Biography
Who is Marcia Gay Harden?
Early life and education
Marcia Gay Harden was born in La Jolla, California, on August 14, 1959. Her mother, Beverly, was a housewife, and her father, Thad, served as a captain and fighter pilot in the United States Navy for thirty years. Because of her father's career, the family moved frequently during her childhood, living in countries such as Japan, Greece, and Germany, as well as multiple states in the US.
She graduated from Surrattsville High School in Clinton, Maryland, in 1976. She later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in theater in 1980. She continued her training at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, completing a Master of Fine Arts degree in 1988.
Career highlights and awards
Marcia gained wide exposure with her role in the 1990 Coen brothers mobster drama Miller's Crossing. Throughout the 1990s, she appeared in numerous film and television projects, including The First Wives Club, Flubber, and Meet Joe Black. Her breakout film performance came in the 2000 biographical drama Pollock, in which she portrayed painter Lee Krasner. This role earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She received a second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 2003 mystery crime drama Mystic River. Her other well-known film credits include The Mist and the Fifty Shades film series. On television, she has appeared in programs such as The Newsroom, How to Get Away with Murder, Code Black, and So Help Me Todd. She also earned Emmy Award nominations for her guest roles in Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and The Morning Show, as well as a television film about Irena Sendler.
Stage work
Marcia has enjoyed a successful career on the stage, particularly on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in 1993, starring in Tony Kushner's play Angels in America. Her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
She returned to Broadway in 2009 to star in Yasmina Reza's comedic play God of Carnage alongside James Gandolfini, Hope Davis, and Jeff Daniels. For her performance in this production, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Personal life
Marcia married prop master Thaddaeus Scheel in 1996, and the couple had three children together before divorcing in 2012. Outside of her acting career, she is an avid potter and a practitioner of ikebana, the traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement. In 2018, she published a memoir titled The Seasons of My Mother, which details her bond with her mother and their experiences with Alzheimer's disease.
Birthday and age
Marcia Gay Harden was born on August 14, 1959, which makes Marcia 67 years old today. That birthday falls under the Leo sign. Marcia shares the date with 29 other famous people.
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