# Margo Martindale

Margo Martindale (born July 18, 1951) is an American character actress who has appeared on television, film, and stage. In 2011, she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award for her recurring role as Mags Bennett on Justified. She was nominated for an Emmy Award four times for her recurring role as Claudia on The Americans, winning it in 2015 and 2016.
Martindale is known for her extensive supporting roles in numerous films such as The Rocketeer (1991), Lorenzo's Oil (1992), The Firm (1993), Dead Man Walking (1995), Marvin's Room (1996), The Hours (2002), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Walk Hard (2007), The Savages (2007), Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), Secretariat (2010), Win Win (2011), August: Osage County (2013), Instant Family (2018), Uncle Frank (2020), and Cocaine Bear (2023).
She has had numerous recurring roles in shows such as The Good Wife (2015–2016), Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021), and Mrs. Davis (2023). For her portrayal of Bella Abzug on the FX miniseries Mrs. America (2020) she received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie nomination. She also voiced a fictionalized version of herself in the Netflix series BoJack Horseman. She made her Broadway debut in the 2004 revival of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

## Early life and education

Martindale was born in Jacksonville, Texas, the youngest of three children and only daughter of William Everett and Margaret (née Pruitt) Martindale. In addition to owning and operating a lumber company in Jacksonville, her father was known as a champion dog handler in Texas and throughout the Southern United States.
Her oldest brother is the professional golfer and golf course designer Billy Martindale. The middle child, brother Bobby Tim, born 1946, died in 2004 at the age of 58. Margo participated in golf, cheerleading and drama at school, and was crowned Football Sweetheart and Miss Jacksonville High School 1969.
Following graduation in 1969, she attended Lon Morris College, then transferred to the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. While at Michigan, she attended summer courses at Harvard University, appearing onstage with future movie and TV stars Jonathan Frakes and Christopher Reeve.

## Career
### 1980–2010

In the early 1980s, Martindale worked for four years at the Actors Theatre, Louisville, Kentucky, where she became good friends with fellow actress Kathy Bates. One of her first television roles came in the miniseries Lonesome Dove (1989). Martindale starred in several off-Broadway stage productions, most notably originating the role of Truvy Jones in the first production of Steel Magnolias, and starring in its first national tour. Martindale has been described as a character actress. Martindale's film roles include acting alongside Susan Sarandon in both Lorenzo's Oil (1992), and Dead Man Walking (1995). She appeared as Leonardo DiCaprio's character's doctor in Marvin's Room (1997); and as Hilary Swank's character's selfish mother in Million Dollar Baby (2004). Other films include The Human Stain (2000) with Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman, Nobody's Fool (1994) with Paul Newman, 28 Days (2000) with Sandra Bullock, Proof of Life with Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan, and Practical Magic (1998), again with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.
Martindale made her Broadway debut in 2004 as Big Mama in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. A series of character and guest appearances followed in a wide range of TV shows. Martindale played recurring character Camilla Figg on the first three seasons of Dexter and had a recurring role in the A&E courtroom drama 100 Centre Street with Alan Arkin. From 2007 to 2008, she had a recurring role as Nina Burns, a neighbor of the Malloy/"Rich" family in The Riches with Minnie Driver and Eddie Izzard. She was featured in Paris, je t'aime (2006). She played Mama Cox in the 2007 film Walk Hard, played Ruby in Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) and played Miss Elizabeth Ham in the movie Secretariat (2010).

### 2011–present

In 2011, Martindale joined the cast of Justified for the second season. She played the role of Mags Bennett, matriarch of the Bennett crime family which controlled much of the drug activity in the fictional version of Harlan County, Kentucky. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance.
After learning of the nomination, Martindale told CNN she hoped that it would open up more doors for older women in Hollywood. "People really identify with this character [Mags Bennett] and I think it's because it is a character that is powerful and older and extremely mean", she said. She won Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for her role as Mags Bennett. In February 2012 it was announced Martindale had been cast in the ABC comedy pilot Counter Culture, which was not picked up.
Martindale had a role in August: Osage County (2013), a film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tracy Letts. She played Mattie Fae Aiken, the sister of lead character Violet Weston (Meryl Streep). Filming took place in the fall and winter of 2012. Martindale returned to television in late January 2013 in the spy drama The Americans on FX Network. She played Claudia, the KGB "handler" of two Soviet spies living in 1980s Cold War America.
She co-starred in the sitcom The Millers on CBS. In 2015, she began a recurring role as Ruth Eastman, Peter Florrick's new campaign manager on The Good Wife. Martindale took up the role of Ruth again in 2018 in season two of The Good Fight, the sequel to The Good Wife. She appears as a fictionalized version of herself on the Netflix animated comedy BoJack Horseman. Her fictional version is easily angered and temperamentally violent, moonlighting as a bank robber and going on frequent criminal heists. BoJack consistently refers to her as "Esteemed Character Actress Margo Martindale", while most other characters begin addressing her with "Beloved."
Martindale played Audrey Bernhardt, matriarch of the family on the Amazon series Sneaky Pete starring Giovanni Ribisi, for the 2015 pilot, the first season which aired in January 2017, and the second and third seasons as well. She also played Mike's Aunt Rosemary in two episodes of Mike & Molly. I Spy, a podcast hosted by Martindale and produced by Foreign Policy, was released in November 2019.
She portrayed Ruth Eastman in The Good Fight (2018–2021) and Senator Elizabeth Guthrie in Your Honor (2020–2021). For her performance as US Congresswoman Bella Abzug on the FX miniseries Mrs. America (2020) for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. Recent roles include portrayals of Lucianne Goldberg in Impeachment: American Crime Story (2021), Maureen in The Watcher (2022), and Mother Superior in Mrs. Davis (2023).

## Personal life

Martindale has been married to musician Bill Boals since 1986. They have a daughter.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Days of Thunder | Donna | |
| 1991 | The Rocketeer | Millie | |
| 1992 | Lorenzo's Oil | Wendy Gimble | |
| 1993 | Emma and Elvis | Jenny | |
| 1993 | The Firm | Nina Huff | |
| 1994 | Nobody's Fool | "Birdy" | |
| 1995 | Dead Man Walking | Sister Collegeville | |
| 1995 | Sabrina | Nurse | |
| 1996 | Marvin's Room | Dr. Charlotte Samit | |
| 1996 | Ghosts of Mississippi | Clara Mayfield | |
| 1997 | Critical Care | Constance "Connie" Potter | |
| 1997 | Eye of God | Dorothy | |
| 1998 | Twilight | Gloria "Mucho" Lamar | |
| 1998 | Practical Magic | Linda Bennett | |
| 1999 | In Dreams | Nurse Floyd | |
| 1999 | Ride with the Devil | Wilma Brown | |
| 2000 | 28 Days | Betty | |
| 2000 | Proof of Life | Ivy | |
| 2002 | The Hours | Mrs. Latch | |
| 2003 | It's All About Love | Betsy | |
| 2003 | The Human Stain | Psychologist | |
| 2004 | The Best Thief in the World | Miss Mason | |
| 2004 | Million Dollar Baby | Earline Fitzgerald | |
| 2006 | Out There | Jeri | |
| 2006 | Wedding Daze | Betsy | |
| 2006 | Paris, je t'aime | Carol | |
| 2007 | The Savages | Roz | |
| 2007 | Rocket Science | Coach Lumbly | |
| 2007 | Mo | Pam | |
| 2007 | The Death and Life of Bobby Z | Macy | |
| 2007 | Rails & Ties | Judy Neasy | |
| 2007 | Feast of Love | Mrs. Maggarolian | |
| 2007 | Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story | Ma Cox | |
| 2008 | Management | Trish Flux | |
| 2009 | The Winning Season | Donna | |
| 2009 | Hannah Montana: The Movie | Grandma Ruby | |
| 2009 | Orphan | Dr. Browning | |
| 2009 | La soga | Flannigan | |
| 2010 | Forged | Dianne | |
| 2010 | Secretariat | Elizabeth Hamm | |
| 2010 | Main Street | Myrtle Parker | |
| 2011 | Win Win | Eleanor Cohen | |
| 2011 | Scalene | Janice Trimble | |
| 2013 | Beautiful Creatures | Aunt Del | |
| 2013 | Bluebird | Crystal | |
| 2013 | August: Osage County | Mattie Fae Aiken | |
| 2014 | Heaven is for Real | Nancy Rawling | |
| 2016 | Sophie and the Rising Sun | Anne Morrison | |
| 2016 | The Hollars | Sally Hollar | |
| 2016 | The Boss | Sister Agnes Aluminata | |
| 2016 | Mother's Day | Florence "Flo" | |
| 2016 | My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea | Mrs. Brinson (voice) | |
| 2017 | Wilson | Alta | |
| 2017 | Table 19 | Freda Eckberg | |
| 2017 | Cars 3 | Louise "Barnstormer" Nash (voice) | |
| 2017 | Downsizing | Woman On Shuttle | Cameo |
| 2018 | Instant Family | Sandy Wagner | |
| 2019 | Blow the Man Down | Enid Nora Devlin | |
| 2019 | The Kitchen | Helen O'Carroll | |
| 2020 | Uncle Frank | Mammaw Bledsoe | |
| 2020 | Lazy Susan | Mary O'Connell | |
| 2022 | Family Squares | Diane Worth | Also C & D Camera Operator |
| 2023 | Cocaine Bear | Ranger Liz | |
| 2025 | The Twits | Mrs. Twit (voice) | In production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1988 | The Child Saver | Alma | TV film |
| 1989 | Lonesome Dove | "Buffalo" Heiffer | Episode: "The Plains" |
| 1994 | New York Undercover | Nurse Warner | Episode: "Tasha" |
| 1996 | Law & Order | Ms. Best | Episode: "Atonement" |
| 1996 | Ruby Jean and Joe | Frankie | TV film |
| 1997 | ...First Do No Harm | Marjean | TV film |
| 1999 | Homicide: Life on the Street | Verna Henderson | Episode: "The Same Coin" |
| 1999 | Earthly Possessions | Libby | TV film |
| 1999 | Snoops | Hannah Larson | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2000 | Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenét and the City of Boulder | Linda Hoffmann-Pugh | TV film |
| 2001 | Welcome to New York | Rose | Episode: "Dusting Diva" |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | May | TV film |
| 2001 | What Girls Learn | Lainey | TV film |
| 2001–2002 | 100 Centre Street | Michelle Grande | 14 episodes |
| 2002 | The Laramie Project | Trish Steger | TV film |
| 2003 | Ed | Amanda Myers | Episode: "Partners" |
| 2003 | An Unexpected Love | Maggie | TV film |
| 2004 | Iron Jawed Angels | Harriot Blatch | TV film |
| 2004 | Plainsong | Mrs. Beckman | TV film |
| 2005 | Silver Bells | Mrs. Quinn | TV film |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Rita Gabler | Episode: "Cage" |
| 2006–2008 | Dexter | Camilla Figg | 5 episodes |
| 2007–2008 | The Riches | Nina Burns | Regular role (20 episodes) |
| 2009 | Hung | Molly | Episode: "The Pickle Jar" |
| 2009–2010 | Mercy | Nurse Klowden | Recurring role (11 episodes) |
| 2011 | Harry's Law | Gina Powell | Episode: "Innocent Man" |
| 2011 | Justified | Mags Bennett | Recurring role (10 episodes) |
| 2011 | Chaos | Doris Balshik | Episodes: "Pilot", "Proof of Life" |
| 2011–2012 | A Gifted Man | Rita Perkins-Hall | Main role (16 episodes) |
| 2012 | Counter Culture | Billie | TV film |
| 2012 | Suits | Nell Sawyer | Episode: "Meet the New Boss" |
| 2012 | Person of Interest | Barbara Russell | Episode: "Bad Code" |
| 2013 | Smash | Miriam Abramson | Episode: "The Fallout" |
| 2013 | New Girl | Bonnie Miller | Episode: "Chicago" |
| 2013 | Masters of Sex | Miss Horchow | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2013–2014 | The Millers | Carol Miller | Main role (34 episodes) |
| 2013–2018 | The Americans | Claudia | Recurring role (32 episodes) |
| 2014–2020 | BoJack Horseman | Character Actress Margo Martindale | Voice; 8 episodes; fictionalized version of self |
| 2015 | Mike & Molly | Rosemary Ritter | Episodes: "Mudlick or Bust" and "Mother From Another Mudlick" |
| 2015–2016 | The Good Wife | Ruth Eastman | Recurring role (13 episodes) |
| 2015–2019 | Sneaky Pete | Audrey Bernhardt | Main role (30 episodes) |
| 2016 | BrainDead | Dr. Joanne Alaimo | Episode: "Back to Work: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at Congress and How It Gets Things Done (and Often Doesn't)" |
| 2017–2021 | DuckTales | Ma Beagle (voice) | 8 episodes |
| 2017 | The Guest Book | Alice | 3 episodes |
| 2018–2021 | The Good Fight | Ruth Eastman | 4 episodes |
| 2019 | The Act | Emma Lois Gisclair Pitre | Episode: "A Whole New World" |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Bella Abzug | Main role; Miniseries |
| 2020–2023 | Your Honor | Senator Elizabeth Guthrie | 9 episodes |
| 2021 | Infinity Train | Judge Morpho (voice) | Recurring; Book 4 – Duet |
| 2021 | Ada Twist, Scientist | Great Aunt Rose (voice) | Episode: "Movie Night/The Banana Peel Problem" |
| 2021 | Impeachment: American Crime Story | Lucianne Goldberg | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | The Watcher | Maureen | 6 episodes |
| 2023 | Accused | Joanna Lynn Pierce | Episode: "Laura's Story" |
| 2023 | Mrs. Davis | Mother Superior | 3 episodes |
| 2024 | Big City Greens | Dr. Bloom (voice) | Episode: "Unguarded" |
| 2024 | The Chicken Sisters | Narrator | 8 episodes |
| 2024 | Doctor Odyssey | Ellen Parsons | Episode: "I Always Cry At Weddings" |
| 2024 | The Sticky | Ruth Landry | 6 episodes |

### Theatre

| Year | Title | Role | Venue(s) |
| 1982 | Talking With | Performer ("Rodeo") | Manhattan Theatre Club |
| 1984 | The Miss Firecracker Contest | Tess Mahoney | Manhattan Theatre Club |
| 1987 | Steel Magnolias | Truvy | WPA Theater, Lucille Lortel Theatre |
| 1990 | Steel Magnolias | Truvy | Westport Country Playhouse |
| 1991 | The Stick Wife | Betty Connor | Manhattan Theatre Club |
| 1995 | The Sugar Bean Sisters | Faye Clementine | WPA Theater |
| 1997 | Always … Patsy Cline | Louise | Variety Arts Theater |
| 2003 | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Big Mama | Music Box Theatre, Broadway |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| 2004 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Nominated |
| 2004 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Nominated |
| 2004 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Nominated |
| 2004 | Richard Seff Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Broadway or Off-Broadway Production | Cat on a Hot Tin Roof | Won |
| 2011 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Justified | Won |
| 2011 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Justified | Nominated |
| 2011 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Justified | Won |
| 2011 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film | Justified | Nominated |
| 2011 | Television Critics Association Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Justified | Nominated |
| 2013 | Online Film & Television Association Award | Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Americans | Nominated |
| 2013 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Americans | Nominated |
| 2014 | Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries, or Television Film | The Americans | Nominated |
| 2014 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | August: Osage County | Nominated |
| 2014 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Americans | Nominated |
| 2015 | Gracie Awards | Outstanding Female Actor in a Featured or Guest Role | The Americans | Won |
| 2015 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Americans | Won |
| 2016 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series | The Good Wife | Won |
| 2016 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | The Americans | Won |
| 2018 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Sneaky Pete | Nominated |
| 2019 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | The Americans | Nominated |
| 2020 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | Mrs. America | Nominated |
| 2021 | Critics' Choice Television Awards | Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Television Movie | Mrs. America | Nominated |