Mary Steenburgen
Acting
141
Acting Credits
Biography
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.
Known For
Filmography
The Dink
2026
as Candace
Last Train to Fortune
2025
Easy's Waltz
2025
BULLDOZER
2025
as Kathy
In the Kitchen with Harry Hamlin
2024
as Self
A Man on the Inside
2024
as Mona Margadoff
Book Club: The Next Chapter
2023
as Carol
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
2023
as Self
Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl
2022
as Self
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas
2021
as Maggie Clarke
Nightmare Alley
2021
as Mrs. Kimball
Mr. Mayor
2021
as Adriana
Happiest Season
2020
as Tipper
30 Rock: A One-Time Special
2020
as Mary Steenburgen
Stars in the House
2020
as Self
Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist
2020
as Maggie Clarke
Reunited Apart
2020
as Self
Antiquities
2019
as Dr. Margot
Flannery
2019
as Flannery O'Connor (voice)
Bless the Harts
2019
as Crystalynn (voice)
The Kelly Clarkson Show
2019
as Self - Guest
On Becoming a God in Central Florida
2019
as Ellen Joy Bonar
Katie Says Goodbye
2018
as Maybelle
Book Club
2018
as Carol
The Conners
2018
as Marcy Bellinger
The Book of Love
2017
as Julia Mureaux
I Do... Until I Don't
2017
as Cybil Burger
The Discovery
2017
as Interviewer
Dean
2016
as Carol
The Good Place
2016
as Teacher
7 Days in Hell
2015
as Louisa Poole
Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow
2015
as Aunt Cly
A Walk in the Woods
2015
as Jeannie
The Last Man on Earth
2015
as Gail Klosterman
Togetherness
2015
as Linda
Grace and Frankie
2015
as Miriam
Song One
2014
as Karen Ellis
The One I Love
2014
as Mom (voice)
Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
Brahmin Bulls
2013
as Helen West
Last Vegas
2013
as Diana Boyle
Orange Is the New Black
2013
as Delia Powell
Outlaw Country
2012
as Anastasia Lee
Finding Your Roots
2012
as Self
Fight for Your Right Revisited
2011
as Café Patron
The Help
2011
as Elaine Stein
Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division
2011
as Self
Wilfred
2011
as Catherine Newman
Dirty Girl
2010
as Peggy
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
2010
as Mrs. Yankovic
Tales from the Future
2010
as Self
Justified
2010
as Katherine Hale
In the Electric Mist
2009
as Bootsie Robicheaux
The Proposal
2009
as Grace Paxton
Clarkworld
2009
as Self
Did You Hear About the Morgans?
2009
as Emma Wheeler
The Open Road
2009
as Katherine
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
as Self - Guest
Step Brothers
2008
as Nancy Huff
Four Christmases
2008
as Marilyn
The Brave One
2007
as Carol
Nobel Son
2007
as Sarah Michaelson
Numb
2007
as Dr. Blaine
Elvis & Anabelle
2007
as Geneva Leigh
Honeydripper
2007
as Amanda Winship
The Dead Girl
2006
as Leah's Mother
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School
2006
as Marienne Hotchkiss
O Lucky Malcolm!
2006
as Self
Inland Empire
2006
as Visitor #2
30 Rock
2006
as Diana Jessup
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
2005
as Self
American Dad!
2005
as (voice)
Remembering Ragtime
2004
as Mother (archive footage)
It Must Be Love
2004
as Clem Gazelle
The Tony Danza Show
2004
as Self - Guest
Elf
2003
as Emily
Hope Springs
2003
as Joanie Fisher
Casa de los Babys
2003
as Gayle
Mrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood
2003
as Mary
Joan of Arcadia
2003
as Helen Girardi
E!'s 101
2003
as Self
Wish You Were Dead
2002
as Sally Rider
Living with the Dead
2002
as Detective Karen Condrin
Sunshine State
2002
as Francine Pinkney
Living with the Dead
2002
as Detective Karen Condrin
Nobody's Baby
2001
as Estelle
The Trumpet of the Swan
2001
as Mother (voice)
Life as a House
2001
as Colleen Beck
I Am Sam
2001
as Dr. Blake
Dinner for Five
2001
Good Day Live
2001
as Self
Picnic
2000
as Rosemary Sydney
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story
2000
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000
as Mary Steenburgen
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Grace Rinato
Noah's Ark
1999
as Naamah
About Sarah
1998
as Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey
Becker
1998
as Patient (uncredited)
The View
1997
as Self
The Grass Harp
1996
as Sister Ida
Ink
1996
as Kate Montgomery
Gulliver's Travels
1996
as Mary Gulliver
Nixon
1995
as Hannah Nixon
Powder
1995
as Jessie Caldwell
My Family
1995
as Gloria
Clifford
1994
as Sarah Davis
Pontiac Moon
1994
as Katherine Bellamy
It Runs in the Family
1994
as Mrs. Parker (Mother)
Ellen
1994
as Self (uncredited)
What's Eating Gilbert Grape
1993
as Betty Carver
Philadelphia
1993
as Belinda Conine
Frasier
1993
as Marjorie (voice)
Earth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)
Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories
1992
as Narrator (voice)
The Butcher's Wife
1991
as Stella Keefover
Back to the Future: Dickens of a Christmas
1991
as Clara Clayton Brown (voice)
Back to the Future
1991
as Clara Clayton (voice)
Back to the Future Part III
1990
as Clara Clayton
The Long Walk Home
1990
as Narrator (voice)
The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy
1990
as Self
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1990
as Self
Parenthood
1989
as Karen Buckman
Miss Firecracker
1989
as Elaine Rutledge
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
as Self (voice)
The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank
1988
as Miep Gies
LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988
as Self - Guest
The Whales of August
1987
as Young Sarah
End of the Line
1987
as Rose Pickett
Dead of Winter
1987
as Julie Rose / Katie McGovern / Evelyn
One Magic Christmas
1985
as Ginny Grainger
Tender Is the Night
1985
as Nicole Diver (née Warren)
Romantic Comedy
1983
as Phoebe Craddock
Cross Creek
1983
as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Little Red Riding Hood
1983
as Little Red Riding Hood a.k.a. Mary
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy
1982
as Adrian
Faerie Tale Theatre
1982
as Mary / Little Red Riding Hood
Ragtime
1981
as Mother
Melvin and Howard
1980
as Lynda Dummar
Time After Time
1979
as Amy Robbins
Goin' South
1978
as Julia Tate
The Oscars
1953
as Self