Noted for often getting controversial movie roles, the Canadian-American actress, Molly Parker has since established her place as one of the most successful Hollywood professionals in this generation. Although she may appear quite stringent and officious to you ordinarily, the flexibility with which she handles any role given to her is considered epic by many of her fans. As a result of this, the actress has built a really ebullient acting profile that speaks for itself since 1991 that she got her first acting credit.
With over 90 roles in film and TV so far – including hit projects like 1996 CBS miniseries Titanic and Netflix’s House of Cards – Molly keeps going strong and currently fills the lead role of ‘Maureen Robinson’ in the Netflix’s readaptation of 1965 CBS science fiction series Lost In Space. Also, she is billed to take up a yet-to-be-announced role in a 2019 film Words On Bathroom Walls which is going to be starring other great actors like Charlie Plummer and Taylor Russell. In this post, therefore, we are paying attention to the life and career of this iconic actress.
Molly Parker’s Childhood And Early Life
Born as Molly Parker on June 30, 1972, the actress grew up in her birthplace which is the Canadian city of Maple Ridge, British Columbia. She has a younger brother named Henry Parker. Although we do not have the names of her parents at this time, available information shows they were entrepreneurs who lived a quiet life on a farm and owned a seafood retail store.
We know that Molly went through the conventional school system just like any other child. But, she started to prepare for her career so early that no one seems to care about her conventional schooling. Instead, her training towards her profession keeps getting the highlights in the media. For instance, she is said to have started attending ballet classes from age three and this continued well into her teenage years.
While in high school, Molly Parker was well known for her participation in drama club activities. Then, after graduating from high school, she got further training which included intensive voice and singing rehearsals at Gastown Actors’ Studio in Vancouver.
Once she had received adequate training in the area of her chosen career, Molly was buoyed up for any challenge in the industry. She wasted no time to start attending auditions and got her feet into Hollywood when she attended an audition for the 1991 CBS made-for-television drama film, My Son Johnny which held in Vancouver. After a great showing at the audition, she landed the minor role of ‘Lori Spoda’ in the film and today, the rest is history.
Life Achievements
As already mentioned, Molly Parker came into Hollywood with adequate training in her backpack. She kept displaying her talent while gradually building her fan base via minor roles. This continued for about five years until 1996 when she landed what can be considered her first major role ever as ‘Sandra Larson’ in the erotic thriller film, Kissed. Although the film was low-budget and was produced in Canada, it attracted her first-ever major recognition in the industry – a Genie Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role (1997). She bagged another Genie Award for portraying the role of ‘Sarah’ in the 2001 film Last Wedding.
Also, for her role as ‘Florence’ in the 2001 film The Center of the World, Molly got an Independent Spirit Award nomination. In a decade and a half later, she bagged another nomination for Canadian Screen Award for Best Performance by An Actress in a Supporting Role for acting as ‘Laura’ in the 2016 drama film Weirdos.
Although Molly Parker has been credited with over 45 TV roles in her career, there are a number of her roles that have been acclaimed more than the rest. For instance, everyone seems to associate her with her role as House Majority Whip ‘Jacqueline Sharp’ in the Netflix hit political thriller web TV series House of Cards for which she got a Primetime Emmy nomination. Another role that has stuck with her is as ‘Alma Garrett’ in the HBO series Dead Wood. For her role in House of Cards and Deadwood, she was also nominated for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2007, 2015 and 2016.
Other prestigious nominations that have recognized Molly’s outstanding performances are Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a leading role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-series (1996); Canadian Award for Multimedia for Best Female Performance in a Feature (2002) and Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance (2005).
Other Interesting Facts About Molly Parker
- Molly Parker was married to the film director Matt Bissonnette for ten years between 2002 and 2012. Their union sadly ended in a divorce.
- She has a son named William with Matt. William was born in October 2006 and he is Molly’s only child so far.
- As of mid-2019, Molly Parker’s net worth is estimated at $2.5 million. Of course, she made at least a huge chunk of her money from her copious acting career.
- If Molly believes in astrology, her constellation sign would be Cancer. By this, she would be expected to be deeply intuitive as a result of being in touch with her emotions.
