One of the few artists to win the `Triple Crown of Acting` (Academy Award, Tony Award and Primetime Emmy Award), Frances McDormand`s illustrious career spans close to four decades, in the course of which she has appeared in over forty films, several Broadway productions and tv shows. She started out in theatre and subsequently made both her Broadway debut in 1984 with the play Awake and Sing. In the same year, McDormand made her movie debut with a pivotal role in the neo-noir crime film Blood Simple (1984), which was directed by her husband Joel Coen (of the Coen Brothers).

In the years that followed, McDormand continued to prove her versatility through a number of roles in both films and stage. Her performance in the acclaimed crime thriller Mississippi Burning earned the actress the first Academy Award nomination of her career in 1988. Almost a decade later, in 1996, McDormand won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of policewoman Marge Gunderson in the internationally acclaimed black comedy crime film Fargo. In the following decade, McDormand continued to amaze and entertain by the virtue of her brilliance in the comedy-drama Almost Famous (2000), Wonder Boys (2000), the drama film North Country (2005) and the black comedy Burn After Reading (2008); with Almost Famous (2000) and North Country (2005) earning her Academy Award nominations.

Parallel to her stellar film career, McDormand continued to enjoy considerable success on stage and television as well, winning the Tony Award for Best Actress for Good People (2011) and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series for the titular role in Olive Kitteridge (2014). In 2017, she essayed the role of a bereaved mother seeking justice for her murdered daughter in the drama film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The tour de force not only won McDormand the Golden Globes and BAFTA Award for Best Actress but also set her on course for yet another Oscar. Other significant acting credits in recent times include Moonrise Kingdom (2012), Promised Land (2012), Hail, Caesar! (2016) and Isle of Dogs (2018). In 2021, Frances McDormand starred in the drama film Nomadland. Written and directed by Chloe Zhao, the film was nominated for the Oscars in six categories.