Although she was born in Chicago (June 23, 1957), Frances McDormand was raised in Monessen, Pa., by her adoptive father and mother. She earned an M.F.A. from Yale University in 1982 and started work later that year on her first film, Blood Simple, directed by Joel Coen, whom she would later marry.In 1996, Coen directed her again in an Oscar-winning performance as a pregnant police chief in Fargo. McDormand has appeared in other Coen brothers films, including Raising Arizona and The Man Who Wasn't There.
Three more Oscar nominations (for Best Supporting Actress) were bestowed on her for Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000) and North Country (2005). A favorite actress in indie cinema (for Friends with Money, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her supporting role), she's also been seen in recent major studio films such as Wonder Boys and Something's Gotta Give.
Burn After ReadingIn this darkly comic farce from Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, an ousted CIA official (John Malkovich) loses his penned memoir to a pair of moronic gym employees (Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand, in a Golden Globe-nominated role) who use it to try and turn a profit. George Clooney and Tilda Swinton round... Read More
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a DayWhen her gruff demeanor costs her yet another nanny position, desperate Guinevere Pettigrew lands a job as the assistant of an aspiring American actress and soon gets swept up in a dizzying world of glamour and high society. Read More
Blood SimpleIn a jealous rage, Texas tavern owner Julian Marty (Dan Hedaya) hires unscrupulous private detective Loren Visser (M. Emmet Walsh) to not only tail Marty's two-timing spouse, Abby (Frances McDormand, in her big-screen debut), but also murder her and her bar-keeping paramour (John Getz). Events take... Read More
Almost FamousIn this enchanting coming-of-age story based on director Cameron Crowe's own experiences, teenage writer William Miller (Patrick Fugit) cajoles a Rolling Stone editor into handing him a plum assignment to cover the band Stillwater on a cross-country tour. Kate Hudson earned an Academy Award... Read More
North CountryBased on an inspiring real-life event that took place in the 1970s, North Country stars Charlize Theron in another low-glamour but high-impact role as Josey Aimes, one of only a handful of women working in the Minnesota iron mines. Forced to labor under sexist conditions, she and her female... Read More
Moonrise Kingdom (2012) | PG-13 | |
Madagascar 3 (2012) | NR | |
PG-13 | ||
This Must Be the Place (2011) | NR | |
The Botany of Desire (2009) | TV-PG | |
R | ||
PG-13 | ||
Friends with Money (2006) | R | |
Aeon Flux (2005) | PG-13 | |
North Country (2005) | R | |
Catwoman (2004) | PG-13 | |
Something's Gotta Give (2003) | PG-13 | |
Laurel Canyon (2003) | R | |
City by the Sea (2002) | R | |
Searching for Debra Winger (2002) | R | |
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) | R | |
Short Fuse (2001) | NR | |
Almost Famous (2000) | R | |
NR | ||
Wonder Boys (2000) | R | |
Talk of Angels (1998) | PG-13 | |
Johnny Skidmarks (1998) | R | |
Madeline (1998) | PG | |
Paradise Road (1997) | R | |
Primal Fear (1996) | R | |
Fargo (1996) | R | |
Palookaville (1996) | R | |
Hidden in America (1996) | PG-13 | |
Beyond Rangoon (1994) | R | |
R | ||
The Butcher's Wife (1991) | PG-13 | |
Hidden Agenda (1990) | R | |
Miller's Crossing (1990) | R | |
Darkman (1990) | R | |
Chattahoochee (1989) | R | |
Mississippi Burning (1988) | R | |
Raising Arizona (1987) | PG-13 | |
Blood Simple (1984) | R | |
 | | |
