Mary McDonnell

After a highly respected and long-running career on stage, actress Mary McDonnell broke into movie stardom as Stands With A Fist, a white woman raised by Native Americans in Kevin Costner's Oscar-winning Western "Dances With Wolves" (1990). Prior to her breakout performance, McDonnell made her feature debut in John Sayles' acclaimed "Matewan" (1987), and followed "Dances" with a long and impressive stint in features, where McDonnell often played complex and fiercely independent women. She appeared as an unhappy wife in "Grand Canyon" (1991) and a self-absorbed actress who rediscovers herself after a tragic accident in "Passion Fish" (1992). McDonnell alternated easily between features and television, playing the First Lady in the blockbuster "Independence Day" (1996), the judge in "12 Angry Men" (Showtime, 1997) and the mother of a delusional teenager in the indie favorite, "Donnie Darko" (2001). But it was her performance as the reluctant president of a group of ragtag survivors on the cult hit series "Battlestar Galactica" (The Sci Fi Channel, 2004-09) that elevated her status and career to the next level. Through her widely hailed performance on "Battlestar," McDonnell had finally found the perfect vehicle to showcase her commanding strength and presence.