Margo Martindale facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Margo Martindale
Martindale at the Montclair Film Festival, May 2016
Born	(1951-07-18) July 18, 1951 (age 73) Jacksonville, Texas, U.S.
Education	Lon Morris College University of Michigan (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Bill Boals ​ (m. 1986)​
Children	1
Relatives	Billy Martindale (brother)

Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is a talented American actress. She is known for playing many different kinds of characters in movies, TV shows, and plays. She has won several important awards for her acting.

In 2011, Margo won an Emmy Award for her role as Mags Bennett in the TV show Justified. She also won a Critics' Choice Television Award for this role. Later, she won two more Emmy Awards in 2015 and 2016. These were for her role as Claudia in the show The Americans.

Margo Martindale has been in many popular movies. Some of these include The Rocketeer (1991), Million Dollar Baby (2004), and Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). She also appeared in Secretariat (2010) and Instant Family (2018).

On TV, she has had many regular roles. These include shows like The Good Wife (2015–2016) and Mrs. Davis (2023). She even voiced a funny, made-up version of herself in the Netflix cartoon series BoJack Horseman. Margo also performed on Broadway, which is the highest level of theater in New York City. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in 2004.

Margo Martindale's Early Life and Education

Margo Martindale was born in Jacksonville, Texas. She was the youngest of three children. She had two older brothers. Her father owned a lumber company. He was also a famous dog handler in Texas.

Her oldest brother, Billy Martindale, is a professional golfer. Margo enjoyed golf, cheerleading, and drama in school. She was even crowned "Miss Jacksonville High School" in 1969.

After high school, she went to Lon Morris College. Then she transferred to the University of Michigan. During summers, she took classes at Harvard University. There, she acted on stage with future stars like Jonathan Frakes and Christopher Reeve.

Margo Martindale's Acting Career

Starting Out in the 1980s and 1990s

In the early 1980s, Margo worked at the Actors Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. She became good friends with actress Kathy Bates there. One of her first TV roles was in the miniseries Lonesome Dove in 1989.

Margo also performed in many plays off-Broadway. She was the first actress to play Truvy Jones in the play Steel Magnolias. She also went on its first national tour. People often call Margo a "character actress." This means she is great at playing many different and interesting characters.

She acted alongside Susan Sarandon in the movies Lorenzo's Oil (1992) and Dead Man Walking (1995). She played a doctor in Marvin's Room (1997). In Million Dollar Baby (2004), she played the main character's mother.

Broadway Debut and TV Roles

Margo made her first appearance on Broadway in 2004. She played Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. For this role, she was nominated for a Tony Award. After this, she had many guest roles on TV shows.

She played Camilla Figg on the show Dexter. She also had a regular role in The Riches from 2007 to 2008. In movies, she played Mama Cox in Walk Hard (2007). She was Grandma Ruby in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009). She also played Miss Elizabeth Ham in Secretariat (2010).

Recent Successes and Awards

In 2011, Margo joined the cast of Justified. She played Mags Bennett, a powerful leader of a family in a fictional town. She won an Emmy Award for this role. She also won a Critics' Choice Television Award.

Margo hoped her success would help other older actresses in Hollywood. She said people liked her character because she was "powerful and older and extremely mean."

In 2013, Margo was in the movie August: Osage County. She played Mattie Fae Aiken, the sister of the main character. She also started a role in the spy drama The Americans. She played Claudia, a KGB "handler" for two Soviet spies. She won two more Emmy Awards for this role in 2015 and 2016.

She also co-starred in the sitcom The Millers. From 2015 to 2016, she played Ruth Eastman on The Good Wife. She returned to this role in 2018 for The Good Fight. Margo also voices a funny, made-up version of herself on the Netflix show BoJack Horseman. Her cartoon self is often easily angered.

Margo played Audrey Bernhardt in the Amazon series Sneaky Pete. She also played Mike's Aunt Rosemary in Mike & Molly. In 2019, she started hosting a podcast called I Spy. More recently, she played Bella Abzug in the miniseries Mrs. America (2020). She was nominated for another Emmy for this role. She has also appeared in Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021) and Mrs. Davis (2023).

Margo Martindale's Personal Life

Margo Martindale has been married to musician Bill Boals since 1986. They have one daughter together.

Selected Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Margo Martindale para niños