People

Laurie Metcalf

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress and comedian. Often described as a character actor, she is known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including two Tony Awards and four Primetime Emmy Awards, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and three Golden Globe Awards. Metcalf began her career with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company and frequently works in Chicago theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the 1985 play My Thing of Love. She went on to receive six Tony Award nominations, winning Best Actress in a Play in 2017 for her performance in A Doll's House, Part 2 and Best Featured Actress in a Play for the 2018 revival of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women. Her other Tony-nominated roles were for November (2008), The Other Place (2010), Misery (2016), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). She gained national attention for her performance as Jackie Harris on the sitcom Roseanne (1988–1997, 2018) and its spinoff The Conners (2018–present), for which she won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role in Hacks (2022), and her other Emmy-nominated roles include 3rd Rock from the Sun (1999), Monk (2006), Desperate Housewives (2007), The Big Bang Theory (2016), Getting On (2013–2015), and Horace and Pete (2016). She also appeared on The Norm Show (1999–2001), Frasier, and The Dropout (2022). In film, Metcalf is best known for her performance as Marion McPherson in Greta Gerwig's comedy-drama film Lady Bird (2017). She was nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a SAG Award, and a BAFTA Award. From 1995, she has voiced Mrs. Davis, the mother of Andy, in the Toy Story franchise, and voiced Sarah Hawkins in the Disney animated Treasure Planet (2002). Other notable film credits include Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), Uncle Buck (1989), JFK (1991), Dear God (1996), Georgia Rule (2007) and Scream 2 (1997).

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Toy Story 2

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Lady Bird

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Toy Story 3

As Andy's Mom (voice)

Toy Story

As Mrs. Davis (voice)

Monster: The Ed Gein Story

As Augusta Gein

Scream 2

As Debbie Salt

JFK

As Susie Cox

Uncle Buck

As Marcie Dahlgren-Frost

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

The Cracks in the Picket Fence: Suburban Critique Across Generations

From the manicured lawns of 1999 to the glowing screens of today, this chain traces how cinema has dissected the suburban dream, revealing the isolation, confor...

8 films

Girlhood Reclaimed

From institutionalised rebellion to the raucous freedom of the last day of school, a chain of films that lets young women be messy, angry, and gloriously themse...

8 films

Growing Pains: Sequels That Leap Through Time

From a Parisian afternoon to a boxing ring, these sequels skip years ahead and find their characters changed, challenged, and achingly familiar. A journey throu...

6 films

When the Sequel Outshines the Original

From gritty crime epics to mind-bending sci-fi, these sequels didn't just continue stories, they redefined them. Here's a chain of films that prove the second (...

8 films

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