Marcia Gay Harden

Marcia Gay Harden was born on August 14 1959 in La Jolla, California, the youngest of five children. Beverly Bushfield Her mother, worked as a housewife and her husband Thad Harold Harden served serving in the military. The family relocated often -her first interest in the theatre when the family was in Greece as she had enjoyed theatre performances in Athens. Harden began her college education in American institutions in Europe after which she returned to the US for her final studies in the University of Texas in 1983 after which she earned an MFA degree at NYU after which she, embarked on her acting career. Though she appeared in a film since 1986 in the little-known The Imagemaker (1986), her first mainstream role which was in conjunction with TV films, was the hot, sultry woman fatale in the Coen Brothers' cleverly offbeat tribute to the gangster film, Miller's Crossing (1990). Harden's gorgeous portrayal as Verna who was a mysterious, attractive moll, was praised by critiques. Harden thereafter worked steadily as a supporting character, such as the portrayal of Ava Gardner in Sinatra (1992) A biopic that aired on TV that focused on Frank Sinatra.