The one major acting award this wide-eyed brunette hasn't won is the Oscar. Adept at playing quirky, smart but usually fragile characters, Parker made her Broadway debut in 1990 as a fearful newlywed who unwittingly switches souls with an old man in Craig Lucas'
Prelude to a Kiss. The next year she won raves as an abused wife in the Southern-flavored big-screen dramedy
Fried Green Tomatoes. From then on, it was all about her TV and stage work, particularly
Proof, as a mentally unstable math genius for which she won the 2001 Tony. Unfortunately, although she did appear in a number of films, she wasn't considered a leading actress. So when Hollywood decided to turn her two signature stage projects into movies, she wasn't invited to the party. (Meg Ryan and Gwyneth Paltrow landed the leads in
Prelude to a Kiss and
Proof, respectively.) Parker wisely ventured into series television in 2002 with a recurring role on
The West Wing and won an Emmy and a Golden Globe as a Mormon wife in the lauded 2003 miniseries
Angels in America. Unfortunately, that same year she went through a lot of off-screen drama, too, when her long-tome boyfriend Billy Crudup left her while she was pregnant with their son. She bounced back in 2005 with a lead role on the series
Weeds, which landed her a 2006 Golden Globe and a boyfriend, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who played her deceased husband in a handful of episodes.
Mary-Louise Parker Fast Facts:
- Raised in Tennessee, Texas, Thailand, Germany and France (her father served in the U.S. Army).
- Classmates at the North Carolina School of the Arts included Peter Hedges and Joe Mantello.
- Organized and produced "Don't Pick the Wrong Fight," a series of public-service announcements promoting tolerance toward Arab-Americans in the wake of September 11.
- At the 2004 Golden Globes, where she was nominated for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries for Angels in America, fellow West Wing cast member Janel Moloney promised to pay her $1,000 if she thanked her newborn son for the enhancement of her breasts. Parker won the award and the bet.
- The song "Butterfly in Reverse" by the band Counting Crows was written for her.
- Adopted a baby girl from Africa in September 2007.
- Mary-Louise Parker Relationships:
- William Atticus Parker - Son
- Billy Crudup - Ex-significant Other
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Ex-significant Other
- Mary-Louise Parker Awards:
- 2004 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Winner
- 2006 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Winner
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2002 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Winner
- 1990 Tony: Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - Nominee
- 2001 Tony: Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - Winner
- 2005 Tony: Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play - Nominee
- 2007 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series - Nominee
- 2007 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 2008 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- College:
- North Carolina School of the Arts, Winston-Salem, NC (1986)
