Frances McDormand

Although she was born in Chicago (June 23, 1957), Frances McDormand was raised in Monessen, Pa., by her adoptive father and mother. She earned an M.F.A. from Yale University in 1982 and started work later that year on her first film, Blood Simple, directed by Joel Coen, whom she would later marry.

In 1996, Coen directed her again in an Oscar-winning performance as a pregnant police chief in Fargo. McDormand has appeared in other Coen brothers films, including Raising Arizona and The Man Who Wasn't There.

Three more Oscar nominations (for Best Supporting Actress) were bestowed on her for Mississippi Burning (1988), Almost Famous (2000) and North Country (2005). A favorite actress in indie cinema (for Friends with Money, she won an Independent Spirit Award for her supporting role), she's also been seen in recent major studio films such as Wonder Boys and Something's Gotta Give.

North Country

2005 R

In the 1970s, Josey Aimes is one of only a handful of women working in the Minnesota iron mines. Forced to labor under sexist conditions, she and her female colleagues stand up against the unrelenting harassment from their male counterparts.