# Tess Harper

Tessie Jean 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 Amityville 3-D (1983), Flashpoint (1984), Ishtar (1987), Far North (1988), and No Country for Old Men (2007). She also had a recurring role on the first three seasons of Breaking Bad (2008–2010).

## Early life

Harper was born in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, the daughter of Rosemary and Ed Washam, who operated Washam's Hardware. Harper has a brother and sister. She attended Arkansas State University-Beebe, earning an associate degree in Fine Arts, before transferring to Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri, graduated with a degree in education, and taught ninth-grade English in Springfield, Missouri.

## Career

Harper began acting in theater productions, theme parks (including Dogpatch, USA and Silver Dollar City), dinner theater, and children's theater. She moved to Texas in order to appear in television commercials. 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 don't understand! They're not gonna let me do this part!'"
Tender Mercies was Harper's feature film debut. She earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role.
Harper appeared in the TV mini-series Chiefs (1983) and Celebrity (1984), as well as many television movies including Starflight: The Plane That Couldn'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 music video "Black or White" (1991), playing the mother.
From 1994 to 1995 Harper had a regular role on the CBS series Christy, playing mountain woman Fairlight Spencer. 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's character.
She had the recurring role of Mrs. Pinkman on Breaking Bad, appearing in the first three seasons.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Tender Mercies | Rosa Lee | |
| 1983 | Amityville 3-D | Nancy Baxter | |
| 1983 | Silkwood | Linda Dawson | |
| 1984 | Flashpoint | Ellen | |
| 1986 | Crimes of the Heart | Chick Boyle | |
| 1987 | Ishtar | Willa Rogers | |
| 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 Dalton-Hornby | |
| 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 | |
| 1996 | 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 mum | |
| 2015 | Surprise | Linda | Short |
| 2015 | The Perfect Guy | Mrs. McCarthy | |
| 2018 | Burden | Hazel Griffin | |
| 2019 | El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie | Diane Pinkman | |
| 2020 | The Evening Hour | Dorothy Freeman | |
| 2023 | American Outlaws | Loretta Hillhouse | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1983 | Kentucky Woman | Lorna Whateley | TV film |
| 1983 | Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land | Janet Briggs | TV film |
| 1983 | 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 | Episode: "Quarantine" |
| 1986 | Reckless Disregard | Meredith Craig | TV film |
| 1987 | Murder, She Wrote | Irene Rutledge | Episode: "Simon Says, Color Me Dead" |
| 1987 | L.A. Law | Patricia Pittman | Episode: "Sparky Brackman R.I.P. ????-1987" |
| 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 | Episode: "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 |
| 1993 | The Hidden Room | Dede | Episode: "After the Crash" |
| 1994–95 | Christy | Fairlight Spencer | Main role |
| 1995 | Death in Small Doses | Asst. D.A. Jerri Sims | TV film |
| 1996 | The Road to Galveston | Julia Archer | TV film |
| 1996 | A Stranger to Love | Linda Grant | TV film |
| 1997 | The Killing Secret | Tina De Capprio | TV film |
| 1997 | Grace Under Fire | Joan | Episode: "Matthew's Old Lady" |
| 1997 | A Child's Wish | Joanna Chandler | TV film |
| 1997 | Gun | Virginia | Episode: "Ricochet" |
| 1997 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Katie Malloy | Episode: "Sons of Thunder" |
| 1997 | Cracker | Lea Ann Garner | Episode: "An American Dream" |
| 1998–2000 | Early Edition | Lois Hobson | Recurring role |
| 1999 | Beyond the Prairie | Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder | TV film |
| 2000 | Touched by an Angel | Betsy Baxter | Episode: "The Empty Chair" |
| 2001 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Julia Barrett | Episode: "Bully for You" |
| 2002 | Beyond the Prairie, Part 2 | Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder | TV film |
| 2003 | The Division | Polly Danko | Episode: "Oh Mother, Who Art Thou?" |
| 2004 | One Tree Hill | May Scott | Episode: "Crash Course in Polite Conversations" |
| 2004 | Jack & Bobby | Karen Carmichael | Episodes: "Pilot", "An Innocent Man" |
| 2004 | Angel in the Family | Mrs. Nelly Tomkins | TV film |
| 2005 | Judging Amy | Barbara Nissman | Episode: "Sorry I Missed You" |
| 2007 | Without a Trace | Mrs. Spade | Episode: "At Rest" |
| 2007 | Brothers & Sisters | Beth Ridge | Episode: "History Repeating" |
| 2007 | Judy's Got a Gun | Susan Lemen | TV film |
| 2008 | Ghost Whisperer | Ellen Wilkins | Episode: "Stranglehold" |
| 2008–10 | Breaking Bad | Diane Pinkman | Recurring role |
| 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Mrs. Hallander | Episode: "Stranger" |
| 2009 | Cold Case | Sharon Lertola | Episode: "November 22" |
| 2009 | Crash | Wendy Olinville | Recurring role |
| 2010 | Proposition 8 Trial Re-Enactment | Sandy Stier | TV documentary |
| 2010 | Grey's Anatomy | Pam Nelson | Episode: "Perfect Little Accident" |
| 2010 | In Plain Sight | A.U.S.A. Rolly | Episode: "Coma Chameleon" |
| 2011 | Private Practice | Augusta King | Episode: "Something Old, Something New" |
| 2011 | A Christmas Wish | Trudy Willis | TV film |
| 2012 | Revenge | Carole Miller | Episodes: "Absolution", "Grief" |
| 2012 | The Christmas Heart | Elizabeth | TV film |
| 2014 | True Detective | Mrs. Kelly | Episode: "Seeing Things" |
| 2014 | Nikki & Nora: The N&N Files | Mary Delaney | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Criminal Minds | Dinah Troy | Episode: "Rock Creek Park" |
| 2019 | How to Get Away with Murder | Sheila Miller | Episode: "We Know Everything" |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 1984 | Golden Globe Award | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | Tender Mercies | Nominated |
| 1987 | Academy Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Crimes of the Heart | Nominated |
| 1994 | CableACE Award | Actress in a Dramatic Series | The Hidden Room | Nominated |
| 2004 | 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 |