Mary Steenburgen is an Academy Award-winning American actress.She was born February 8, 1953, in Newport, Arkansas, into a family of Dutch-American heritage Her mother, Nell Steenburgen, was a school-board secretary, and her father, Maurice Steenburgen, was a freight-train conductor.Young Steenbergen was fond of arts and literature. She was active in her school drama class. In 1972 she moved to New York to study acting. In 1980 she shot to fame with her role as Lynda Dummar in Melvin and Howard (1980) for which she won Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.Steenburgen is a notable patron of arts. She is also an active supporter of humanitarian causes. She has two children from her previous marriage to actor Malcolm McDowell. Since 1995 she has been married to actor Ted Danson, and the couple is living in Los Angeles area.

Mother of actress Lilly McDowell (b. 1981) and producer/director Charlie McDowell (b. 1983)A notable patron of the arts who has set up exhibits in the past, her husband actor Ted Danson sculpts as a sideline.Returned to old high school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, April 2002, to teach drama workshops to students, fulfilling promise made to parents of teenager Thea Leopoulos, who was killed in a traffic accident in 2001.Referred to multiple times on "Stargate SG-1" (1997) as the heartthrob of Colonel Jack O'Neill, played by Richard Dean Anderson.In both Time After Time (1979) and Back to the Future Part III (1990) she played the love interest of a time traveller who later became one herself. In the former, she was from the time traveller's future and in the latter, she was from his past.Shares a birthday with Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil, her The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) co-star Seth Green, James Dean and Ethan Phillips.Played Jason Ritter's mother in "Joan of Arcadia" (2003). Her husband Ted Danson played Ritter's father in Mumford (1999).Has appeared with Christopher Lloyd in three different films: Goin' South (1978), Back to the Future Part III (1990) and Wish You Were Dead (2002).Is the third of 4 consecutive winners of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar to have the initials "M.S.". The others are: Maggie Smith - California Suite (1978), Meryl Streep - Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), and Maureen Stapleton - Reds (1981).President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton attended Steenburgen's 1995 wedding to Ted Danson. Steenburgen had personally known Clinton since he was governor of Arkansas when she resided in Little Rock. The President celebrated his 51st birthday at the Martha's Vineyard home of the couple.Discovered by Jack Nicholson in the reception room of Paramount's NY office. Nicholson cast her as his leading lady in Goin' South (1978), Steenburgen's feature debut. [1978] UpdateYou may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.Add resumeWith our Resume service you can add photos and build a complete resume to help you achieve the best possible presentation on the IMDb.Click here to add your resume and/or your photos to IMDb. Browse biographies section by nameA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z