Mary McDonnell

Red-headed goddess Mary McDonnell rose to fame with the role of Stands-With-A-Fist in the Kevin Costner film Dances with Wolves. She also became known for her turn in cult classic Donnie Darko.

However, she became a household name as President Laura Roslin in Battlestar Galactica. Between her genuine and believable chemistry with Edward James Olmos (as Admiral Adama) and her talent for simultaneously portraying iron strength and heartbreaking vulnerability, McDonnell became one of the pillars of the new series and one of its best-loved characters.

When not even Television Without Pity can find snarky things to say about you... well.

Since Battlestar Galactica finished, her most notable role has been as the cool, collected Captain Sharon Raydor, head of the Force Investigation Division, on TNT's crime drama The Closer, where she came into conflict with Kyra Sedgwick's Brenda Johnson and got her very own It's Personal episode in the Season 5 finale. She earned her Promotion to Opening Titles in season 7, and has been taking an increasingly prominent role in the storyline.

She started off in The Closer pretty much as a walk-on role in Season 5, and two years later, she's going to be the lead in a Spin-Off titled Major Crimes. She's just that good.

Oh, and she is very, very much a Hot Shounen Mom. And a redhead. She is also pretty much universally loved on this wiki, and something of a memetic goddess.+