A run of startling performances in major films has focused bright attention on one of Hollywood’s most original talents: MARCIA GAY HARDEN (Allison). She has recently been teamed in a comedy, a drama and an action thriller with some of the film industry’s most exciting actors, including Robin Williams (Flubber), Andy Garcia and Michael Keaton (Desperate Measures), as well as Brad Pitt and Anthony Hopkins.

Marcia Gay Harden radiates a unique strength and talent, which has quickly established her as one of our generation’s most gifted and varied actors. Whether it is in film, television, or theatre, her widespread appeal comes from her unparalleled ability to transform into any character. While still maintaining the grace and poise of a beautiful woman, she has the ability to make an audience laugh, cry, and most of all, feel.

The ingenious pairing of Harden opposite Williams in Walt Disney’s Flubber, helped shoot that recent film to the top of the box office for weeks. Upcoming on her busy schedule is a highly anticipated Marcia Gay Harden-starring comedy being prepared for CBS. By Anne Nivel, written by Mad About You creator Danny Jacobson, stars Harden as a Donna Karan-type fashion designer.

The Coen brothers were the first to cast Harden in a film, giving her the female in their critically acclaimed feature Miller’s Crossing in which she starred opposite Albert Feeney, Gabriel Byrne and John Turturro. She went on to have the lead in Late For Dinner with Peter Berg, and then in Used People with Shirley MacLaine, Jessica Tandy, Kathy Bates and Marcello Mastrioanni. Ms. Harden also co-starred in the film Safe Passage with Susan Sarandon and Sam Shepard. She went to Cannes with Alison Maclean’s highly acclaimed independent feature, Crush, which was set and shot in New Zealand. Her other film credits include Castle Rock’s The Spitfire Grill, which won the audience award at Sundance, as well as Paramount’s blockbuster hit The First Wife’s Club.

Harden was also featured on Broadway in Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning two-part play Angels in America, which earned her a Tony nomination, a Drama Desk Award and a Theater World Award for her performance. She also starred opposite Anthony LaPaglia in David Rabe’s Those the River Keeps, and opposite Ed Harris and Fred Ward in Sam Shepard’s Simpatico. Possibly most indelible among her numerous memorable television performances was her portrayal of Ava Gardner in the CBS mini-series Sinatra.

Harden graduated from the University of Texas with a B.A. in Theatre. One in New York, she continued her training and earned an MFA from the graduate theatre program at New York University.

A recipient of the Spirit of Sundance Award from the Sundance Film Festival, Harden was acknowledged as a "woman who embodies the true spirit of independent film."