Frances McDormand facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Frances McDormand
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McDormand in 2015
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Cynthia Ann Smith
June 23, 1957 Gibson City, Illinois, U.S.
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| Years active | 1982–present |
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| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Frances Louise McDormand (born Cynthia Ann Smith on June 23, 1957) is a famous American actress and movie producer. She has had a long career in movies and on stage, lasting for more than forty years.
McDormand is known for winning many major awards. She has won four Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and one Tony Award. Winning all three of these top awards is a rare achievement known as the "Triple Crown of Acting." She has also won many other honors, including three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
She often stars in independent films, which are movies made without a big Hollywood studio. Even so, her films have earned over $2.2 billion at the box office worldwide.
Since 1984, McDormand has been married to director Joel Coen. She has appeared in many of his and his brother's films, known as the Coen brothers. Some of these movies include Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Fargo (1996), and Burn After Reading (2008).
McDormand has won the Academy Award for Best Actress three times. She won for playing a pregnant police chief in Fargo (1996), a mother seeking justice in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and a woman traveling the American West in Nomadland (2020). She also produced Nomadland and won the Academy Award for Best Picture for it. This made her the first person to win Oscars for both acting and producing for the same movie.
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Early Life and School
McDormand was born Cynthia Ann Smith on June 23, 1957, in Gibson City, Illinois. When she was one and a half years old, she was adopted by Noreen and Vernon McDormand. They renamed her Frances Louise McDormand.
Her adoptive mother was a nurse, and her adoptive father was a pastor for the Disciples of Christ church. Because her father's job involved helping to rebuild church communities, the family moved often. They lived in small towns in Illinois, Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
Eventually, the family settled in Monessen, Pennsylvania. McDormand graduated from Monessen High School in 1975. She then went to Bethany College in West Virginia, where she studied theater and earned a degree in 1979. In 1982, she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the prestigious Yale School of Drama. While living in New York City, she was roommates with actress Holly Hunter.
Acting Career
1980s: Starting Out
McDormand's first professional acting job was in a play in Trinidad. Her first movie was Blood Simple in 1984. The movie was directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, and she later married Joel Coen.
Throughout the 1980s, she acted in several movies and TV shows. In 1987, she played the funny friend Dot in the movie Raising Arizona. In 1988, she was nominated for her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the movie Mississippi Burning. Her performance as a moral and honest character was highly praised by critics.
1990s: Fame with Fargo
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In the 1990s, McDormand appeared in several successful films. She worked with director Sam Raimi on the superhero movie Darkman (1990) and with the Coen brothers again on Miller's Crossing (1990).
Her most famous role came in 1996 when she starred as Marge Gunderson, a pregnant police chief, in the Coen brothers' film Fargo. Her performance was loved by critics and audiences. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role. The famous movie critic Roger Ebert said Fargo was "one of the best films I've ever seen" and that McDormand's performance was perfect.
During the rest of the 1990s, she also appeared in movies like the thriller Primal Fear (1996) and the family film Madeline (1998).
2000s: A Well-Known Actress
In the 2000s, McDormand continued to take on interesting roles. In 2000, she played an overprotective mother in the movie Almost Famous. This role earned her another nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She also starred in the Coen brothers' film The Man Who Wasn't There (2001). In 2005, she acted alongside Charlize Theron in the drama North Country. Her performance earned her another Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2008, she starred in two comedies. She played a governess in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and a fitness-obsessed woman in the Coen brothers' film Burn After Reading.
2010s: Success on Stage and Screen
In 2011, McDormand returned to Broadway to star in the play Good People. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance.
She also did voice acting, playing the determined Captain Chantel Dubois in the animated movie Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012). In 2014, she starred in and co-produced the HBO miniseries Olive Kitteridge. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for her acting and another Emmy for producing the series.
In 2017, McDormand gave another powerful performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. She played a mother who puts up billboards to get the police to solve her daughter's murder. For this role, she won her second Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award.
2020s: Nomadland and More
In 2020, McDormand produced and starred in the movie Nomadland. She played Fern, a woman who lives in her van and travels across the American West after losing her job and home. Critics praised her performance, and she won her third Academy Award for Best Actress.
Because she also produced the film, she won the Academy Award for Best Picture as well. This made her the first person to win Oscars for both acting and producing for the same movie. She is also only the second woman in history to win the Best Actress award three times.
In 2021, she played Lady Macbeth in The Tragedy of Macbeth and appeared in the Wes Anderson film The French Dispatch. In 2022, she produced and had a role in the film Women Talking, which was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
Personal Life
McDormand married director Joel Coen in 1984. In 1995, they adopted a son from Paraguay when he was six months old. The family lives in Marin County, California.
Acting Credits and Awards
McDormand has won many awards for her work. She has won three Academy Awards for Best Actress for her roles in:
- Fargo (1996)
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
- Nomadland (2020)
She has been nominated for an Academy Award a total of eight times. Here is a list of her nominations and wins:
- 61st Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress, nomination, for Mississippi Burning (1988)
- 69th Academy Awards: Best Actress, win, for Fargo (1996)
- 73rd Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress, nomination, for Almost Famous (2000)
- 78th Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress, nomination, for North Country (2005)
- 90th Academy Awards: Best Actress, win, for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
- 93rd Academy Awards: Best Actress, win, for Nomadland (2020)
- 93rd Academy Awards: Best Picture, win, for Nomadland (2020)
- 95th Academy Awards: Best Picture, nomination, for Women Talking (2022)
See also
In Spanish: Frances McDormand para niños
- List of American film actresses
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
- List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
- List of oldest and youngest Academy Award winners and nominees — Oldest winners for Best Actress in a Leading Role
- List of Primetime Emmy Award winners
- List of Golden Globe winners
