Mary Steenburgen
Mary Steenburgen won an Academy Award for her role in Melvin and Howard. She will soon be seen in Nobel Son, starring opposite Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, and Numb, starring Matthew Perry. Both films will have their premiere at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Steenburgen starred for two seasons on the Emmy nominated CBS series, Joan of Arcadia. In February 2006 she was seen in the David Mamet directed play Boston Marriage at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.
In 2005, she co-starred in the independent feature Marilyn Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School, which had its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003 she was seen in the CBS television film It Must Be Love co-starring her husband, Ted Danson. Steenburgen co-starred in New Line Cinema’s Elf, alongside Will Farrell and James Caan. Prior to Honeydripper, she has appeared in two films for director John Sayles, Sunshine State, and Casa De Los Babys. In 2001 she appeared alongside Kevin Kline in Irwin Winkler’s Life as a House, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. She has constantly redefined herself through challenging roles in films such as Philadelphia, Parenthood and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
In addition to her professional work, Steenburgen has devoted a great deal of time to causes close to her heart. In 1989 she and fellow actress, Alfre Woodard founded Artists for a Free South Africa, and in 1996 Mary and Ted were presented with Liberty Hill Foundation’s prestigious Upton Sinclair Award for their work in human rights and environmental causes.
Steenburgen is a native of Little Rock, Arkansas, the daughter of a railroad conductor and a public high school secretary. She began her career at the age of nineteen in New York. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband. They are the parents of four children, Kate, Lilly, Charlie and Kat.
