FRANCES McDORIVIAND (Elaine) earned numerous acting honors, including an Academy Award' for Best Actress, for her performance as Detective Marge Gunderson in the Coen Brothers'dark comedy hit "Fargo." She had previously been Oscar-nominated for her work in Alan Parker's "Mississippi Burning." McDormand more recently starred with Michael Douglas and Tobey Maguire in "Wonder Boys," and portrayed Miss Clavel in the screen version of the classic children's book "Madeline." Her many other film credits include Bruce Beresford's "Paradise Road," the courtroom thriller "Primal Fear," John Sayles' "Lone Star," Alan Taylor's "Palookaville," John Boorman's "Beyond Rangoon," Robert Altman's "Short Cuts," "Passed Away," "Chattahoochee," "Hidden Agenda," "Darkman," and the Coen Brothers' films "Raising Arizona" and "Blood Simple." She is currently collaborating with the Coen Brothers on a new film in which she stars with Billy Bob Thornton. On television, McDormand received an Emmy nomination for her role in the telefilm "Hidden in America," opposite Jeff Bridges. She also starred in such longform projects as Tommy Lee Jones' "The Good Old Boys," Kathy Bates' "Talking With..." and Martha Coolidge's "Crazy in Love." McDormand attended the prestigious Yale School of Drama and has worked extensively on the New York stage. Her roles on Broadway include her Tony-nominated performance as Stella in "A Streetcar Named Desire." She also starred as Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire" in Dublin, Ireland. In addition, she starred in "The Sisters Rosensweig" at Lincoln Center, "The Swan" at the Public Theater, and in the off-Broadway production of "Oedipus," opposite Billy Crudup.