Frances McDormand

As of 2007, six women have received Best Actress nominations for performances directed by their spouse - Frances is the only one to actually win. The other five are Gena Rowlands for A Woman Under the Influence & Gloria , Joanne Woodward for Rachel, Rachel , Julie Andrews for Victor Victoria , Elisabeth Bergner for Escape Me Never and Jean Simmons for The Happy Ending . Jules Dassin also directed his future wife Melina Mercouri in an Oscar-nominated performance (Never on Sunday ), but they weren't married yet at the time of the nomination.

As of 2007, six women have received Best Actress nominations for performances directed by their spouse - Frances is the only one to actually win. The other five are Gena Rowlands for A Woman Under the Influence (1974) & Gloria (1980), Joanne Woodward for Rachel, Rachel (1968), Julie Andrews for Victor Victoria (1982), Elisabeth Bergner for Escape Me Never (1935) and Jean Simmons for The Happy Ending (1969). Jules Dassin also directed his future wife Melina Mercouri in an Oscar-nominated performance (Pote tin Kyriaki (1960)), but they weren't married yet at the time of the nomination.

She attended Bethany College, Bethany, West Virginia and received her B.A. in Theater, 1979. Then she attended Yale University School of Drama, New Haven, Connecticut and received her M.F.A., 1982.

Shared an apartment in the Bronx with Holly Hunter in the early 1980s until they moved in with Joel Coen, Ethan Coen and Sam Raimi into a house in Los Angeles.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1988 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for a revival of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Was nominated for Broadway's 1988 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for a revival of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Has one son, Pedro McDormand Coen, adopted from Paraguay in 1994

Her Oscar-winning role, as Marge Gunderson from her 1996 film Fargo , was ranked #33 in the American Film Institute's Heroes list in their 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.

Her performance as "Marge Gunderson" in Fargo is ranked #27 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Her Oscar-winning role, as Marge Gunderson from her film Fargo (1996), was ranked #33 in the American Film Institute's Heroes list in their 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.

Her performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo (1996) is ranked #27 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Was jury president of Berlin film festival 2004.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film Æon Flux . However, she failed to receive a nomination. (Had she gotten the nomination, she would have been one of the few to be nominated for both Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, for North Country , and Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzies in the same year.)

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2006 Razzie Award nominating ballot. She was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Supporting Actress category for her performance in the film Æon Flux (2005). However, she failed to receive a nomination. (Had she gotten the nomination, she would have been one of the few to be nominated for both Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, for North Country (2005), and Worst Supporting Actress at the Razzies in the same year.)

Co-starred with Charlize Theron in two films during the same year (Æon Flux (2005) and North Country (2005)).