Acting · Newport, Arkansas, USA · Born February 8, 1953
Mary Nell Steenburgen (born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in the Western comedy film Goin' South (1978). Steenburgen went on to earn critical acclaim for her role in Time After Time (1979) and Jonathan Demme's comedy-drama film Melvin and Howard (1980), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
MovieThe Dink
2026
as Candace
MovieLast Train to Fortune
2025
as Miss Maybelle
MovieEasy's Waltz
2025
BULLDOZER
2025
as Kathy
TVA Man on the Inside
2024
as Mona Margadoff
TVIn the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin
2024
as Self
MovieDick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
2023
as Self
MovieBook Club: The Next Chapter
2023
as Carol
TVThe Jennifer Hudson Show
2022
as Self - Guest
MovieCelebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl
2022
as Self
MovieNightmare Alley
2021
as Mrs. Kimball
MovieZoey's Extraordinary Christmas
2021
as Maggie Clarke
TVMr. Mayor
2021
as Adriana
MovieHappiest Season
2020
as Tipper
Movie30 Rock: A One-Time Special
2020
as Mary Steenburgen
TVReunited Apart
2020
as Self
TVStars in the House
2020
as Self
TVZoey's Extraordinary Playlist
2020
as Maggie Clarke
MovieFlannery
2019
as Flannery O'Connor (voice)
TVBless the Harts
2019
as Crystalynn (voice)
TVThe Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
as Self - Guest
TVOn Becoming a God in Central Florida
2019
as Ellen Joy Bonar
MovieAntiquities
2019
as Dr. Margot
TVThe Conners
2018
as Marcy Bellinger
MovieBook Club
2018
as Carol
MovieKatie Says Goodbye
2018
as Maybelle
MovieI Do... Until I Don't
2017
as Cybil Burger
MovieThe Discovery
2017
as Interviewer
MovieThe Book of Love
2017
as Julia Mureaux
TVThe Good Place
2016
as Teacher
MovieDean
2016
as Carol
MovieJim Henson's Turkey Hollow
2015
as Aunt Cly
MovieA Walk in the Woods
2015
as Jeannie
Movie7 Days in Hell
2015
as Louisa Poole
TVGrace and Frankie
2015
as Miriam
TVThe Last Man on Earth
2015
as Gail Klosterman
TVTogetherness
2015
as Linda
MovieThe One I Love
2014
as Mom (voice)
TVLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
TVThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
as Self - Guest
MovieSong One
2014
as Karen Ellis
MovieLast Vegas
2013
as Diana Boyle
MovieBrahmin Bulls
2013
as Helen West
TVOrange Is the New Black
2013
as Delia Powell
MovieOutlaw Country
2012
as Anastasia Lee
TVFinding Your Roots
2012
as Self
MovieThe Help
2011
as Elaine Stein
TVWilfred
2011
as Catherine Newman
MovieFight for Your Right Revisited
2011
as Café Patron
MovieTales from the Future
2010
as Self
TVThe Talk
2010
as Self
MovieDirty Girl
2010
as Peggy
MovieWeird: The Al Yankovic Story
2010
as Mrs. Yankovic
TVJustified
2010
as Katherine Hale
MovieDid You Hear About the Morgans?
2009
as Emma Wheeler
MovieClarkworld
2009
as Self
TVBored to Death
2009
as Josephine
TVWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Proposal
2009
as Grace Paxton
MovieIn the Electric Mist
2009
as Bootsie Robicheaux
MovieThe Open Road
2009
as Katherine
MovieFour Christmases
2008
as Marilyn
MovieStep Brothers
2008
as Nancy Huff
MovieThe Brave One
2007
as Carol
MovieHoneydripper
2007
as Amanda Winship
MovieNumb
2007
as Dr. Blaine
MovieNobel Son
2007
as Sarah Michaelson
MovieElvis & Anabelle
2007
as Geneva Leigh
MovieInland Empire
2006
as Visitor #2
MovieThe Dead Girl
2006
as Leah's Mother
TV30 Rock
2006
as Diana Jessup
MovieO Lucky Malcolm!
2006
as Self
MovieMarilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School
2006
as Marienne Hotchkiss
TVAmerican Dad!
2005
as (voice)
TVThe Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
as Self
MovieRemembering Ragtime
2004
as Mother (archive footage)
MovieElf: That's a Wrap
2004
as Self
The Tony Danza Show
2004
as Self - Guest
MovieIt Must Be Love
2004
as Clem Gazelle
MovieElf
2003
as Emily
TVJoan of Arcadia
2003
as Helen Girardi
MovieCasa de los Babys
2003
as Gayle
E!'s 101
2003
as Self
MovieHope Springs
2003
as Joanie Fisher
MovieMrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood
2003
as Mary
MovieSunshine State
2002
as Francine Pinkney
MovieWish You Were Dead
2002
as Sally Rider
MovieLiving with the Dead
2002
as Detective Karen Condrin
TVLiving with the Dead
2002
as Detective Karen Condrin
MovieCharacter Building: Inside 'Life As a House'
2002
as Self
MovieI Am Sam
2001
as Dr. Blake
MovieLife as a House
2001
as Colleen Beck
Good Day Live
2001
as Self
TVDinner for Five
2001
MovieThe Trumpet of the Swan
2001
as Mother (voice)
MovieNobody's Baby
2001
as Estelle
TVCurb Your Enthusiasm
2000
as Mary Steenburgen
MovieThe Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000
MoviePicnic
2000
as Rosemary Sydney
TVLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Grace Rinato
TVNoah's Ark
1999
as Naamah
MovieNoah's Ark
1999
as Naamah
TVBecker
1998
as Patient (uncredited)
MovieAbout Sarah
1998
as Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey
TVThe View
1997
as Self
TVInk
1996
as Kate Montgomery
MovieThe Grass Harp
1996
as Sister Ida
TVGulliver's Travels
1996
as Mary Gulliver
MovieNixon
1995
as Hannah Nixon
MoviePowder
1995
as Jessie Caldwell
MovieMy Family
1995
as Gloria
MoviePontiac Moon
1994
as Katherine Bellamy
MovieIt Runs in the Family
1994
as Mrs. Parker (Mother)
MovieClifford
1994
as Sarah Davis
TVEllen
1994
as Self (uncredited)
MoviePhiladelphia
1993
as Belinda Conine
MovieWhat's Eating Gilbert Grape
1993
as Betty Carver
TVFrasier
1993
as Marjorie (voice)
MovieEarth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)
TVShelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
as Narrator (voice)
MovieBack to the Future: Dickens of a Christmas
1991
as Clara Clayton Brown (voice)
MovieThe Butcher's Wife
1991
as Stella Keefover
TVBack to the Future
1991
as Clara Clayton (voice)
MovieThe Long Walk Home
1990
as Narrator (voice)
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1990
as Self
MovieThe Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy
1990
as Self
MovieBack to the Future Part III
1990
as Clara Clayton
MovieParenthood
1989
as Karen Buckman
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
as Self (voice)
MovieMiss Firecracker
1989
as Elaine Rutledge
TVLIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self - Guest
MovieThe Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank
1988
as Miep Gies
MovieThe Whales of August
1987
as Young Sarah
MovieEnd of the Line
1987
as Rose Pickett
MovieDead of Winter
1987
as Julie Rose / Katie McGovern / Evelyn
MovieOne Magic Christmas
1985
as Ginny Grainger
TVTender Is the Night
1985
as Nicole Diver (née Warren)
MovieLittle Red Riding Hood
1983
as Little Red Riding Hood a.k.a. Mary
MovieRomantic Comedy
1983
as Phoebe Craddock
MovieCross Creek
1983
as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
TVFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Mary / Little Red Riding Hood
MovieA Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
1982
as Adrian
MovieRagtime
1981
as Mother
MovieMelvin and Howard
1980
as Lynda Dummar
MovieTime After Time
1979
as Amy Robbins
MovieGoin' South
1978
as Julia Tate
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
MovieLet's Have Kids!
as Sue
A Dog’s Perfect Christmas
as Claire
Happiness Isn't Everything
as Audrey Veill
Southern Discomfort
as Mary Lou Dobson
