Editing Mary Steenburgen (section)

===Film career===
Steenburgen's break came when she was discovered by [[Jack Nicholson]] in the reception room of [[Paramount Pictures]]'s New York office and was cast as the female lead in his second directorial work, the Western comedy ''[[Goin' South]]'' (1978).<ref name="tvguide" /> Steenburgen had a leading role in the film ''[[Time After Time (1979 film)|Time After Time]]'' (1979), for which she won the [[Saturn Award for Best Actress]]. She played a modern woman who falls in love with author [[H. G. Wells]], played by [[Malcolm McDowell]], whom she married the following year.

In her third film, she won the [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress]] for the film ''[[Melvin and Howard]]'' (1980). She played Lynda Dummar, the wife of [[Melvin Dummar]], a trucker and aspiring singer who claimed to have befriended reclusive eccentric [[Howard Hughes]]. Another notable film appearance came in the well-received film ''[[Cross Creek (film)|Cross Creek]]'' (1983), in which she portrayed [[Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings]], author of ''[[The Yearling]]''. In 1985, she starred in the film ''[[One Magic Christmas]]'' as someone who falls on devastating times at Christmas, only to rely on a miracle to save her family. In 1989, she played Karen Buckman in ''[[Parenthood (film)|Parenthood]]''. In ''[[Back to the Future Part III]]'' (1990), Steenburgen played [[Clara Clayton]], a schoolteacher who falls in love with Doc Brown. She was persuaded to play the role by her children, as well as by fans of the ''Back to the Future'' films, and reprised the role by providing the character's voice in ''[[Back to the Future: The Animated Series]]''.

Other performances have been in ''[[What's Eating Gilbert Grape]]'' (1993), as a woman who is having an affair with the title character; ''[[My Summer Story]]'' (1994), as the mother of Ralphie Parker (the sequel to ''[[A Christmas Story]]''); the role of [[Hannah Milhous Nixon]] in the [[Oliver Stone]] biopic ''[[Nixon (film)|Nixon]]'' (1995); and the [[Will Ferrell]] comedy ''[[Elf (film)|Elf]]'' (2003), as a woman who discovers that her husband is the father of one of Santa's [[Christmas elf|elves]].

[[File:MarySteenburgen2000.jpg|thumb|150px|right|Steenburgen in Toronto Film Festival 2001]]
She has appeared in the comedy films ''[[Step Brothers (film)|Step Brothers]]'' (2008), playing the mother of [[Will Ferrell]]'s character; ''[[Four Christmases]]'' (2008); and ''[[The Proposal (2009 film)|The Proposal]]'' (2009). ''[[Dirty Girl (2010 film)|Dirty Girl]]'', which featured Steenburgen, premiered at the [[Toronto International Film Festival]] on September 12, 2010. She also appeared in the critically acclaimed film ''[[The Help (film)|The Help]]'' (2011) and had a featured role as a lounge singer, who is the romantic interest in a love triangle, in the comedy film ''[[Last Vegas]]'' (2013). She had a small role in the comedy-drama film ''[[A Walk in the Woods (film)|A Walk in the Woods]]'' as Jeannie. In 2018, Steenburgen starred with [[Diane Keaton]], [[Jane Fonda]] and [[Candice Bergen]] in the romantic comedy film ''[[Book Club (film)|Book Club]]''.