Photo: Jeff Vespa © WireImage.com

Born Mary Megan Winningham in Phoenix, AZ; raised and educated in Southern California. Critically acclaimed TV and stage perfomer whose occasional films have been offbeat but of mixed quality. A fresh-faced, sandy-haired actress, Winningham made her TV debut at 16 singing on the infamous "The Gong Show," but copped a bigger break when her senior class performance as Maria in The Sound of Music impressed Hollywood agent Meyer Mishkin. (Classmate and co-valedictorian Kevin Spacey played opposite her as Capt. Von Trapp.)The TV Western series "The Young Pioneers" (1978) lasted only three episodes, but Winningham made a favorable impression in the TV movie SPECIAL OLYMPICS (1978), and two years later won an Emmy for her delicately nuanced work as the free-spirited daughter of a farmer caught between her father and a city man in the stirring AMBER WAVES (1980). An intense performer adept at conveying a tough rusticity and the sensitivity beneath, Winningham followed with a stunning performance in OFF THE MINNESOTA STRIP (1980), as a NY teen prostitute who returns to her small-town family. Winningham made her feature debut in ONE-TRICK PONY (1980) and was especially effective in THRESHOLD (1981), as the first recipient of an artificial heart. Later feature roles, however, were either routine supporting parts (NOBODY'S FOOL, 1986, HARD PROMISES, 1991), in films completely unworthy of her (TURNER & HOOCH, 1989) or a combination of both (ST. ELMO'S FIRE, 1985). Winningham has fared considerably better in her mainstay, the TV movie; the restless aspects of her acting persona were well suited to her performance as passionate Justine in THE THORN BIRDS (1983), the blind and deaf heroine of HELEN KELLER -- THE MIRACLE CONTINUES (1984), the daughter of deaf parents longing to make a life on her own in the justly acclaimed LOVE IS NEVER SILENT (1985), the undercover investigator torn in her loyalties in LOVE AND LIES (1990) and a dozen other made-for-TV and TV series projects. Other notable screen credits include HARD PROMISES (1991), SEXUAL HEALING (1993), WYATT EARP, THE WAR and TERESA'S TATOO (all 1994), GEORGIA (1995), BAD DAY ON THE BLOCK (1997), THE ADVENTURES OF OCIEE NASH (2003), DANDELION (2004), WAR EAGLE (2007), and SWING VOTE (2008), as well as many made-for-television movies. Since 1983, Winningham has been married to "Sweet William" Maple; they have 4 children. Their oldest son, Riley Maple, committed suicide in 2005.  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1995: GEORGIA 1 nomination