Mary Steenburgen
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- February 8, 1953
- Birthplace
- Newport, Arkansas, USA
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.
Filmography
A Dog's Perfect Christmas 2026
as Claire
Let's Have Kids! 2026
as Sue
Last Train to Fortune 2026
as Miss Maybelle
The Dink 2026
as Candace
Easy's Waltz 2025
Actor
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic 2023
as Self
Book Club: The Next Chapter 2023
as Carol
Celebrating Betty White: America's Golden Girl 2022
as Self
Nightmare Alley 2021
as Mrs. Kimball
Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas 2021
as Maggie Clarke
Happiest Season 2020
as Tipper
Best Summer Ever 2020
Executive Producer
30 Rock: A One-Time Special 2020
as Mary Steenburgen
Flannery 2019
as Flannery O'Connor (voice)
Antiquities 2019
as Dr. Margot
Book Club 2018
as Carol
Katie Says Goodbye 2018
as Maybelle
I Do... Until I Don't 2017
as Cybil Burger
The Discovery 2017
as Interviewer
The Book of Love 2017
as Julia Mureaux
Dean 2016
as Carol
Jim Henson's Turkey Hollow 2015
as Aunt Cly
A Walk in the Woods 2015
as Jeannie
7 Days in Hell 2015
as Louisa Poole
The One I Love 2014
as Mom (voice), Thanks
Song One 2014
as Karen Ellis
Last Vegas 2013
as Diana
Brahmin Bulls 2013
as Helen West
Outlaw Country 2012
as Anastasia Lee
The Help 2011
as Elaine Stein
Fight for Your Right Revisited 2011
as Café Patron
Tales from the Future 2010
as Self
Dirty Girl 2010
as Peggy
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story 2010
as Mrs. Yankovic
Did You Hear About the Morgans? 2009
as Emma Wheeler
Clarkworld 2009
as Self
The Proposal 2009
as Grace Paxton
In the Electric Mist 2009
as Bootsie Robicheaux
The Open Road 2009
as Katherine
Four Christmases 2008
as Marilyn
Step Brothers 2008
as Nancy Huff
The Brave One 2007
as Carol
Honeydripper 2007
as Amanda Winship
Numb 2007
as Dr. Blaine
Nobel Son 2007
as Sarah Michaelson
Elvis & Anabelle 2007
as Geneva Leigh
Inland Empire 2006
as Visitor #2
The Dead Girl 2006
as Leah's Mother
O Lucky Malcolm! 2006
as Self
Bye Bye Benjamin 2006
Executive Producer
Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School 2006
as Marienne Hotchkiss
Elf: That's a Wrap 2004
as Self
Remembering Ragtime 2004
as Mother (archive footage)
It Must Be Love 2004
as Clem Gazelle
Elf 2003
as Emily
Casa de los Babys 2003
as Gayle
Hope Springs 2003
as Joanie Fisher
Mrs. Pilgrim Goes to Hollywood 2003
as Mary
Back to the Future: Making the Trilogy 2002
as Self - Clara Clayton
Sunshine State 2002
as Francine Pinkney
Wish You Were Dead 2002
as Sally Rider
Living with the Dead 2002
as Detective Karen Condrin
Character Building: Inside 'Life As a House' 2002
as Self
I Am Sam 2001
as Dr. Blake
Life as a House 2001
as Colleen Beck
The Trumpet of the Swan 2001
as Mother (voice)
Nobody's Baby 2001
as Estelle
The Tulsa Lynching of 1921: A Hidden Story 2000
Actor
Picnic 2000
as Rosemary Sydney
About Sarah 1998
as Sarah Elizabeth McCaffrey
The Grass Harp 1996
as Sister Ida
Nixon 1995
as Hannah Nixon
Powder 1995
as Jessie Caldwell
My Family 1995
as Gloria
Pontiac Moon 1994
as Katherine Bellamy
It Runs in the Family 1994
as Mrs. Parker (Mother)
Clifford 1994
as Sarah Davis
Philadelphia 1993
as Belinda Conine
What's Eating Gilbert Grape 1993
as Betty Carver
Earth and the American Dream 1992
as Reader (voice)
Back to the Future: Dickens of a Christmas 1991
as Clara Clayton Brown (voice)
The Butcher's Wife 1991
as Stella Keefover
The Long Walk Home 1990
as Narrator (voice)
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret 1990
as Self
The Secrets of the 'Back to the Future' Trilogy 1990
as Self
Back to the Future Part III 1990
as Clara Clayton
Parenthood 1989
as Karen Buckman
- Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre 1989
as Self (voice)
Miss Firecracker 1989
as Elaine Rutledge
The Attic: The Hiding of Anne Frank 1988
as Miep Gies
The Whales of August 1987
as Young Sarah
End of the Line 1987
as Rose Pickett, Executive Producer
Dead of Winter 1987
as Julie Rose / Katie McGovern / Evelyn
One Magic Christmas 1985
as Ginny Grainger
Little Red Riding Hood 1983
as Little Red Riding Hood a.k.a. Mary
Romantic Comedy 1983
as Phoebe Craddock
Cross Creek 1983
as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy 1982
as Adrian
Ragtime 1981
as Mother
Melvin and Howard 1980
as Lynda Dummar
Time After Time 1979
as Amy Robbins
Goin' South 1978
as Julia Tate
Credits from TMDB.