Tony and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand has had an illustrious career spanning theater, television, and film. After earning a BA in theater from Bethany College and attending the Yale School of Drama for her MFA, she made her film debut in 1984 in Joel and Ethan Coen's first film, Blood Simple. She got the part after her then-roommate, actress Holly Hunter, had to turn it down and encouraged McDormand to audition instead.

By the next year, McDormand was married to Joel, and went on to appear in a total of six Coen brothers films to date (her seventh is due to come out in 2016).  She received her second Academy Award nomination, and first win, for the fifth of those films, 1996's Fargo. The next year, she was nominated for her first Emmy for her role in the TV movie Hidden in America.

Other memorable film roles include Wonder Boys, Almost Famous, North Country, Burn After Reading, and Moonrise Kingdom. Most recently, McDormand could be seen in the critically acclaimed 2014 television mini series Olive Kitteridge, playing the title role.

McDormand has also had a long career in theater. She made her Broadway debut in 1984 in a revival of the play Awake and Sing. A Tony nomination followed in 1988 for her performance as Stella Kowalski in the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. After a 20- year absence, she returned to the Broadway stage in 2008 to star in the revival of The Country Girl. In 2011, she won her first Tony Award for her performance in the play Good People.