances lead her to meet Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous and dazzling American jazz singer whose life is a chaos ruled by indecision, a continuous battle between love and fame.
Friends with Money
Jane
After she quits her lucrative job, Olivia finds herself unsure about her future and her relationships with her successful and wealthy friends.
Æon Flux
Handler
400 years into the future, disease has wiped out the majority of the world's population, except one walled city, Bregna, ruled by a congress of scientists. When Æon Flux, the top operative in the underground 'Monican' rebellion, is sent on a mission to kill a government leader, she uncovers a world of secrets.
North Country
Glory
A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States -- Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.
Something's Gotta Give
Zoe
Harry Sanborn is an aged music industry exec with a fondness for younger women like Marin, his latest trophy girlfriend. Things get a little awkward when Harry suffers a heart attack at the home of Marin's mother, Erica. Left in the care of Erica and his doctor, a love triangle starts to take shape.
Sesame Street: Big Bird Gets Lost
Herself
When Big Bird and Maria go to the ABCD-Mart to buy some skates for Snuffy's birthday, Big Bird forgets all about sticking together and takes off after a runaway skate. Now that he's lost, will he remember what to do, and where to go for help? Will Maria find him in time for Snuffy's party. Look for a special message from Frances McDormand to parents at the end.
Minnesota Nice
Self
A collection of cast interviews and behind-the-scenes clips from the Cohen brother's Academy Award-winning film Fargo.
Laurel Canyon
Jane
Laurel Canyon focuses on Sam and Alex, a pair of upper-middle class lovebirds from the East Coast who relocate to Los Angeles. Enter Jane, Sam's estranged mother, a successful record producer, who's more than willing to put the couple up in her lavish digs. As Sam and Alex settle in at Jane's, they gradually lose their straight-and-narrow approach to life and begin to experiment.
City by the Sea
Michelle
Vincent LaMarca is a dedicated and well-respected New York City police detective who has gone to great lengths to distance himself from his past, but then makes the terrible discovery that his own son has fallen into a life of crime.
Searching for Debra Winger
Self
Rosanna Arquette talks to various actresses about the pressures they face as women working in the entertainment industry.
Upheaval
Anne
A neurotic and overly-presumptuous mother accuses her family's au pair of stealing a cherished heirloom, much to the chagrin of her husband.
The Man Who Wasn't There
Doris Crane
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.
Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big
The Adult Fannie (voice)
Edwurd Fudwupper spends all his time cooking up big fibs. But one day, he tells such a humdinger that the army, the air force and the dog catcher are called to try to reverse the damage wrought. An unlikely heroine comes to his rescue.
Almost Famous
Elaine Miller
In 1973, 15-year-old William Miller's unabashed love of music and aspiration to become a rock journalist lands him an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview and tour with the up-and-coming band, Stillwater.
Wonder Boys
Sara Gaskell
Grady is a 50-ish English professor who hasn't had a thing published in years—not since he wrote his award winning 'Great American Novel' 7 years ago. This weekend proves even worse than he could imagine as he finds himself reeling from one misadventure to another in the company of a new wonder boy author.
Talk of Angels
Conlon
This is the story of a young Irish woman who comes to Spain to escape from the pressures she feels about her impending marriage to a political activist in Ireland. But in Spain in the 1930's, taking a job of governess in a wealthy family, she finds the same kinds of political unrest. In fact, it isn't long before she finds herself attracted to a married man who is similarly involved in the struggle against fascism and Franco. This awakens her to her nature that brings her to such men and resolves for her what she must do about the life she left in Ireland
Madeline
Miss Clavel
Horrified at the prospect of her beloved school being sold, a young French girl named Madeline uses her wit and craftiness to attempt to save it, making an unlikely new friend in the process.
Johnny Skidmarks
Alice
Johnny Scardino is working for blackmailers, photographing wealthy guys in seedy motels. One such assignment turns the wrong way and blackmailers die one by one. Is Johnny the next on the list?
Paradise Road
Dr. Verstak
A group of English, American, Dutch and Australian women creates a vocal orchestra while being imprisoned in a Japanese POW camp on Sumatra during World War II.
Hidden in America
Gus
Story of a man whose pride in being the head of his family won't let him accept help from his sick daughters doctor. He has to prove to his kids that even with the death of his wife and the loss of his job that they can and will survive. After hitting brick wall after brick wall comes a glimmer of hope.
Lone Star
Bunny
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
Fargo
Marge Gunderson
Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!
Primal Fear
Molly Arrington
An arrogant, high-powered attorney takes on the case of a poor altar boy found running away from the scene of the grisly murder of the bishop who has taken him in. The case gets a lot more complex when the accused reveals that there may or may not have been a third person in the room.
Bleeding Hearts
Woman on T.V.
An ill-fated, tender romance between an adult, male, white tutor (Mark Evan Jacobs) and his 17-year-old, African-American, female student (Karen Kirkland).
Palookaville
June
Jerry and his two pals, Russ and Syd, are just looking for some easy money to help them break out of their nowhere lives in their nowhere town. Despite a bungled jewelry store heist which exposes their incompetence as criminals, a fateful event (and an old black-and-white film) convinces them that they can pull off an armored-truck robbery. While they are busy plotting their caper, their dysfunctional families spin out of control, all around them.
Beyond Rangoon
Andy Bowman
Dr. Laura Bowman is a young widow who's unwittingly drawn into political turmoil while vacationing in Burma in the late 1980s. Bowman initially left San Francisco with her sister in an attempt to escape painful memories of her husband and son's violent deaths. But her fight to escape to Thailand could prove just as harrowing.
The Good Old Boys
Eve Calloway
An aging cowboy must choose between his desire to remain free and the responsibilities of maintaining a family.
American Cinema
Narrator
The history of Hollywood and filmmaking comes alive in this spectacular nine hour celebration of movie magic. It's a mesmerizing, epic analysis that combines rare archival film, key scenes from immortal movies, interviews with leading filmmakers and commentary from noted film scholars and critics. As seen on PBS, this highly acclaimed series is the definitive chronicle of the American cinema, from its beginning to today. Includes interviews with Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Spike Lee, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, Gene Siskel, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and many more. A New York Center for Visual History Production in co-production with KCET and the BBC
Short Cuts
Betty Weathers
Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country
Self
A documentary insight behind the scenes of Roberts Altman's Short Cuts.
Crazy in Love
Clare
Three generations of women live on a small island off the coast of Washington state with their men with whom they have no end of problems.
Passed Away
Nora Scanlan
Thrown for a loop by the unexpected news that Dad has suddenly gone to his reward, the grieving eccentric Scanian clan are drawn together in a test of familial endurance that soon has them at each other's throats.
The Butcher's Wife
Grace
A clairvoyant woman thinks that she's met her future husband because she's seen him in a dream. They marry and he takes her back to his butcher shop in New York city, where her powers tend to influence everyone she meets while working in the shop. Through her advice, she helps others and eventually finds the true man of her dreams.
Barton Fink
Stage Actress (voice) (uncredited)
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Hidden Agenda
Ingrid Jessner
In Ireland, American lawyer Ingrid Jessner and her activist partner, Paul Sullivan, struggle to uncover atrocities committed by the British government against the Northern Irish during the "Troubles." But when Sullivan is assassinated in the streets, Jessner teams up with Peter Kerrigan, a British investigator acting against the will of his own government, and struggles to uncover a conspiracy that may even implicate one of Kerrigan's colleagues.
Miller's Crossing
Mayor's Secretary
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Darkman
Julie Hastings
Dr. Peyton Westlake is on the verge of realizing a major breakthrough in synthetic skin when his laboratory is destroyed by gangsters. Having been burned beyond recognition and forever altered by an experimental medical procedure, Westlake becomes known as Darkman, assuming alternate identities in his quest for revenge and a new life with a former love.
Chattahoochee
Mae Foley
In 1955 Florida, a Korean vet has a breakdown and is incarcerated in a "maximum security" mental health prison, where patients are abused.
Mississippi Burning
Mrs. Pell
Two FBI agents investigating the murder of civil rights workers during the 60s seek to breach the conspiracy of silence in a small Southern town where segregation divides black and white. The younger agent trained in FBI school runs up against the small town ways of his partner, a former sheriff.
Raising Arizona
Dot
When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.
Vengeance: The Story of Tony Cimo
Brigette
A true story of the lives of a family from South Carolina torn apart after the murder of Bill and Myrtle Moon. Although the killer is caught the judicial system takes too long for the Moon's devoted stepson and he takes matter into his own hands.
Crimewave
Nun
Fed up of his business partner, Ernest Trend hires the services of two exterminators. When things go drastically wrong and they murder the wrong man, the race is on to frame an innocent video surveillance man.
Scandal Sheet
The publisher of a celebrity gossip tabloid sets out to destroy an aging actor, whose career is foundering and who is also facing a battle with alcoholism.
Blood Simple
Abby
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.