Marcia Gay Harden was born on August 14, 1959, in La Jolla, California, to a family of five children. Her mother, Beverly Bushfield, was a homemaker, while her father, Thad Harold Harden, was a military officer. The family relocated frequently, which allowed Harden to develop an early interest in theatre during their time in Greece, where she attended plays in Athens.
Harden began her college education at American universities in Europe before returning to the United States to complete her studies at the University of Texas in 1983. She then earned an MFA at New York University and started her acting career. Although she had acted in a film as early as 1986, her breakthrough role came in 1990 with the Coen Brothers' Miller's Crossing, where she played the sultry femme fatale Verna.
Harden continued to work steadily in supporting roles, including her portrayal of Ava Gardner in the television biopic Sinatra (1992) and her Broadway debut in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" in 1993. Her performance in the latter earned her a Tony award nomination. She also worked in the theater and returned to movie making in the mid-1990s, delivering superb supporting performances in films and television.
Despite her hard work, Harden's road to success was long and often overlooked, with many of her productions receiving negative reviews or being ignored by audiences. However, her breakthrough came in 2000 with Ed Harris's Pollock, in which she played Lee Krasner, the artist and wife of Jackson Pollock. Her performance earned her the Oscar and New York Film Critic's Circle awards for best supporting actress.
Harden continued to work prolifically in features and television, earning another Oscar nomination in 2003 for her supporting role in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River. She has also worked with Eastwood in the 2000 film Space Cowboys. Harden's work often elevates mediocre productions, as she fully inhabits any character she portrays. She was married to Thaddaeus Scheel from 1996 to 2012 and has three children, including a daughter and twins.
