Marcia Gay Harden
Biography
Marcia Gay Harden (born August 14, 1959) is an American film and stage actress. She is the recipient of many accolades including an Academy Award and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a Critics' Choice Movie Award and three Primetime Emmy Awards. She began her acting career appearing in television programs throughout the 1980s. In 1986, she appeared in her first film role, with her breakthrough coming in the 1990 Coen brothers-directed Miller's Crossing. Her next notable film credits include The First Wives Club (1996), Flubber (1997), and Space Cowboys (2000). She received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Lee Krasner in Pollock (2000). She had a supporting role in Mona Lisa Smile (2003). She received a second Academy Award nomination for her performance as Celeste Boyle in the drama film Mystic River (2003). She appeared in several 2007 films, including Sean Penn's Into the Wild and Frank Darabont's The Mist, based on the novella by Stephen King. Also in 2007, she shared top billing with Kevin Bacon in Rails & Ties, the directorial debut of Alison Eastwood. Harden played a woman who has a mastectomy in Home (2008). (Her character in Rails & Ties also had a mastectomy.) One scene required her to bare her breasts, with the missing breast removed using computer-generated imagery. In Home, her co-stars include her daughter, Eulala Scheel. In 2009, she had quite a busy year. She appeared as a regular on the FX series Damages as a shrewd corporate attorney opposite Glenn Close and William Hurt. She co-starred in the films Whip It, and The Maiden Heist. She returned to Broadway in Yasmina Reza's God of Carnage, co-starring with James Gandolfini, Hope Davis and Jeff Daniels. All three actors were nominated for a Tony Award; Harden won Best Actress in a Play. She received her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role as FBI Special Agent Dana Lewis in the crime drama series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and earned a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Janina Krzyżanowska in the television film The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler (2009). She reunited with her former Broadway co-star Jeff Daniels as a new cast member on HBO's series The Newsroom in 2013. In 2015, she had a starring role in the medical drama Code Black. Her other notable television credits include ABC's How to Get Away with Murder and the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. She played Christian Grey's mother, Grace Trevelyan Grey, in the Fifty Shades film series from 2015 to 2018. She stars in the 2022 CBS drama So Help Me Todd.
Known For
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
The View
1997
Sherri
2022
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
Chicago Hope
1994
Great Performances
1971
The Tamron Hall Show
2019
BoJack Horseman
2014
BoJack Horseman
2014
Filmography
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest · 2009
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest · 2015
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Dana Lewis · 1999
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self · 2019
The View
as Self · 1997
Sherri
as Self - Guest · 2022
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
· 1992
Chicago Hope
as Barbara Tomilson · 1994
Great Performances
as Self · 1971
The Tamron Hall Show
as Self - Guest · 2019
BoJack Horseman
as Denise (voice) · 2014
BoJack Horseman
as Denise / McCaitlyn (voice) · 2014
How to Get Away with Murder
as Hannah Keating · 2014
American Playhouse
as Self · 1982
Homicide: Life on the Street
as Joan Garbarek · 1993
Damages
as Claire Maddox · 2007
Simon & Simon
· 1981
The Morning Show
as Maggie Brener · 2019
Murder in a Small Town
as Mayor Christie Holman · 2024
A Million Little Things
as Alice Mendez · 2018
Royal Pains
as Dr. Elizabeth Blair · 2009
Body of Proof
as Sheila Temple · 2011
Fifty Shades of Grey
as Dr. Grey · 2015
The Newsroom
as Rebecca Halliday · 2012
The Oscars
as Self · 1953
Margo's Got Money Troubles
as Elizabeth Gable · 2026
Fifty Shades Freed
as Grace Grey · 2018
People's Choice Awards
as Self - Presenter · 1975
So Help Me Todd
as Margaret · 2022
Code Black
as Dr. Leanne Rorish · 2015
The Cuphead Show!
as Sally Stageplay (voice) · 2022
Meet Joe Black
as Allison · 1998
Mystic River
as Celeste Boyle · 2003
Fallen Angels
as Marie · 1993
Into the Wild
as Billie McCandless · 2007
The Mist
as Mrs. Carmody · 2007
Fifty Shades Darker
as Grace Trevelyan Grey · 2017
Flubber
as Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds · 1997
Uncoupled
as Claire Lewis · 2022
Detachment
as Principal Carol Dearden · 2011
The First Wives Club
as Dr. Leslie Rosen · 1996
Spy Hard
as Miss Cheevus · 1996
Trophy Wife
as Dr. Diane Buckley · 2013
The Education of Max Bickford
as Andrea Haskell · 2001
Reef Break
as Betty Ann Miller · 2019
Mona Lisa Smile
as Nancy Abbey · 2003
Knox Goes Away
as Ruby Knox · 2024
RuPaul
as Self · 2019
Space Cowboys
as Sara Holland · 2000
Miller's Crossing
as Verna · 1990
Money, Explained
as Self - Narrator · 2021
Confess, Fletch
as Countess Sylvia de Grassi · 2022
You're Not You
as Elizabeth · 2014
Barkskins
as Mathilde Geffard · 2020
Bent
as Vanessa Carter · 2012
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Vicki Miller · 1951
The Dreadful
as Morwen · 2026
The Invisible
as Diane Powell · 2007
Grandma
as Judy · 2015
Magic in the Moonlight
as Mrs. Baker · 2014
Whip It
as Brooke Cavendar · 2009
Get a Job
as Katherine Dunn · 2016
Desperate Measures
as Dr. Samantha Hawkins · 1998
Bad News Bears
as Liz Whitewood · 2005
Point Blank
as Lieutenant Lewis · 2019
The Maiden Heist
as Rose Barlow · 2009
Parkland
as Doris Nelson · 2013
Moxie
as Principal Shelly · 2021
TRINITY
as Margaret Vandenburg
Gideon Oliver
as Lila · 1989
P.S.
as Missy Goldberg · 2004
The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler
as Janina Krzyżanowska · 2009
American Dreamz
as First Lady · 2006
Welcome to Mooseport
as Grace Sutherland · 2004
Sinatra
as Ava Gardner · 1992
The Oil Fund
as USA Ambassadør · 2018
The Daytrippers
as Libby · 1997
Love You to Death
as Camile Stoller · 2019
The Dead Girl
as Melora · 2006
Gigi & Nate
as Claire Gibson · 2022
The Hoax
as Edith Irving · 2006
Pollock
as Lee Krasner · 2000
Elsa & Fred
as Lydia · 2014
Shelter from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast
as Self - Presenter · 2005
Christmas Cottage
as Maryanne Kinkade · 2008
Daughter of the Bride
as Diane · 2023
The Spitfire Grill
as Shelby Goddard · 1996
Unity
as Narrator (voice) · 2015
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
as Marjorie Dunfour · 2012
Pink Skies Ahead
as Pamela · 2020
In from the Night
as Vicki Miller · 2006
Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant
as President of the FAFAFA · 2015
Rails & Ties
as Megan Stark · 2007
Curtain Call
as Michelle Tippet · 1998
Tell It Like a Woman
as Dr. Partovi · 2022
Used People
as Norma · 1992
Sex and Lies in Sin City
as Becky Binion · 2009
Innocent
as Barbara Sabich · 2011
The Wine of Summer
as Shelley · 2013
Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story
as Self · 2013
Felicity: An American Girl Adventure
as Mrs. Martha Merriman · 2005
Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy
as Edda Mellas · 2011
Far Harbor
as Arabella · 1996
Casa de los Babys
as Nan · 2003
King of Texas
as Mrs. Susannah Lear Tumlinson · 2002
American Gun
as Janet Huttenson · 2005
Renner
as Salenus (voice) · 2025
She's Too Young
as Trish Vogul · 2004
Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing
as Nancy Floyd · 1997
Street Smart
as Dr. Partovi · 2026
Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel
as Marcia Connelly · 1988
Fever
as Lacy · 1991
Fog City Mavericks
as Self · 2007
Kojak: None So Blind
as Angelina · 1990
When Darkness Came: The Making of 'The Mist'
as Self · 2008
Safe Passage
as Cynthia · 1994
From Where I Sit
as Sharon · 2000
Convict Cowboy
as Maggie Sinclair · 1995
Together in Pride: You Are Not Alone
as Self · 2020
See You in My Dreams
as Angela Brown · 2004
In Broad Daylight
as Adina Rowan · 1991
Mystic River: From Page to Screen
as Self · 2003
This Ordinary Thing
as Self (voice) · 2025
Home
as Inga · 2009
Gaudi Afternoon
as Frankie · 2001
Thin Air
as Susan Silverman · 2000
Drift
Guilty Hearts
as Jenny Moran · 2002
If I Were You
as Madelyn · 2013
Mystic River: Beneath the Surface
as Self · 2004
Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner
as Self · 2006
The Cold Open
· 2019
Late for Dinner
as Joy Husband · 1991
In the Wings: Angels in America On Broadway
· 1993
Geoffrey Beene 30
· 1993
After Words
as Jane Taylor · 2015
Small Vices
as Susan Silverman · 1999
Willa Cather: The Road Is All
as Voice of Willa Cather · 2005
Canvas
as Mary Marino · 2006
Walking Shadow
as Susan Silverman · 2001
Talking With
as Laurie (segment "Clear Glass Marbles") · 1995
Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater
as Narrator · 2006
The Tower
as Zoe Cafritz · 2008
Crush
as Lane · 1992
Hystoria
In the Night I Remember Your Name
as Pastor Joyce Speegle (voice) · 2018
Labor of Love
as Annie Pines · 1998
Not Only Strangers
as Jennie · 1979
In the Echo
as Marcia