
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