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Mary Ellen Trainor

Perhaps best known for her memorable role as the mother of the two main characters in the beloved kids adventure movie "The Goonies" (1985), Mary Ellen Trainor began her acting career in the early '80s. The San Francisco native studied broadcast journalism at San Diego State University, where she was recruited by the station manager of radio station KSDO. After working for the outlet as an on-air personality, Trainor eventually moved over to KCBS, where she acted as station editor. After marrying director Robert Zemeckis in 1980, Trainor moved into acting. She made her first film appearance in the blockbuster hit "Romancing the Stone" (1984), directed by her husband. Audiences were taken with Trainor's sweetness and charisma, and she became a regular actor in projects directed by Zemeckis and by Richard Donner. Soon, Trainor was performing in films like "Die Hard" (1988) and "Scrooged" (1988). She returned for all four "Lethal Weapon" (1987) movies to play the role of harried police psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods. Her marriage to Zemeckis ended in 2000. She remained a regular presence on screen throughout the '00s and '10s. Trainor died on May 20, 2015. She was 62 years old.