Margo Martindale
Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and onstage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on Justified. Martindale was nominated for an Emmy Award four times for her recurring role as Claudia on The Americans, winning the award in 2015[1] and 2016.[2] She has played supporting roles in several films, including Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Hours, Million Dollar Baby, Dead Man Walking, The Firm, Lorenzo's Oil, ...First Do No Harm, Eye of God, Win Win, Marvin's Room, Forged, Orphan, The Savages, Hannah Montana: The Movie, August: Osage County, and Paris, je t'aime.
Margo Martindale | |
|---|---|
 Martindale at the Montclair Film Festival, May 2016 | |
| Born | July 18, 1951 Jacksonville, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Lon Morris College University of Michigan (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Spouse(s) | Bill Boals (m. 1986) |
| Children | 1 |
Martindale was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in 2004 for her performance in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She also voiced a fictionalized version of herself in the Netflix adult-animated show BoJack Horseman.
Early life
Martindale was born July 18, 1951 in Jacksonville, Texas, the youngest of three children and only daughter of William Everett and Margaret (Pruitt) Martindale.[3][4] In addition to owning and operating a lumber company in Jacksonville, her father was known as a champion dog handler in Texas and throughout the Southern United States.
Her oldest brother is professional golfer and golf course designer Billy Martindale. The middle child, brother Bobby Tim, died in 2004.[3] Margo participated in golf, cheerleading and drama while in school and was crowned "Football Sweetheart"[5] as well as "Miss Jacksonville High School 1969."[6]
Following graduation from Jacksonville High School in 1969,[7] Martindale attended Lon Morris College, then transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. While at Michigan, she attended summer courses at Harvard University, appearing onstage with future movie and TV stars Jonathan Frakes and Christopher Reeve.[6]
Career
Theatre
In the early 1980s, Martindale worked for four years at the Actors Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky. While there she became good friends with fellow actress Kathy Bates.[8]
Martindale made her Broadway debut in 2004 as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, for her work in the role.[9][10]
Prior to that, Martindale had starred in several Off-Broadway stage productions, most notably originating the role of Truvy Jones in the first production of Steel Magnolias Off-Broadway, as well as starring in the first national tour of the play.[11] Other Off-Broadway appearances include Always...Patsy Cline and The Sugar Bean Sisters.
Film
Martindale's film roles include turns as Susan Sarandon's character's fellow nun in Dead Man Walking, and, again with Sarandon, in Lorenzo's Oil. She appeared as Leonardo DiCaprio's character's doctor in Marvin's Room; and as Hilary Swank's character's selfish mother in Million Dollar Baby. Other films include The Human Stain with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, Nobody's Fool with Paul Newman, 28 Days with Sandra Bullock, Proof of Life with Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, and Practical Magic, again with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. She was featured in Paris, je t'aime. She played Mama Cox in the 2007 film Walk Hard, played Ruby in Hannah Montana: The Movie and played Miss Elizabeth Ham in the movie Secretariat.
Martindale had a role in August: Osage County (2013), a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts. She played Mattie Fae Aiken, the sister of lead character Violet Weston (Meryl Streep). Filming took place in the fall and winter of 2012.[12][13]
Television
Martindale has been described as a character actress.[14]
One of her first television roles came in the miniseries Lonesome Dove. A series of character and guest appearances followed in a wide range of TV shows. Martindale played recurring character Camilla Figg on the first three seasons of Dexter and had a recurring role in the A&E courtroom drama 100 Centre Street with Alan Arkin.
From 2007 to 2008, she had a recurring role as Nina Burns, a neighbor of the Malloy/"Rich" family in The Riches with Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard.[15]
In 2011, Martindale joined the cast of Justified for the second season. She played the role of Mags Bennett, matriarch of the Bennett crime family which controlled much of the drug activity in the fictional version of Harlan County, Kentucky.[16] She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.[17]
After learning of the nomination, Martindale told CNN she hoped that it would open up more doors for older women in Hollywood. "People really identify with this character [Mags Bennett] and I think it's because it is a character that is powerful and older and extremely mean", she said.[18] She won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for her role as Mags Bennett.[19]
In February 2012 it was announced Martindale had been cast in the ABC comedy pilot Counter Culture, which was not picked up.[20][21]
Martindale returned to television in late January 2013 in the spy drama The Americans on FX Network. She played Claudia, the KGB "handler" of two Soviet spies living in 1980s Cold War America.[22]
She co-starred in the sitcom The Millers on CBS. In 2015, she began a recurring role as Ruth Eastman, Peter Florrick's new campaign manager on The Good Wife. Martindale took up the role of Ruth again in 2018 in season two of The Good Fight, the sequel to The Good Wife. She appears as a fictionalized version of herself on the Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman. Her fictional version is easily angered and temperamentally violent, moonlighting as a bank robber and going on frequent criminal heists. BoJack consistently refers to her as "Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale", while most other characters begin addressing her with "Beloved."[23]
Martindale played Audrey Bernhardt, matriarch of the family on the Amazon series Sneaky Pete starring Giovanni Ribisi, for the 2015 pilot, the first season which aired in January 2017,[24] and the second and third seasons as well.[25]
In 2020, Martindale portrayed US Congresswoman Bella Abzug on the FX miniseries Mrs America and received a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.She also played Mike's ‘Aunt Rosemary’ in several segments of Mike and Molly
Podcasts
In November 2019, I Spy, a podcast hosted by Martindale and produced by Foreign Policy, was released.[26]
Personal life
Martindale has been married to musician Bill Boals since 1986. They have a daughter, Margaret.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Days of Thunder | Donna | |
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | Millie | |
| 1992 | Lorenzo's Oil | Wendy Gimble | |
| 1993 | Emma and Elvis | Jenny | |
| 1993 | The Firm | Nina Huff | |
| 1994 | Nobody's Fool | Birdy | |
| 1995 | Dead Man Walking | Sister Collegeville | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Nurse | |
| 1996 | Marvin's Room | Dr. Charlotte | |
| 1996 | Ghosts of Mississippi | Clara Mayfield | |
| 1997 | Critical Care | Constance "Connie" Potter | |
| 1997 | Eye of the God | Dorothy | |
| 1998 | Twilight | Gloria Lamar | |
| 1998 | Practical Magic | Linda Bennett | |
| 1999 | In Dreams | Nurse Floyd | |
| 1999 | Ride with the Devil | Wilma Brown | |
| 2000 | 28 Days | Betty | |
| 2000 | Proof of Life | Ivy | |
| 2002 | The Hours | Mrs. Latch | |
| 2003 | It's All About Love | Betsy | |
| 2003 | The Human Stain | Psychologist | |
| 2004 | The Best Thief in the World | Miss Mason | |
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Earline Fitzgerald | |
| 2006 | Out There | Jeri | |
| 2006 | Wedding Daze | Betsy | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Carol | |
| 2007 | The Savages | Roz | |
| 2007 | Rocket Science | Coach Lumbly | |
| 2007 | Mo | Pam | |
| 2007 | The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Macy | |
| 2007 | Rails & Ties | Judy Neasy | |
| 2007 | Feast of Love | Mrs. Maggarolian | |
| 2007 | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Ma Cox | |
| 2008 | Management | Trish | |
| 2009 | The Winning Season | Donna | |
| 2009 | Hannah Montana: The Movie | Grandma Ruby | |
| 2009 | Orphan | Dr. Browning | |
| 2009 | La soga | Flannigan | |
| 2010 | Forged | Dianne | |
| 2010 | Secretariat | Elizabeth Hamm | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Myrtle Parker | |
| 2011 | Win Win | Eleanor | |
| 2011 | Scalene | Janice Trimble | |
| 2013 | Beautiful Creatures | Aunt Del | |
| 2013 | Bluebird | Crystal | |
| 2013 | August: Osage County | Mattie Fae Aiken | |
| 2014 | Heaven is for Real | Nancy Rawling | |
| 2016 | Sophie and the Rising Sun | Anne Morrison | |
| 2016 | The Hollars | Sally | |
| 2016 | The Boss | Sister Agnes Aluminata | |
| 2016 | Mother's Day | Flo | |
| 2016 | My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | Mrs. Brinson (voice) | |
| 2017 | Wilson | Alta | |
| 2017 | Table 19 | Freda Eckberg | |
| 2017 | Cars 3 | Louise "Barnstormer" Nash (voice) | |
| 2017 | Downsizing | Woman on Shuttle | Cameo |
| 2018 | Instant Family | Sandy Wagner | |
| 2019 | Blow the Man Down | Enid Nora Devlin | |
| 2019 | The Kitchen | Helen O'Carroll | |
| 2020 | Uncle Frank | Mammaw Bledsoe | |
| 2020 | Lazy Susan | Mary | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | The Child Saver | Alma | TV film |
| 1989 | Lonesome Dove | Buffalo Heiffer | Episode: "The Plains" |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Nurse Warner | Episode: "Tasha" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Ms. Best | Episode: "Atonement" |
| 1996 | Ruby Jean and Joe | Frankie | TV film |
| 1997 | ...First Do No Harm | Marjean | TV film |
| 1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Verna Henderson | Episode: "The Same Coin" |
| 1999 | Earthly Possessions | Libby | TV film |
| 1999 | Snoops | Hannah Larson | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000 | Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder | Linda Hoffmann-Pugh | TV film |
| 2001 | Welcome to New York | Rose | Episode: "Dusting Diva" |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | May | TV film |
| 2001 | What Girls Learn | Lainey | TV film |
| 2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Michelle Grande | 14 episodes |
| 2002 | The Laramie Project | Trish Steger | TV film |
| 2003 | Ed | Amanda Myers | Episode: "Partners" |
| 2003 | An Unexpected Love | Maggie | TV film |
| 2004 | Iron Jawed Angels | Harriot Blatch | TV film |
| 2004 | Plainsong | Mrs. Beckman | TV film |
| 2005 | Silver Bells | Mrs. Quinn | TV film |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Rita Gabler | Episode: "Cage" |
| 2006–2008 | Dexter | Camilla Figg | 5 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | The Riches | Nina Burns | Regular role (20 episodes) |
| 2009 | Hung | Molly | Episode: "The Pickle Jar" |
| 2009–2010 | Mercy | Nurse Klowden | Recurring role (11 episodes) |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | Gina Powell | Episode: "Innocent Man" |
| 2011 | Justified | Mags Bennett | Recurring role (10 episodes) |
| 2011 | Chaos | Doris Balshik | Episodes: "Pilot", "Proof of Life" |
| 2011–2012 | A Gifted Man | Rita Perkins-Hall | Main role (16 episodes) |
| 2012 | Counter Culture | Billie | TV film |
| 2012 | Suits | Nell Sawyer | Episode: "Meet the New Boss" |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Barbara Russell | Episode: "Bad Code" |
| 2013 | Smash | Miriam Abramson | Episode: "The Fallout" |
| 2013 | New Girl | Bonnie | Episode: "Chicago" |
| 2013 | Masters of Sex | Miss Horchow | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2013–2014 | The Millers | Carol Miller | Main role (34 episodes) |
| 2013–2018 | The Americans | Claudia | Recurring role (32 episodes) |
| 2014–2020 | BoJack Horseman | Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale (voice) | Guest starring (8 episodes), fictionalized version of self |
| 2015 | Mike & Molly | Rosemary Ritter | 2 episodes: "Mudlick or Bust" and "Mother From Another Mudlick" |
| 2015–2016 | The Good Wife | Ruth Eastman | Recurring role (13 episodes) |
| 2015–2019 | Sneaky Pete | Audrey Bernhardt | Main role (30 episodes) |
| 2016 | BrainDead | Dr. Joanne Alaimo | Episode: "Back to Work: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Congress and How It Gets Things Done (and Often Doesn't)" |
| 2017–2019 | DuckTales | Ma Beagle (voice) | 6 episodes |
| 2017 | The Guest Book | Alice | 3 episodes |
| 2018 | The Good Fight | Ruth Eastman | 3 episodes |
| 2019 | The Act | Emma Lois Gisclair Pitre | Episode: “A Whole New World” |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Bella Abzug | Miniseries |
| 2020 | Your Honor | Senator Elizabeth Guthrie | Miniseries |
| 2021 | Impeachment: American Crime Story | Lucianne Goldberg | Main role, filming |
Awards and nominations
References
- "67th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners : Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series - 2015". Emmys.com. Emmy Awards. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- "68th Emmy Awards Nominees and Winners : Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series - 2016". Emmys.com. Emmy Awards. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
- "Bobby Tim Martindale". Longview News-Journal. Longview, Texas. July 18, 2004. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved November 1, 2011.
- "Martindale Family is Family of Champions". The Cherokeean. Rusk, Texas. September 9, 1965. Retrieved September 28, 2011 – via Texas History Portal.
- "Margo Martindale". BuddyTV. 2009. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- "Jacksonville's Margo Martindale wins Emmy for TV show 'Justified'". The Cherokeean Herald. September 21, 2011. Archived from the original on May 29, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2011.
- "Margo Martindale biography". Yahoo! Movies. 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- "Justified star Margo Martindale on Mags Bennett". AOLTV.com. March 30, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- "List of nominees for 2004 Tony Awards". USA Today. May 11, 2004.
- "Review". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- "Review". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2012-10-03. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
- Patten, Dominic (August 1, 2012). "'August: Osage County' Adds Margo Martindale". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
- Simpson, Andrea (October 1, 2012). "George Clooney Brings Star Power to Oklahoma As He Films New Movie 'August: Osage County' (PHOTOS)". Celebuzz. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- "Margo Martindale profile". Filmreference.com. October 10, 2012.
- "Interview: Eddie Izzard and Minnie Driver from 'The Riches' on FX". DaemonsTV.com. March 16, 2008. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
- Bryant, Adam (December 1, 2010). "Justified First Look: Margo Martindale Is Raylan's New Nemesis". TVGuide.com. Retrieved December 2, 2010.
- "Margo Martindale profile". Emmys.com. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- "A birthday surprise for Justified actress Martindale". The Marquee Blog, CNN. July 14, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2011.
- "Showclips:Margo Martindale Wins Award". TV Guide.com. June 14, 2011.
- Andreeva, Nellie (February 29, 2012). "Margo Martindale To Star In ABC Comedy Pilot 'Counter Culture'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- Ausiello, Michael (February 29, 2012). "Scoop: Margo Martindale Joins ABC Comedy Pilot Counter Culture – Is A Gifted Man Doomed?". TV Line. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
- Prudom, Laura (December 12, 2012). "Margo Martindale cast in FX's spy drama The Americans". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 19, 2013.
- Egner, Jeremy (May 23, 2018). "Margo Martindale on 'The Americans' and Life as an 'Esteemed Character Actress'". The New York Times.
- "'Sneaky Pete': Exclusive Photos of Bryan Cranston, Margo Martindale and More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- Schwartz, Ryan (March 7, 2018). "Sneaky Pete's Margo Martindale Teases Americans Farewell, Revisits BoJack, New Girl, Justified and Other Roles". TVLine. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- "I Spy podcast website".
- https://www.actorsequityfoundation.org/the-richard-seff-past-winners#:~:text=Richard%20Seff%20Award%20is%20presented,Broadway%20or%20Off%2DBroadway%20production
- "2010-11: The Season of Mildred Pierce". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
- "2012-13: The Season of American Horror Story: Asylum". Online Film & Television Association. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2013.
External links
- Margo Martindale at IMDb
- Margo Martindale at the Internet Broadway Database
- Margo Martindale at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Margo Martindale at Emmys.com
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