Marcia Gay Harden

Marcia Gay Harden, born August 14, 1959 in La Jolla (California), was the third of five. Beverly Bushfield was her mother. She employed as a domestic worker and her husband Thad Harold Harden was employed in the military. Family members moved often. As they travelled to Greece the family became more interested in theater and attended Athens shows. Harden began her studies in Europe at American universities and later moved to the US, where she completed her education at the University of Texas. In 1983, Harden earned her MFA in theatre at NYU. Miller's Crossing was the Coen Brothers comedy that cleverly paid homage of the 1990 gangster film, Miller's Crossing. Although she had been in film as early as 1986 (in The Imagemaker, a lesser-known film The Imagemaker), she played a seductive femme fatale as part of her first major role. Harden's beautiful portrayal of Verna as a mysterious, beautiful moll, earned her rave critiques. Harden then worked in supporting parts. She was in Ava Gardner, a TV biopic based on Frank Sinatra.