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Laurie Metcalf

Incredibly versatile and capable of plumbing the depths of even the most complex roles, actress Laurie Metcalf was a critical darling on the stages of Chicago and New York prior to being cast on one of television's most beloved sitcoms of all time. An early member of Chicago's revered Steppenwolf Theater Company, Metcalf garnered widespread critical acclaim for her performance in the troupe's off-Broadway mounting of "Balm of Gilead" in 1984. Four years later, the actress became known to mainstream American audiences as Jackie Harris, the melancholy but well-meaning sister of Roseanne Barr's titular matriarch on the hit sitcom "Roseanne" (ABC, 1988-1997; 2018- ). The increased visibility led the accomplished actress to appear in several high-profile feature films of the time, including the crime-thriller "Internal Affairs" (1990) and director Oliver Stone's explosive docudrama "JFK" (1991). Another memorable role for Metcalf came with the voice of Andy's Mom in the Disney/Pixar animated hit film "Toy Story" (1995) and its equally popular sequels. Post-"Roseanne," she remained a frequent presence on television with memorable recurring roles on popular series like "3rd Rock from the Sun" (NBC, 1996-2001), "Desperate Housewives" (ABC, 2004-2012) and "The Big Bang Theory" (CBS, 2007- ), as well as smaller projects like Louis CK's quirky "Horace and Pete" (2016). She also co-starred in the dark sitcom "Getting On" (HBO 2013-15) and the family sitcom "The McCarthys" (CBS 2014-15), burnishing her leading-lady qualities even though neither series lasted very long. Metcalf capped her late-career renaissance with an Oscar-nominated role as the title character's mother in Greta Gerwig's "Lady Bird" (2017) and a return to the role that made her famous in a reboot of "Roseanne" that was retooled as "The Conners" (ABC 2018- ) following Roseanne Barr's firing from the series. An actress committed to illuminating the inner-life of her multilayered characters, Metcalf was one of the more esteemed supporting actresses in all mediums.