Christine Baranski Biography

A native of Buffalo, New York, Baranski began dancing as a child and went on to study drama at Juilliard. She has appeared on Broadway in The House of Blues, Hurlyburly, and Nick and Nora. She won two Tony Awards for her work in The Real Thing and Rumors.

Her first feature film role came after appearing in the off-Broadway play, Coming Attractions. The film was Soup for One and she had a small role in a bar scene.

On television, Baranski guest-starred on Law and Order and landed roles in a number of made-for-TV movies including Playing for Time, Buying the Landslide and The Dance of the White Dog, with Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn. She also had a recurring role on the soap All My Children playing the character Jewel in 1984.

In the mid-'90s, she won the hearts of television audiences with her portrayal of Maryann Thorpe, Cybill Sheridan's rich-by-settlement best friend in the hit comedy series, Cybill. With a cutting wit that is all too often fuzzy around the edges from alcohol, Maryann has more money than she will ever need, but finds herself alone.

Baranski had a co-starring role in The Birdcage (1996), for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award. Playing a wide range of characters, her other feature films include Reversal of Fortune (1990), The Ref (1994), Addams Family Values (1993), Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986) and Cruel Intentions (1999). She begans the new millennium with the well-known Christmas story, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), starring Jim Carrey and since then, has appeared in the Oscar-winning Chicago (2002), as well as The Guru (2002) and Marci X (2003). She then starred in Into the Woods (2014), Yellowbird (2015) and Trolls (2016).

Her later film credits include roles in the female comedy A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) and the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018).

In 2020, she starred in the Netflix holiday film Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, alongside Dolly Parton.

From 1983 to 2014, Baranski was married to actor Matthew Cowles. She lost him to heart failure in 2014. The couple have two daughters. A protective mother, Baranski raises her children without television because she doesn't approve of the sexual content and violence on screen.

Filmography:

Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square (2020)
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)
A Bad Moms Christmas (2017)
Trolls (2016)
Yellowbird (2015)
Into the Woods (2014)
The Bounty Hunter (2010)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Bonneville (2006)
Relative Strangers (2006)
East Broadway (2006)
Social Grace (2005)
Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
Marci X (2003)
Chicago (2002)
The Guru (2002)
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Bowfinger (1999)
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Bulworth (1998)
The Odd Couple II (1998)
The Birdcage (1996)
Jeffrey (1995)
New Jersey Drive (1995)
Getting In (1994)
The Ref (1994)
The War (1994)
Life with Mikey (1993)
The Night We Never Met (1993)
Addams Family Values (1993)
Reversal of Fortune (1990)
The Pick-up Artist (1987)
Nine 1/2 Weeks (1986)
Legal Eagles (1986)
Crackers (1984)
Lovesick (1983)
Soup for One (1982)