Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

1953-02-08 Newport, Arkansas, USA 99 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

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Complete Filmography

Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic

Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic

2023

as Self

7.4
Acting

CBS presents DICK VAN DYKE 98 YEARS OF MAGIC, an unforgettable special celebrating the legendary career of the iconic entertainer for his 98th birthda...

Book Club: The Next Chapter

Book Club: The Next Chapter

2023

as Carol

6.3
Acting

Four best friends take their book club to Italy for the fun girls' trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their r...

Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl

Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl

2022

as Self

9.5
Acting

Friends and stars pay tribute to America's comedy sweetheart and her trailblazing television career.

Nightmare Alley

Nightmare Alley

2021

as Mrs. Kimball

7.0
Acting

An ambitious carnival man with a talent for manipulating people with a few well-chosen words hooks up with a female psychologist who is even more dang...

Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas

Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas

2021

as Maggie Clarke

6.4
Acting

On her first holiday without her father, Zoey attempts to create a magical Christmas for her family just like the ones Mitch used to do.

Happiest Season

Happiest Season

2020

as Tipper

7.2
Acting

A young woman's plans to propose to her girlfriend while at her family's annual holiday party are upended when she discovers her partner hasn't yet co...

Best Summer Ever

Best Summer Ever

2020

Executive Producer

6.7
Producing

A high school football player is shocked to discover that the new girl in school is the same girl he fell in love with at a summer dance camp.

30 Rock: A One-Time Special

30 Rock: A One-Time Special

2020

as Mary Steenburgen

5.6
Acting

In a one-time special event featuring all the beloved characters from the original series, Liz Lemon and Jack Donaghy reunite the TGS team to help Ken...

Flannery

Flannery

2019

as Flannery O'Connor (voice)

Acting

Explore the life of Flannery O’Connor whose provocative fiction was unlike anything published before. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, ne...

Antiquities

Antiquities

2019

as Dr. Margot

4.3
Acting

After his father's death, a young man searches to find who his dad was only to stumble onto himself.

Book Club

Book Club

2018

as Carol

6.2
Acting

Four lifelong friends decide that their lives could change by becoming nasty and reading Fifty Shades of Grey in their monthly book club to get inspir...

Katie Says Goodbye

Katie Says Goodbye

2018

as Maybelle

6.7
Acting

A kindhearted seventeen-year-old in the American Southwest turns to prostitution to fulfill her dream of a new life in San Francisco.

I Do... Until I Don't

I Do... Until I Don't

2017

as Cybil Burger

4.9
Acting

In Vero Beach, Florida, a trio of couples at various points in their relationships become the subjects of a film about marriage being an antiquated id...

The Discovery

The Discovery

2017

as Interviewer

6.3
Acting

In the near future, due to a breakthrough scientific discovery by Dr. Thomas Harbor, there is now definitive proof of an afterlife. While countless pe...

The Book of Love

The Book of Love

2017

as Julia Mureaux

6.4
Acting

After tragedy strikes Henry and Penny, he befriends a tenacious young girl and discovers she is constructing a raft to sail across the Atlantic to fin...

Dean

Dean

2016

as Carol

5.9
Acting

A freelance illustrator in New York suffers a quarter-life crisis and leaves his home for the west coast.

Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow

Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow

2015

as Aunt Cly

5.4
Acting

While visiting their kooky aunt, two siblings go hunting for a Bigfoot-like creature called the Howling Hoodoo, encountering other monsters in the woo...

A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

2015

as Jeannie

6.1
Acting

After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appa...

7 Days in Hell

7 Days in Hell

2015

as Louisa Poole

6.5
Acting

A fictional documentary-style expose on the rivalry between two tennis stars who battled it out in a 1999 match that lasted seven days.

The One I Love

The One I Love

2014

as Mom (voice)

6.9
Acting

Ethan and Sophie are a married couple on the brink of separation when, at the urging of their therapist, they decide to salvage their relationship by ...

The One I Love

The One I Love

2014

Thanks

6.9

Ethan and Sophie are a married couple on the brink of separation when, at the urging of their therapist, they decide to salvage their relationship by ...

Song One

Song One

2014

as Karen Ellis

5.7
Acting

Estranged from her family, Franny returns home when an accident leaves her brother comatose. Retracing his life as an aspiring musician, she tracks do...

Last Vegas

Last Vegas

2013

as Diana Boyle

6.4
Acting

Aging pals Billy, Paddy, Archie, and Sam have been best friends since childhood. When Billy finally proposes to his much-younger girlfriend, all four ...

Brahmin Bulls

Brahmin Bulls

2013

as Helen West

5.0
Acting

When Ashok makes a surprise visit to Los Angeles to visit his estranged son, the two begin a journey to mend their relationship until Sid discovers th...

Outlaw Country

Outlaw Country

2012

as Anastasia Lee

6.0
Acting

A crime thriller/family drama set against the backdrop of southern organized crime and Nashville royalty where music, love, hope and tragedy collide. ...

Clinton Foundation: Celebrity Division

2011

as Self

Acting

Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Jack Black, Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Ted Danson, Mary Steenburgen & Kevin Spacey, who comprise the Clinton Foundation's Celeb...

The Help

The Help

2011

as Elaine Stein

8.2
Acting

Aibileen Clark is a middle-aged African-American maid who has spent her life raising white children and has recently lost her only son; Minny Jackson ...

Fight for Your Right Revisited

Fight for Your Right Revisited

2011

as Café Patron

6.6
Acting

Fight for Your Right Revisited stars Danny McBride, Seth Rogen, and Elijah Wood as the "young" Beastie Boys from the past and Jack Black, John C. Reil...

Tales from the Future

Tales from the Future

2010

as Self

6.7
Acting

Eight-part retrospective documentary on the making of "Back to the Future" (and its two sequels) for the film's 25th anniversary.

Dirty Girl

Dirty Girl

2010

as Peggy

6.0
Acting

When Danielle is banished to special education because of her misbehavior, she joins Clarke on a road trip to discover themselves.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story

2010

as Mrs. Yankovic

6.6
Acting

A fictional biographical film about ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic that parodies other films based on musicians.

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

Did You Hear About the Morgans?

2009

as Emma Wheeler

5.4
Acting

New Yorkers Paul and Meryl Morgan seem to have it all -- except that their marriage is crumbling around them. But their romantic woes are small compar...

Clarkworld

Clarkworld

2009

as Self

10.0
Acting

Documentary on the life and death of Bob Clark, a director of movies such as Christmas Story, Porky's and Black Christmas.

The Proposal

The Proposal

2009

as Grace Paxton

7.2
Acting

When she learns she's in danger of losing her visa status and being deported, overbearing book editor Margaret Tate forces her put-upon assistant, And...

In the Electric Mist

In the Electric Mist

2009

as Bootsie Robicheaux

6.1
Acting

Lt. Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana, is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie (Baby Feet) Bal...

The Open Road

The Open Road

2009

as Katherine

5.2
Acting

Minor leaguer Carlton Garret takes an unexpected road trip to track down his estranged father, legendary baseball player Kyle Garret when Carlton’s mo...

Four Christmases

Four Christmases

2008

as Marilyn

5.8
Acting

Brad and Kate have made something of an art form out of avoiding their families during the holidays, but this year their foolproof plan is about go bu...

Step Brothers

Step Brothers

2008

as Nancy Huff

6.6
Acting

Brennan Huff and Dale Doback might be grown men. But that doesn't stop them from living at home and turning into jealous, competitive stepbrothers whe...

The Brave One

The Brave One

2007

as Carol

6.6
Acting

A woman struggles to recover from a brutal attack by setting out on a mission for revenge.

Honeydripper

Honeydripper

2007

as Amanda Winship

5.8
Acting

In 1950s Alabama, the owner of the Honeydripper juke joint finds his business dropping off and against his better judgment, hires a young electric gui...

Numb

Numb

2007

as Dr. Blaine

5.9
Acting

Hudson Milbank is a successful Hollywood screenwriter who suddenly and strangely finds himself without any emotional feelings. He tries doctor after d...

Nobel Son

Nobel Son

2007

as Sarah Michaelson

6.1
Acting

Soon after his insufferably arrogant father wins the Nobel Prize for chemistry, Barkley Michaelson is kidnapped by Thaddeus James, a young genius who ...

Elvis & Anabelle

Elvis & Anabelle

2007

as Geneva Leigh

6.8
Acting

A small-town beauty queen and an unlicensed mortician set out across the Texas plains on a journey of self-discovery.

Inland Empire

Inland Empire

2006

as Visitor #2

7.0
Acting

As a Hollywood actress begins to adopt the persona of her character in a film, her world becomes nightmarish and surreal.

The Dead Girl

The Dead Girl

2006

as Beverley, Leah's Mother

6.0
Acting

The clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated people begin to intersect.

O Lucky Malcolm!

O Lucky Malcolm!

2006

as Self

6.7
Acting

Actor Malcolm McDowell talks about his life and career. With interviews featuring his friends, family, directors and co-stars.

Bye Bye Benjamin

Bye Bye Benjamin

2006

Executive Producer

Producing

Benjamin Osgood, a savvy ten-year-old business executive, meets a coworker's daughter, and must decide how grown up he wants to be.

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School

2006

as Marienne Hotchkiss

5.8
Acting

Frank Keane, a baker by trade, has been consumed by grief over his wife's untimely death. But everything changes when he pulls his bread truck over on...

Remembering Ragtime

Remembering Ragtime

2004

as Mother (archive footage)

Acting

Memories from the making of the classic Milos Forman film "Ragtime".

It Must Be Love

It Must Be Love

2004

as Clem Gazelle

4.4
Acting

A couple decides to settle their divorce in a civilized manner without lawyers, which brings complications.

Elf

Elf

2003

as Emily

6.7
Acting

When young Buddy falls into Santa's gift sack on Christmas Eve, he's transported back to the North Pole and raised as a toy-making elf by Santa's help...

Casa de los Babys

Casa de los Babys

2003

as Gayle

5.5
Acting

A group of women, including Skipper, the wealthy young Jennifer and the domineering Nan, journey from the United States to South America in hopes of e...

Hope Springs

Hope Springs

2003

as Joanie Fisher

5.3
Acting

British artist Colin Ware discovers that his fiancée, Vera, is going to marry another man. Distraught and despondent, he gets on a plane for America a...

Mrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood

Mrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood

2003

as Mary

Acting

Mrs. Pilgrim, a sweet kindergarten teacher from Arkansas, has become so confident in her annual 5 food group school play that she decides to turn it i...

Sunshine State

Sunshine State

2002

as Francine Pinkney

6.4
Acting

A woman and her new husband returns to her hometown roots in coastal northern Florida, and must deal with family, business, and encroaching real estat...

Wish You Were Dead

Wish You Were Dead

2002

as Sally Rider

4.9
Acting

Two bad women fight over one man in a back-stabbing, money-grabbing, insurance-hustling, double-dealing, two-timing caper.

Living with the Dead

Living with the Dead

2002

as Detective Karen Condrin

5.2
Acting

A man begins to have disturbing visions of dead people, among whom are his mother and victims of a local serial killer. All telling their story of how...

I Am Sam

I Am Sam

2001

as Dr. Blake

7.6
Acting

Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. ...

Life as a House

Life as a House

2001

as Colleen Beck

7.1
Acting

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in ...

The Trumpet of the Swan

The Trumpet of the Swan

2001

as Mother (voice)

5.5
Acting

The adventures of a young Trumpeter swan who cannot speak. With the help of a human boy and the love of his family and friends, Louie discovers his ow...

Nobody's Baby

Nobody's Baby

2001

as Estelle

5.2
Acting

Two not so bright small time crooks end up with a baby girl by "accident" and find a change in their lives. Billy (Ulrich) becomes the guy to take car...

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story

2000

Acting

Documents the race riot of 1921 and the destruction of the African-American community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. With testimony by eyewitnesses ...

Picnic

Picnic

2000

as Rosemary Sydney

3.7
Acting

The son of the richest man in town wants to marry the town's beauty queen, but she meets a more interesting stranger who just got off the train.

About Sarah

About Sarah

1998

as Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey

6.0
Acting

When the matriarch of the family suddenly dies, custody of a mentally disabled mother is inherited by her normal daughter.

The Grass Harp

The Grass Harp

1996

as Sister Ida

5.8
Acting

Based on the novel by Truman Capote, this often-witty coming-of-age drama looks at a young man growing up with an unusual family in the Deep South in ...

Nixon

Nixon

1995

as Hannah Nixon

6.9
Acting

A look at President Richard M. Nixon—a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands from within—spa...

Powder

Powder

1995

as Jessie Caldwell

7.0
Acting

Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when...

My Family

My Family

1995

as Gloria

7.5
Acting

Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los A...

Pontiac Moon

Pontiac Moon

1994

as Katherine Bellamy

5.2
Acting

An absent-minded-professor father and his son take off in an old Pontiac to bond during a symbolic road trip through the Western U.S. This while his w...

It Runs in the Family

It Runs in the Family

1994

as Mrs. Parker (Mother)

5.3
Acting

It is now summer in the Parker family; and the usual amount of numerous events are happening in their separate lives. Ralphie is searching for the per...

Clifford

Clifford

1994

as Sarah Davis

5.1
Acting

When his brother asks him to look after his young son, Clifford, Martin Daniels agrees, taking the boy into his home and introducing him to his future...

Philadelphia

Philadelphia

1993

as Belinda Conine

7.7
Acting

Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes...

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

1993

as Betty Carver

7.7
Acting

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't lea...

Earth and the American Dream

Earth and the American Dream

1992

as Reader (voice)

6.7
Acting

A beautiful and disturbing film recounts America’s story from the environment’s point of view. From the arrival of Columbus to the simple wilderness l...

The Butcher's Wife

The Butcher's Wife

1991

as Stella Keefover

5.7
Acting

A clairvoyant woman thinks that she's met her future husband because she's seen him in a dream. They marry and he takes her back to his butcher shop i...

The Long Walk Home

The Long Walk Home

1990

as Narrator (voice)

7.6
Acting

Two women, black and white, in 1955 Montgomery Alabama, must decide what they are going to do in response to the famous bus boycott led by Martin Luth...

Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret

1990

as Self

Acting

A leading acting teacher who trained some of the most famous performers of the stage and screen, Sanford Meisner was a founding member of the Group Th...

The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy

The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy

1990

as Self

4.8
Acting

The Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy was a program hosted by Kirk Cameron. The show answered questions that Back to the Future fans sent in b...

Back to the Future Part III

Back to the Future Part III

1990

as Clara Clayton

7.5
Acting

The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time mac...

Parenthood

Parenthood

1989

as Karen Buckman

6.7
Acting

The story of the Buckman family and friends, attempting to bring up their children. They suffer/enjoy all the events that occur: estranged relatives, ...

Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre

1989

as Herself

Acting

A study of the Group Theatre, a company that changed the face of American drama. The Group was founded in 1931 by Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman and ...

Miss Firecracker

Miss Firecracker

1989

as Elaine Rutledge

5.6
Acting

Carnelle Scott is a restless Mississippi girl looking for a life change. She decides to enter a beauty pageant, which her cousin had won years before....

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank

The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank

1988

as Miep Gies

6.5
Acting

During the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam, Otto Frank decides to hide his family, who are Jewish, after his daughter Margot is called to appear for tran...

The Whales of August

The Whales of August

1987

as Young Sarah

7.0
Acting

Two aged sisters reflect on life and the past during a late summer day in Maine.

End of the Line

End of the Line

1987

as Rose Pickett

5.2
Acting

When the closure of a railway is announced, employees commandeer a locomotive to get to corporate headquarters and confront the president.

End of the Line

End of the Line

1987

Executive Producer

5.2
Producing

When the closure of a railway is announced, employees commandeer a locomotive to get to corporate headquarters and confront the president.

Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter

1987

as Julie Rose / Katie McGovern / Evelyn

6.0
Acting

A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.

One Magic Christmas

One Magic Christmas

1985

as Ginny Grainger

5.8
Acting

Ginny Grainger, a young mother, rediscovers the joy and beauty of Christmas, thanks to the unshakable faith of her six-year-old daughter Abbie and Gid...

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood

1983

as Little Red Riding Hood a.k.a. Mary

6.3
Acting

A sheltered but adventurous young woman finds trouble when she encounters a wolf.

Romantic Comedy

Romantic Comedy

1983

as Phoebe Craddock

5.2
Acting

Jason is in need of a collaborator to give him inspiration. Phoebe is a small-town English teacher with an urge to write. On the day Jason is being ma...

Cross Creek

Cross Creek

1983

as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

6.6
Acting

In the 1930s, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings moves to Florida's backwaters to write in peace. She feels bothered by affectionate men, editors and confused n...

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy

1982

as Adrian

6.5
Acting

A nutty inventor, his frustrated wife, a philosopher cousin, his much younger fiancée, a randy doctor, and a free-thinking nurse spend a summer weeken...

Ragtime

Ragtime

1981

as Mother

7.0
Acting

A young black pianist becomes embroiled in the lives of an upper-class white family set among the racial tensions, infidelity, violence, and other nos...

Melvin and Howard

Melvin and Howard

1980

as Lynda Dummar

6.4
Acting

The story of hard-luck Melvin Dummar, who claimed to have received a will naming him an heir to the fortune of Howard Hughes.

Time After Time

Time After Time

1979

as Amy Robbins

6.8
Acting

Writer H. G. Wells pursues Jack the Ripper to modern day San Francisco after the infamous serial killer steals his time machine to escape the 19th cen...

Goin' South

Goin' South

1978

as Julia Tate

5.8
Acting

Henry Moon is captured for a capital offense by a posse when his horse quits while trying to escape to Mexico. He finds that there is a post-Civil War...

Last Train to Fortune

N/A

Acting

When schoolteacher Cecil Peachtree misses the last train to Fortune, he strikes a deal with outlaw Dooley to secure safe and timely travel. On the jo...

Let's Have Kids!

N/A

as Sue

Acting

Two best friends, Emma and Phoebe, decide to get pregnant simultaneously to navigate motherhood together, but their friendship is tested when only one...

The Dink

N/A

Acting

A washed-up tennis pro who, in trying to save a club in crisis and win his father’s respect, is forced to break a solemn vow and do the one thing he s...