--- name: "Marcia Gay Harden" canonical: "https://film.one/person/marcia-gay-harden" fi1m_id: "marcia-gay-harden" imdb_id: "nm0001315" tmdb_id: 4726 wikidata_id: "Q228931" roles: ["Actor"] born: "14 August 1959" reviewed_on_fi1m: 7 average_fi1m_score: 71 average_as: "actor" average_over: 7 updated: "2026-10-05T00:37:14.758764+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Marcia Gay Harden ## Identity Marcia Gay Harden - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/marcia-gay-harden - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** marcia-gay-harden - **IMDb ID:** nm0001315 - **TMDB ID:** 4726 - **Wikidata ID:** Q228931 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Gay_Harden, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228931, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001315/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4726 Actor. Born 14 August 1959 in La Jolla, California, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 14 August 1959, La Jolla, California, USA - **Active:** 1990–present - **Also known as:** Marsha Gay Harden, Marcia Harden, 马西娅·盖伊·哈登, Марша Гей Харден, Gay Hagen - **Frequently works with:** [Sean Penn](https://film.one/person/sean-penn.md) - **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscars (2 won · 1 nominated) - **Average Fi1m score:** 71, as actor, over 7 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 66 (2), 2000s 79 (3), 2010s 49 (1), 2020s 80 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 71 to 69 across 7 titles - **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 2 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 3 of 7 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 6, Crime 3, Thriller 3, Comedy 2, Mystery 2, Adventure 1 - **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $966m across 5 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcia_Gay_Harden, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q228931, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001315/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/4726 ## Streaming the US now - **Disney+:** [*Damages*](https://film.one/tv/damages.md) (78), [*Flubber*](https://film.one/film/flubber.md) (50) - **Apple TV:** [*Margo's Got Money Troubles*](https://film.one/tv/margos-got-money-troubles.md) (80) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Marcia Gay Harden > Marcia Gay Harden gives supporting characters enough personality to make us want more time with them. We rate the precise detail of her period work and the quiet strain she brings to ensemble dramas. As Verna in *Miller's Crossing* (1990), Marcia Gay Harden gives us a reason to look away from Gabriel Byrne's Tom Reagan. His guardedness suits the uncertain loyalties of the story, but it also makes him difficult to care about. We enjoyed the company around him more than we cared about his choices, because Verna and John Turturro's Bernie Bernbaum feel so distinct. Harden makes her supporting character seem worth following beyond the scenes she has been allotted. That breakthrough with the Coen brothers led to supporting roles in studio films through the 1990s, before she played the artist Lee Krasner in *Pollock* (2000). Ed Harris directed and acted alongside her, and her performance depends on precise vocal and physical detail. In Clint Eastwood's *Mystic River* (2003), she plays Celeste Boyle with a quieter emotional charge. These roles suit an actor whose preparation includes accent work and research into historical figures and settings. The work gives her practical ways to distinguish one woman from another without making every performance loud. There is a limit to what that distinctiveness can do for a film. In *Miller's Crossing*, Harden and the surrounding ensemble make Byrne's reserve harder to accept as sufficient, because there are other people we would rather follow. The sharp dialogue and carefully controlled images make the gangster film rewarding, but its complicated plotting still holds us at a distance at times. We would not blame Harden for that imbalance, or pretend that her performance fixes it. Her later work continues across independent films, studio productions and television, with another ensemble in the series *Margo's Got Money Troubles* (2026), where she plays Elizabeth Gable. The family comedy is warm and funny, although Elle Fanning supplies the strongest reason to follow it. Its heavier drama sometimes asks for too much attention; liking an actor does not oblige us to overlook what happens around them. ## Biography Marcia Gay Harden is an American actress. She was born on 14 August 1959 in La Jolla, California, and studied theatre at the University of Texas at Austin and New York University. Her film breakthrough came in the Coen brothers' *Miller's Crossing* (1990). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lee Krasner in *Pollock* (2000) and received a further Academy Award nomination for *Mystic River* (2003). Harden also won a Tony Award for her Broadway role in *God of Carnage* (2009). Her other film credits include *Flubber* (1997), *Space Cowboys* (2000) and the *Fifty Shades* series (2015–2018). She appears as Elizabeth Gable in the series *Margo's Got Money Troubles* (2026). *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, variety.com.* ## On Fi1m (7) - *Margo's Got Money Troubles* (2026), Fi1m 80, as Elizabeth Gable — [page](https://film.one/tv/margos-got-money-troubles.md) - *Fifty Shades of Grey* (2015), Fi1m 49, as Dr. Grey — [page](https://film.one/film/fifty-shades-of-grey.md) - *Damages* (2007), Fi1m 78, as Claire Maddox — [page](https://film.one/tv/damages.md) - *Into the Wild* (2007), Fi1m 78, as Billie McCandless — [page](https://film.one/film/into-the-wild.md) - *Mystic River* (2003), Fi1m 82, as Celeste Boyle — [page](https://film.one/film/mystic-river.md) - *Flubber* (1997), Fi1m 50, as Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds — [page](https://film.one/film/flubber.md) - *Miller's Crossing* (1990), Fi1m 82, as Verna — [page](https://film.one/film/millers-crossing.md) ## Complete filmography (127) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *Street Smart* (2026), as Dr. Partovi - *Margo's Got Money Troubles* (2026), series, as Elizabeth Gable — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/margos-got-money-troubles.md) - *The Dreadful* (2026), as Morwen - *Renner* (2025), as Salenus (voice) - *Murder in a Small Town* (2024), series, as Mayor Christie Holman - *Knox Goes Away* (2024), as Ruby Knox - *Daughter of the Bride* (2023), as Diane - *Tell It Like a Woman* (2022), as Dr. Partovi - *So Help Me Todd* (2022), series, as Margaret · Producer - *Confess, Fletch* (2022), as Countess Sylvia de Grassi - *Gigi & Nate* (2022), as Claire Gibson - *Uncoupled* (2022), series, as Claire Lewis - *The Cuphead Show!* (2022), series, as Sally Stageplay (voice) - *Moxie* (2021), as Principal Shelly - *Pink Skies Ahead* (2020), as Pamela - *Barkskins* (2020), series, as Mathilde Geffard - *The Morning Show* (2019), series, as Maggie Brener - *Point Blank* (2019), as Lieutenant Lewis - *Reef Break* (2019), series, as Betty Ann Miller - *The Cold Open* (2019), Actor - *Love You to Death* (2019), as Camile Stoller - *The Oil Fund* (2018), series, as USA Ambassadør - *A Million Little Things* (2018), series, as Alice Mendez - *In the Night I Remember Your Name* (2018), as Pastor Joyce Speegle (voice) - *Fifty Shades Freed* (2018), as Grace Grey - *Fifty Shades Darker* (2017), as Grace Trevelyan Grey - *Get a Job* (2016), as Katherine Dunn - *Code Black* (2015), series, as Dr. Leanne Rorish - *After Words* (2015), as Jane Taylor - *Unity* (2015), as Narrator (voice) - *Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant* (2015), as President of the FAFAFA - *Grandma* (2015), as Judy - *Fifty Shades of Grey* (2015), as Dr. Grey — Fi1m 49, [page](https://film.one/film/fifty-shades-of-grey.md) - *You're Not You* (2014), as Elizabeth - *How to Get Away with Murder* (2014), series, as Hannah Keating - *BoJack Horseman* (2014), series, as Denise (voice), Denise / McCaitlyn (voice) — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/tv/bojack-horseman.md) - *Magic in the Moonlight* (2014), as Mrs. Baker - *Elsa & Fred* (2014), as Lydia - *Parkland* (2013), as Doris Nelson - *Trophy Wife* (2013), series, as Dr. Diane Buckley - *The Wine of Summer* (2013), as Shelley - *If I Were You* (2013), as Madelyn - *The Newsroom* (2012), series, as Rebecca Halliday - *Bent* (2012), series, as Vanessa Carter - *Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You* (2012), as Marjorie Dunfour - *Innocent* (2011), as Barbara Sabich - *Detachment* (2011), as Principal Carol Dearden - *Body of Proof* (2011), series, as Sheila Temple - *Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy* (2011), as Edda Mellas - *Sex and Lies in Sin City* (2009), as Becky Binion - *Royal Pains* (2009), series, as Dr. Elizabeth Blair - *The Maiden Heist* (2009), as Rose Barlow - *Home* (2009), as Inga - *The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler* (2009), as Janina Krzyżanowska - *Whip It* (2009), as Brooke Cavendar - *Christmas Cottage* (2008), as Maryanne Kinkade - *When Darkness Came: The Making of 'The Mist'* (2008), Thanks - *The Tower* (2008), as Zoe Cafritz - *The Mist* (2007), as Mrs. Carmody - *Into the Wild* (2007), as Billie McCandless — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/into-the-wild.md) - *Rails & Ties* (2007), as Megan Stark - *Damages* (2007), series, as Claire Maddox — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/damages.md) - *The Invisible* (2007), as Diane Powell - *Canvas* (2006), as Mary Marino - *The Dead Girl* (2006), as Melora - *The Hoax* (2006), as Edith Irving - *In from the Night* (2006), as Vicki Miller - *American Dreamz* (2006), as First Lady - *Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater* (2006), as Narrator - *Felicity: An American Girl Adventure* (2005), as Mrs. Martha Merriman - *American Gun* (2005), as Janet Huttenson - *Willa Cather: The Road Is All* (2005), as Voice of Willa Cather - *Bad News Bears* (2005), as Liz Whitewood - *P.S.* (2004), as Missy Goldberg - *See You in My Dreams* (2004), as Angela Brown - *Welcome to Mooseport* (2004), as Grace Sutherland - *She's Too Young* (2004), as Trish Vogul - *Mona Lisa Smile* (2003), as Nancy Abbey - *Mystic River* (2003), as Celeste Boyle — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/mystic-river.md) - *Casa de los Babys* (2003), as Nan - *King of Texas* (2002), as Mrs. Susannah Lear Tumlinson - *Guilty Hearts* (2002), as Jenny Moran - *The Education of Max Bickford* (2001), series, as Andrea Haskell - *Walking Shadow* (2001), as Susan Silverman - *Gaudi Afternoon* (2001), as Frankie - *Thin Air* (2000), as Susan Silverman - *Pollock* (2000), as Lee Krasner - *Space Cowboys* (2000), as Sara Holland - *From Where I Sit* (2000), as Sharon - *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit* (1999), series, as Dana Lewis - *Small Vices* (1999), as Susan Silverman - *Curtain Call* (1998), as Michelle Tippet - *Meet Joe Black* (1998), as Allison - *Labor of Love* (1998), as Annie Pines - *Desperate Measures* (1998), as Dr. Samantha Hawkins - *Flubber* (1997), as Dr. Sara Jean Reynolds — Fi1m 50, [page](https://film.one/film/flubber.md) - *Path to Paradise: The Untold Story of the World Trade Center Bombing* (1997), as Nancy Floyd - *The Daytrippers* (1997), as Libby - *Far Harbor* (1996), as Arabella - *The First Wives Club* (1996), as Dr. Leslie Rosen - *The Spitfire Grill* (1996), as Shelby Goddard - *Spy Hard* (1996), as Miss Cheevus - *Convict Cowboy* (1995), as Maggie Sinclair - *Talking With* (1995), as Laurie (segment "Clear Glass Marbles") - *Safe Passage* (1994), as Cynthia - *Chicago Hope* (1994), series, as Barbara Tomilson - *Fallen Angels* (1993), series, as Marie — Fi1m 72, [page](https://film.one/tv/fallen-angels-1993.md) - *In the Wings: Angels in America On Broadway* (1993), Actor - *Geoffrey Beene 30* (1993), Actor - *Homicide: Life on the Street* (1993), series, as Joan Garbarek — Fi1m 89, [page](https://film.one/tv/homicide-life-on-the-street.md) - *Used People* (1992), as Norma - *Sinatra* (1992), series, as Ava Gardner - *Crush* (1992), as Lane - *Late for Dinner* (1991), as Joy Husband - *Fever* (1991), as Lacy - *In Broad Daylight* (1991), as Adina Rowan - *Miller's Crossing* (1990), as Verna — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/millers-crossing.md) - *Kojak: None So Blind* (1990), as Angelina - *Gideon Oliver* (1989), series, as Lila - *Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel* (1988), as Marcia Connelly - *Simon & Simon* (1981), series, Actor - *Not Only Strangers* (1979), as Jennie - *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Vicki Miller - *TRINITY*, series, as Margaret Vandenburg - *Drift*, series, Actor - *In the Echo*, as Marcia - *Hystoria*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-1ce1ec1187b3.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre (2013) — MingleMediaTVNetwork, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/56/Marcia_Gay_Harden%2C_Frozen_premiere%2C_2013.jpg/1280px-Marcia_Gay_Harden%2C_Frozen_premiere%2C_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-881d4d3b6fd7.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — gdcgraphics at https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdcgraphics/, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/MarciaGayHarden07TIFF_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's 2013 animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-f3b1cedeb45b.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's 2013 animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre — MingleMediaTVNetwork, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Marcia_Gay_Harden_2013.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre (2013)](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-de215a316ac4.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden at the premiere of the Disney's animated feature film "Frozen" at Hollywood's El Capitan Theatre (2013) — MingleMediaTVNetwork, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Marcia_Gay_Harden_2013_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-8de4160ea45d.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-5f4fd6e60bbd.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-5e2cb7a44aca.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-6564df941cef.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-6978c732df66.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB - ![Marcia Gay Harden](https://film.one/media/person/22358/gallery-be9772a3a701.jpg) Marcia Gay Harden — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Academy Awards — 2 won, 1 nominated - 2004: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Mystic River* - 2001: Academy Awards (won) - 2001: Best Supporting Actress (won), for *Pollock* ### Other awards — 3 won, 2 nominated - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 2009: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (won), for *God of Carnage* - Saturn Awards 2008: Saturn Awards (won) - International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress 2004: International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Mystic River* - Theatre World Award 1993: Theatre World Award (won) - Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 1993: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (nominated) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/marcia-gay-harden