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IMDbPro

Frances McDormand

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000632
Frances McDormand
Take a closer look at the various roles Frances McDormand has played throughout her Oscar-winning acting career.
Play clip1:49
Frances McDormand | Career Retrospective
94 Videos
99+ Photos
Frances Louise McDormand was born on June 23, 1957, in Gibson City, Illinois. She was adopted by Canadian-born parents Noreen Eloise (Nickleson), a nurse from Ontario, and Rev. Vernon Weir McDormand, a Disciples of Christ minister from Nova Scotia, who raised her in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. She earned a BA in theater from Bethany College in 1979 and an MFA from Yale University in 1982. Her career after graduation began onstage, and she has retained her association with the theater throughout her career. She soon obtained prominent roles in movies as well, first starring in Blood Simple (1984), in which she worked with filmmaker Joel Coen, whom she married that year. She frequently collaborated with Coen and his brother, Ethan Coen, in their films.

McDormand's skilled and versatile acting has been recognized by both the critics and the Academy, and in addition to many critics' awards, she has been nominated for an Academy Award six times - Supporting in Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000), and North Country (2005), and Lead in Fargo (1996), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), and Nomadland (2020), winning the Oscar for the latter three. She also won a Best Picture Oscar as co-producer of "Nomadland." Keenly intelligent and possessed of a sharp wit, McDormand is the antithesis of the Hollywood starlet - rather than making every role about Frances McDormand, she dissolves into the characters she plays. Accordingly, she has expressed some reservations about the iconic recognition she has gained from her touching and amusing portrayal of Police Chief Marge Gunderson, the quintessential Minnesota Scandinavian, in Fargo (1996).

McDormand and Coen adopted a son, Pedro McDormand Coen, who was born in Paraguay, in 1994. They live in New York.
BornJune 23, 1957
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 23, 1957
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000632
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Won 4 Oscars
    • 145 wins & 140 nominations total

Photos395

Frances McDormand and John Carroll Lynch in Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand in Fargo (1996)
Frances McDormand, Timothée Chalamet, and Lyna Khoudri in The French Dispatch (2021)
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand in The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Woody Harrelson and Frances McDormand in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Frances McDormand in Nomadland (2020)
Frances McDormand in Nomadland (2020)
Frances McDormand in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Frances McDormand in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
Frances McDormand and James Gaulke in Fargo (1996)

Known for

Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, and Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
8.1
  • Mildred
  • 2017
Fargo (1996)
Fargo
8.1
  • Marge Gunderson
  • 1996
Kate Hudson in Almost Famous (2000)
Almost Famous
7.9
  • Elaine Miller
  • 2000
Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
Moonrise Kingdom
7.8
  • Mrs. Bishop
  • 2012

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Frances McDormand, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley in Women Talking (2022)
    Women Talking
    • Scarface Janz
    • 2022
  • The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
    The Tragedy of Macbeth
    • Lady Macbeth
    • 2021
  • Bill Murray, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Benicio Del Toro, Edward Norton, Henry Winkler, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Owen Wilson, Mathieu Amalric, Steve Park, Lois Smith, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, Wallace Wolodarsky, Jeffrey Wright, Jarvis Cocker, Mohamed Belhadjine, Saoirse Ronan, Tony Revolori, Timothée Chalamet, Lyna Khoudri, and Krishna Bagadiya in The French Dispatch (2021)
    The French Dispatch
    • Lucinda Krementz
    • 2021
  • Frances McDormand in Nomadland (2020)
    Nomadland
    • Fern
    • 2020
  • Michael Sheen and David Tennant in Good Omens (2019)
    Good Omens
    • God
    • Narrator (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Edward Norton, Bryan Cranston, and Koyu Rankin in Isle of Dogs (2018)
    Isle of Dogs
    • Interpreter Nelson (voice)
    • 2018
  • Woody Harrelson, Frances McDormand, and Sam Rockwell in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
    Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
    • Mildred
    • 2017
  • George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, and Jonah Hill in Hail, Caesar! (2016)
    Hail, Caesar!
    • C.C. Calhoun
    • 2016
  • The Good Dinosaur (2015)
    The Good Dinosaur
    • Momma (voice)
    • 2015
  • Frances McDormand in Olive Kitteridge (2014)
    Olive Kitteridge
    • Olive Kitteridge
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2014
  • Elizabeth Banks in Every Secret Thing (2014)
    Every Secret Thing
    • Newscaster (uncredited)
    • 2014
  • Promised Land (2012)
    Promised Land
    • Sue Thomason
    • 2012
  • Frances McDormand, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Martin Short, Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, John DiMaggio, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Jessica Chastain, and Chris Miller in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
    Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
    • Captain Chantal Dubois (voice)
    • 2012
  • Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
    Moonrise Kingdom
    • Mrs. Bishop
    • 2012
  • Peter Cullen, Shia LaBeouf, and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
    Transformers: Dark of the Moon
    • Mearing
    • 2011

Producer

  • Frances McDormand, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley in Women Talking (2022)
    Women Talking
    • producer (produced by, p.g.a.)
    • 2022
  • The Tragedy of Macbeth (2021)
    The Tragedy of Macbeth
    • producer (produced by)
    • 2021
  • Frances McDormand in Nomadland (2020)
    Nomadland
    • producer (produced by)
    • 2020
  • Frances McDormand in Olive Kitteridge (2014)
    Olive Kitteridge
    • executive producer
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2014
  • Elizabeth Banks in Every Secret Thing (2014)
    Every Secret Thing
    • producer
    • 2014

Soundtrack

  • Frances McDormand in Olive Kitteridge (2014)
    Olive Kitteridge
    • performer: "Tell Me Why" (uncredited)
    • TV Mini Series
    • 2014
  • Promised Land (2012)
    Promised Land
    • performer: "I Saw the Light"
    • 2012
  • Frances McDormand, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Martin Short, Ben Stiller, Bryan Cranston, John DiMaggio, Tom McGrath, Christopher Knights, Jessica Chastain, and Chris Miller in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)
    Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
    • performer: "Non, je ne Regrette rien"
    • 2012
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • performer: "Principal Upfoot's Self-Esteem Song" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 2006

Videos94

A Guide to the Films of Chloé Zhao
Clip 1:29
A Guide to the Films of Chloé Zhao
Frances McDormand | Career Retrospective
Clip 1:49
Frances McDormand | Career Retrospective
How Chloe Zhao's 'Eternals' Will Change Marvel Forever
Clip 4:28
How Chloe Zhao's 'Eternals' Will Change Marvel Forever
Best Moments From the 2021 Oscars Telecast
Clip 2:54
Best Moments From the 2021 Oscars Telecast
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:53
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:43
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:36
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:50
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:36
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:30
Burn After Reading
Burn After Reading
Clip 0:38
Burn After Reading
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
Clip 0:33
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Fran McDormand
  • Height
    • 5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
  • Born
    • June 23, 1957
    • Gibson City, Illinois, USA
  • Spouse
    • Joel CoenApril 1, 1984 - present (1 child)
  • Children
      Pedro McDormand Coen
  • Parents
      Noreen McDormand
  • Other works
    Play: "Winterset: Four New American Plays". Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, CT.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Portrayal
    • 10 Interviews
    • 6 Articles
    • 3 Pictorials
    • 5 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Once lived in an apartment with Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Sam Raimi, Scott Spiegel, and Holly Hunter.
  • Quotes
    [on how she got the part in Fargo (1996)] "The fact that I'm sleeping with the director may have something to do with it."
  • Nickname
    • Fran

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