Mary McCormack

Mary Catherine McCormack (born February 8, 1969[1]) is an American actress. She has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series Murder One (1995–97), as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in The West Wing (2004–06), as Mary Shannon in In Plain Sight (2008–12), and as Peggy in the comedy series The Kids Are Alright (2018–19).

This article is about the actress. For the opera singer, see Mary McCormic.
Mary McCormack
Born
Mary Catherine McCormack

(1969-02-08) February 8, 1969
Plainfield, New Jersey, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1994–present
Spouse(s)
​
(
m. 2003)
Children3
RelativesBridget Mary McCormack (sister)
Will McCormack (brother)

Her film roles include Private Parts (1997), Deep Impact (1998), True Crime (1999), K-PAX (2001), Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003) and 1408 (2007).

Early life

McCormack was born in Plainfield, New Jersey.[1] She is the daughter of clinical therapist Norah and car dealership and ice cream parlor owner William McCormack.[2] Her parents divorced in 1990.[3] Her sister Bridget is the Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court[4] and a former professor of law at the University of Michigan Law School.[5] Her brother William is an actor, writer and producer[6] who has appeared in a recurring role as FBI agent Robert O'Connor on In Plain Sight.

In 1987, McCormack graduated from the Wardlaw-Hartridge School in Edison, New Jersey. In 1991, she received her BA in comparative arts, specifically painting and creative writing, from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.[7]

Career

McCormack began her acting career at age 12, performing in Gian Carlo Menotti's Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors.[8] She continued her stage work in musicals and finished an acting program at the William Esper Studio.[3] She has worked in New York theater productions, including The Atlantic Theater Company, Alice's 4th Floor, and Naked Angels,[1] where she appeared in Jon Robin Baitz's A Fair Country.[9]

McCormack portrayed Justine Appleton on Murder One (1995–1997)[3] and also starred in the HBO series K Street, which aired for only ten episodes.[10] She starred in Howard Stern's movie Private Parts in 1997.[3] In 2004, McCormack joined the cast of The West Wing as Deputy National Security Advisor and ex-CIA officer Kate Harper. Her character soon became a recurring role and remained throughout the last three seasons until the series finale.[11]

McCormack starred in the USA Network series In Plain Sight. She portrayed Mary Shannon, a deputy United States marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico, office of the Federal Witness Security Program (WITSEC), more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program. On July 28, 2010, the show was renewed for its fourth and fifth seasons, to run in 2011 and 2012.[12] The show was ended in 2011, making the fifth season its last.[13] After its end, McCormack was cast as the lead in Kari Lizer's untitled comedy pilot on ABC.[14]

McCormack was nominated for the 2008 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for the role of Gretchen in the 2008 Broadway revival of Boeing Boeing.[15]

In 2012, McCormack reunited with the cast of The West Wing to film a video that served both as a reminder that U.S. voters should vote for non-partisan candidates when they cast their ballots and as a video promoting McCormack's sister's ultimately successful judicial candidacy for the Michigan State Supreme Court.[16]

In October 2013, McCormack started filming scenes for A Conspiracy on Jekyll Island alongside Frank Grillo, AnnaSophia Robb, Minnie Driver, Dianna Agron, John Leguizamo, Ed Westwick, Christopher McDonald and Maggie Q.[17] The film is directed by Aram Rappaport and produced by Hilary Shor, Atit Shah and Aaron Becker.[18][19][20] Jekyll Island is set to release in 2016.

In 2016, McCormack played a supporting role in the Amazon.com exclusive special An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas alongside Alyvia Alyn Lind, who played the title character.

Beginning in 2018, McCormack began starring in the ABC sitcom The Kids Are Alright as Catholic family matriarch Peggy Cleary.

Personal life

In July 2003, McCormack married director and producer Michael Morris.[21] Together they have three daughters.[22]

McCormack and Morris are executive producers of the game show 25 Words or Less, hosted by Meredith Vieira. McCormack is also a frequent celebrity panelist on the show, as are fellow executive producers Lisa Kudrow and Dan Bucatinsky.

McCormack is the godmother of In Plain Sight co-star Fred Weller's daughter.[23]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Miracle on 34th Street Myrna Foy
1995 Backfire! Sarah Jackson
1997 Colin Fitz Lives! Moira
1997 Private Parts Alison Stern
1997 Fathers' Day Virginia Farrell Uncredited
1997 The Alarmist Sally
1998 Deep Impact Andrea Baker
1998 Harvest Agent Becka Anslinger
1999 Getting to Know You Leila Lee
1999 True Crime Michelle Ziegler
1999 Mystery, Alaska Donna Biebe
1999 The Big Tease Monique
2000 Other Voices Anna
2000 The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy Anne
2000 Gun Shy Gloria Minetti Nesstra
2000 East of A Daphne
2001 BigLove Phoebe Short film
2001 High Heels and Low Lifes Frances
2001 World Traveler Margaret
2001 K-PAX Rachel Powell
2002 Full Frontal Linda
2003 Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star Grace Finney
2005 Madison Bonnie McCormick
2006 Right at Your Door Lexi
2006 For Your Consideration Pilgrim Woman
2007 1408 Lily
2009 Streetcar Casting Director Short film
2012 Should've Been Romeo Ellen
2014 Scooby-Doo! WrestleMania Mystery Ms. Richards
2016 An American Girl Story - Maryellen 1955: Extraordinary Christmas Kay Larkin
2017 The Crash Sarah Schwab
2017 Drone Ellen Wistin
2017 Alien Code Rebecca Stillman

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1994 Law & Order Rickie Episode: "Doubles"
1995 The Wright Verdicts Beth Eckhart Episode: "Family Matters"
1995–1997 Murder One Justine Appleton Main role; 41 episodes
1997 Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer Justine Appleton TV Mini-Series
2001 More, Patience Patience More TV movie
2002 Julie Lydecker Julie Lydecker TV movie
2003 K Street Maggie Morris Main role; 10 episodes
2003, 2006 ER Debbie Recurring role; 6 episodes
2004 Traffic Carole McKay TV Mini-Series

Nominated - Prism Award for Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries (2005)

2004–2006 The West Wing Kate Harper Recurring role (season 5); main role (seasons 6–7); 48 episodes

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2005, 2006)

2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Mary Shannon Episode: "Contract"
2008–2012 In Plain Sight Mary Shannon Lead role; 61 episodes

Nominated - Prism Award for Performance in a Drama Episode (2009)

2013 Welcome to the Family Caroline Yoder Main role; 5 episodes
2013 Escape from Polygamy Leann TV movie
2014 The Newsroom Molly 2 episodes
2015 House of Lies Denna Altshuler Recurring role; 7 episodes
2016 Divorce Kathy DeSantis Episode: "Weekend Plans"
2016–2017 Chelsea Herself Recurring role; 8 episodes
2016–2017 Angie Tribeca Abigail Liukin Recurring role; 3 episodes
2017 When We Rise Roberta Kaplan TV Mini-Series
2017 Loaded Casey Main role; 8 episodes
2018–present 25 Words or Less Herself Recurring guest, also executive producer
2018 Falling Water Taylor Bennett Recurring role; 8 episodes
2018–2019 Will & Grace Janet Adler 2 episodes
2018 For the People Chloe Daniels 1 episode
2018–2019 The Kids Are Alright Peggy Cleary Main role, 23 episodes
2019 Into the Dark Lilith Episode: Treehouse
As a producer
Year Title Notes
2010 In Plain Sight Episode: "Father Goes West"

Theatre
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Cabaret Sally Bowles Replacement
2008 Boeing-Boeing Gretchen
gollark: Intel!
gollark: Common things can be and often are bad.
gollark: Oh, that too.
gollark: For example, I think the consumer GPUs have an entirely artificial limitation on simultaneous transcoding streams.
gollark: Vendor lock in, proprietary drivers, use of drivers to artificially segment the market.

References
  1. "Mary McCormack". TVGuide.com. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
  2. Mary McCormack Biography (1969-) Film Reference.com
  3. Michael A. Lipton (April 7, 1997). "Buddy Mary". People.com. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  4. Mike Householder (November 9, 2012). "GOP Holds on to Michigan Supreme Court Majority". Insurance Journal. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  5. "Bridget M. McCormack, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, Clinical Professor of Law" Archived 2012-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Bio at Michigan Law
  6. Frazier Moore (June 1, 2008). "'In Plain Sight': Mary McCormack relishes chance to play a character with flaws". The Herald. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  7. "Trinity College Alumni Pages Class of 1991". Trinity College. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
  8. "Mary McCormack talks to female soldiers at Memorial Day concert". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  9. "Mary McCormack | National Memorial Day Concert | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  10. Andreeva, Nellie (2012-02-19). "Mary McCormack Set As The Lead In Kari Lizer's ABC Comedy Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-04-25.
  11. James Hibberd (February 19, 2012). "'West Wing' actress to star in ABC comedy pilot". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  12. Seidman, Robert (July 28, 2010). "'In Plain Sight' Renewed by USA for Two More Seasons". TVbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  13. James Hibberd (August 11, 2011). "USA cancels In Plain Sight". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  14. Vlada Gelman (February 19, 2012). "Mary McCormack Cast in ABC Comedy Pilot". TVLine.com. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  15. Nominations Tony Awards
  16. Dawson Bell (September 20, 2012). "West Wing casts reunites for Bridget Mary McCormack". www.mccormackforjustice.com. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
  17. Kroll,Justin. "'The Butler' Producer Sets up Next Pic Starring Frank Grillo and Minnie Driver (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  18. Kroll, Justin. "'The Butler' Producer Sets up Next Pic Starring Frank Grillo and Minnie Driver (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
  19. Kroll, Justin (October 29, 2013). "'The Butler' Producer Sets up Next Pic Starring Frank Grillo and Minnie Driver (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.
  20. Kroll, Justin (December 2, 2013). "Mary McCormack Joins Ensemble 'Conspiracy on Jekyll Island'". Variety.
  21. Jordan, Julie (April 22, 2011). "Mary McCormack Expecting Third Child". People.
  22. Jordan, Julie (September 11, 2011). "Mary McCormack Welcomes a Daughter". People. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
  23. Brian Gallagher (June 1, 2008). "Mary McCormack and Frederick Weller Dish on In Plain Sight". Movieweb. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
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