Margo Martindale Biography

Fast Facts

• Was a high-school cheerleader, and was voted Football Sweetheart and Miss Jacksonville Sweetheart in her senior year
• Received a theater scholarship to the University of Michigan
• After college, performed with Christopher Reeve in a 1974 Harvard Summer School Repertory Theater production of The Threepenny Opera
• Performed with Actors Theatre of Louisville in 1982 and '83 before landing in New York, where her credits included the original production of Steel Magnolias ('87)
• Had a small role in Lonesome Dove (1989); later TV credits include recurring roles in Dexter, 100 Centre Street and The Riches
• Made movie debut in the 1990 Tom Cruise NASCAR action adventure Days of Thunder; other notable films include The Rocketeer ('91), Lorenzo's Oil ('92), Dead Man Walking ('95), Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Hannah Montana: The Movie ('09)
• Earned a 2004 Tony nomination for her Broadway debut as Big Mama in a revival of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof