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Mary Beth Peil

Award-winning stage performer Mary Beth Peil also enjoyed regular work as a character actress on television and the occasional film, most notably as Michelle Williams's grandmother on "Dawson's Creek" (The WB, 1998-2003) and Julianna Margulies's scheming mother-in-law on "The Good Wife" (CBS, 2009-16). Initially trained as an opera singer, Peil moved into musical theater and drama in the 1980s, eventually winning an Obie in 1994 for a trio of non-musical plays, including Paul Rudnick's "The Naked Truth." Though less prolific in film and on television, Peil worked frequently in small but showy parts for over a decade, with the "Dawson's" and "Good Wife" roles serving as her most widely seen screen efforts. By the 2000s, Peil's work on television and stage afforded her a degree of stardom that was reflected in her participation in major Broadway productions of "Nine" and "Follies," all of which underscored her status as an enduring talent in both mediums.