Tess Harper - wikipedia Tess Harper This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. ( October 2007 ) Tess Harper Tessie Jean Washam ( 1950 - 08 - 15 ) August 15, 1950 ( age 67 ) Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, U.S. Occupation Actress Years active 1983 -- present Spouse ( s ) Ken Harper ( m. 1971 -- 1976 ) Tessie Jean `` Tess '' Harper ( née Washam ; born August 15, 1950 ) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983 's Tender Mercies, and for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1986 film Crimes of the Heart. Her other film appearances include Flashpoint ( 1984 ), Ishtar ( 1987 ), Far North ( 1988 ), and No Country for Old Men ( 2007 ). She portrayed Jesse Pinkman 's mother on Breaking Bad ( 2008 -- 2013 ), appearing in the first three seasons. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Filmography 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 4 Awards and nominations 5 References 6 External links Early life Harper was born on August 15, 1950, in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, the daughter of Rosemary ( née Langston ) and Ed Washam. Most members of her family were quilt makers. On her own time she liked to sit on the porch swing and read. She graduated from high school in 1968. She attended Arkansas State University - Beebe, where she performed in several plays, as well as Southwest Missouri State University ( now Missouri State University ) in Springfield, Missouri, where she graduated with a degree in education. Career Harper began acting in theater productions, theme parks ( including Dogpatch, USA and Silver Dollar City ), dinner theatre, and children 's theatre. She had given up hopes of an acting career and was working for a financial institution in Texas. The institution wanted to produce a TV spot and asked her to be in the spot, which she accepted. In a twist of fate, a casting person with Tender Mercies had to spend the night in Dallas and saw Harper 's spot on TV. She called Robert Duvall and arranged an audition. Director Bruce Beresford was impressed with Harper and cast her in the lead female role of Rosa Lee, the young widow and mother who marries country singer Mac Sledge. Beresford said that Harper brought a kind of rural quality to the role without coming across as simple or foolish. He said of Harper, `` She walked into the room and even before she spoke, I thought, ' That 's the girl to play the lead. ' '' Harper did not realize this, and recalled shortly after the film 's release, `` After I did the final screen test, I went to see Breaker Morant and started sobbing uncontrollably halfway through it. A friend had to take me home, and I kept crying, ' You do n't understand ! They 're not gon na let me do this part ! ' '' Tender Mercies was Harper 's feature film debut. She later said that she was so excited about the role that she bit her script just to make sure it was real, and she was so nervous that during her first take she feared the filmmakers would `` come to their senses and say, ' We 're sorry, we made a terrible mistake. ' '' Duvall, who played the lead role of Mac Sledge, did his best to help Harper in her first film role. During one scene in which Mac Sledge and Rosa Lee were fighting, Duvall yelled at a make - up artist in front of Harper specifically to make her angry for the scene ; Duvall apologized to the make - up artist after the scene was shot. After filming, Duvall said Harper did a very good job, and he felt her rural past in Arkansas helped her in the part. She earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role. Duvall won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance. Harper appeared in the TV mini-series Chiefs ( 1983 ) and Celebrity ( 1984 ), as well as many television movies including Starflight : The Plane That Could n't Land ( 1983 ) and Reckless Disregard ( 1985 ). In 1983, she appeared in the full - length feature Silkwood. In 1986, Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work as Chick Boyle in Crimes of the Heart, which was directed by her Tender Mercies director Bruce Beresford. She later played parts in Ishtar ( 1987 ), Far North ( 1988 ), The Man in the Moon ( 1991 ), The Jackal ( 1997 ) and Loggerheads ( 2005 ). She also took part in Michael Jackson 's Black Or White ( 1991 ) musical minifilm. Harper had a regular role on the CBS series Christy, from 1994 - 95. Her roles have frequently been that of a Southern lady, although she had worked to lose her Arkansas accent. She also had a recurring role on another CBS television series, Early Edition, from 1996 to 2000. She portrayed the mother of lead character Gary Hobsen. Harper shared a Screen Actors Guild Award ( in the Best Ensemble Cast category ) with her fellow cast members in the Oscar - winning film No Country for Old Men, in which she played the wife of Tommy Lee Jones. She had the recurring role of Mrs. Pinkman on Breaking Bad, appearing in the first three seasons. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Tender Mercies Rosa Lee Amityville 3 - D Nancy Baxter Silkwood Linda Dawson 1984 Flashpoint Ellen 1986 Crimes of the Heart Chick Boyle Ishtar Willa 1988 Far North Rita 1988 Criminal Law Det. Stillwell 1989 Her Alibi Sally Blackwood 1990 Daddy 's Dyin ' : Who 's Got the Will ? Sara Lee Turnover 1991 My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys Cheryl 1991 The Man in the Moon Abigail Trant 1991 Pretty Hattie 's Baby Maya 1992 The Turning Martha Harnish 1992 My New Gun Kimmy Hayes Dirty Laundry Beth Greene 1997 The Jackal The First Lady 2000 The In Crowd Dr. Amanda Giles 2001 The Rising Place Rebecca Hodge 2001 Morning Margaret 2003 Studio City Linda Little Short 2005 Loggerheads Elizabeth 2005 Jesus, Mary and Joey Liz O'Callahan 2006 Karla Molly Czehowicz 2006 Jam Ruby 2006 Broken Bridges Dixie Rose Delton 2006 Broken Clare 2007 No Country for Old Men Loretta Bell 2007 Kiss the Bride Barbara 2007 Saving Sarah Cain Miriam Esh 2009 Fatal Secrets Naomi 2013 Sunlight Jr. Kathleen 2014 Hello, My Name Is Frank Aunt Flossie 2014 Frank Frank 's mom 2015 Surprise Linda Short 2015 The Perfect Guy Mrs. McCarthy 2018 Burden Hazel Filming Television Year Title Role Notes Kentucky Woman Lorna Whateley TV film Starflight : The Plane That Could n't Land Janet Briggs TV film Chiefs Carrie Lee TV miniseries 1984 Celebrity Susan French TV miniseries 1985 A Summer to Remember Jeannie Wyler TV film 1985 Promises to Keep Gwen Palmer TV film 1986 The Twilight Zone Sarah `` Quarantine '' 1986 Reckless Disregard Meredith Craig TV film Murder, She Wrote Irene Rutledge `` Simon Says, Color Me Dead '' L.A. Law Patricia Pittman `` Sparky Brackman R.I.P. ? ? ? ? - 1987 '' Daddy Ann Burnette TV film 1988 Little Girl Lost Clara Brady TV film 1989 Unconquered Mary Flowers TV film 1989 Incident at Dark River Betty McFall TV film 1990 Thirtysomething Deborah `` Post-Op '' 1992 In the Line of Duty : Siege at Marion Vickie Singer TV film 1992 Willing to Kill : The Texas Cheerleader Story Verna Heath TV film The Hidden Room Dede `` After the Crash '' 1994 -- 95 Christy Fairlight Spencer Main role 1995 Death in Small Doses Asst. D.A. Jerri Sims TV film The Road to Galveston Julia Archer TV film A Stranger to Love Linda Grant TV film 1997 The Killing Secret Tina Decapprio TV film 1997 Grace Under Fire Joan `` Matthew 's Old Lady '' 1997 A Child 's Wish Joanna Chandler TV film 1997 Gun Virginia `` Ricochet '' 1997 Walker, Texas Ranger Katie Malloy `` Sons of Thunder '' 1997 Cracker Lea Ann Garner `` An American Dream '' 1998 -- 00 Early Edition Lois Hobson Recurring role 1999 Beyond the Prairie Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder TV film 2000 Touched by an Angel Betsy Baxter `` The Empty Chair '' 2001 CSI : Crime Scene Investigation Julia Barrett `` Bully for You '' 2002 Beyond the Prairie, Part 2 Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder TV film 2003 The Division Polly Danko `` Oh Mother, Who Art Thou ? '' One Tree Hill May Scott `` Crash Course in Polite Conversations '' Jack & Bobby Karen Carmichael `` Pilot '', `` An Innocent Man '' Angel in the Family Mrs. Nelly Tomkins TV film 2005 Judging Amy Barbara Nissman `` Sorry I Missed You '' 2007 Without a Trace Mrs. Spade `` At Rest '' 2007 Brothers & Sisters Beth Ridge `` History Repeating '' 2007 Judy 's Got a Gun Susan Lemen TV film 2008 Ghost Whisperer Ellen Wilkins `` Stranglehold '' 2008 -- 10 Breaking Bad Mrs. Pinkman Recurring role 2009 Law & Order : Special Victims Unit Mrs. Hallander `` Stranger '' 2009 Cold Case Sharon Lertola `` November 22 '' 2009 Crash Wendy Olinville Recurring role Proposition 8 Trial Re-Enactment Sandy Stier TV documentary Grey 's Anatomy Pam Nelson `` Perfect Little Accident '' In Plain Sight A.U.S.A. Rolly `` Coma Chameleon '' 2011 Private Practice Augusta King `` Something Old, Something New '' 2011 A Christmas Wish Trudy Willis TV film 2012 Revenge Carole Miller `` Absolution '', `` Grief '' 2012 The Christmas Heart Elizabeth TV film 2014 True Detective Mrs. Kelly `` Seeing Things '' 2014 Nikki & Nora : The N&N Files Mary Delaney `` 1.5 '', `` 1.7 '' 2015 Criminal Minds Dinah Troy `` Rock Creek Park '' Awards and nominations Year Association Nominated work Result 1984 Golden Globe Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture Tender Mercies Nominated Academy Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Crimes of the Heart Nominated CableACE Award Actress in a Dramatic Series The Hidden Room Nominated Method Fest Best Actress in a Short Film Lonely Place Won 2007 National Board of Review Best Acting by an Ensemble No Country for Old Men Won 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture No Country for Old Men Won 2008 Gold Derby Awards Ensemble Cast No Country for Old Men Won 2011 California Independent Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award Won References ^ Jump up to : Bruce Beresford ( actor ), Robert Duvall ( actor ), Tess Harper ( actor ), Gary Hertz ( director ) ( April 16, 2002 ). Miracles & Mercies ( Documentary ). West Hollywood, California : Blue Underground. Retrieved January 28, 2008. Jump up ^ `` Success, Stress and Tess Harper ''. Rolling Stone ( 397 ) : 40. June 9, 1983. External links Encyclopedia of Arkansas bio Tess Harper on IMDb BNF : cb13955482n ( data ) ISNI : 0000 0001 1476 8844 LCCN : no96065381 SNAC : w6xs6r49 VIAF : 86941529 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tess_Harper&oldid=848007181 '' Categories : 1950 births 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses Actresses from Arkansas American film actresses American television actresses Arkansas State University alumni Living people Missouri State University alumni Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Fulton County, Arkansas Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from September 2013 BLP articles lacking sources from October 2007 All BLP articles lacking sources Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with SNAC - ID identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia تۆرکجه Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Polski Русский Suomi Tagalog 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 June 2018, at 06 : 20 ( UTC ). 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Question: who played jesse's mom in breaking bad
Answer: Tessie Jean "Tess" Harper