Frances McDormand

As the good-natured, but sharp-minded sheriff on the trail of two murderers in her breakout film, "Fargo" (1996), actress Frances McDormand made a significant mark as an actress, playing one of the more unique, homespun characters in cinema history. Prior to her award-winning performance, McDormand essayed a variety of roles, but mainly focused on put-upon wives or classic femme fatales in films like "Blood Simple" (1984) and "Mississippi Burning" (1988). Later in her career, she branched off into more diverse leading and supporting roles for "Lone Star" (1996), "Wonder Boys" (2000) and "Almost Famous" (2000), though she continued to make her strongest appearances in husband Joel Coens' darkly comic noirs, including "The Man Who Wasn't There" (2001). By the time she received her third Academy Award nomination for her supporting performance in "North Country" (2005), it was well established that McDormand was a gifted actress in both comedy and drama and whose best work never failed to impress critics and fans alike.