Played Alice, the mother and manager of boxers Micky and Dicky Ward, in the Oscar-winning film The Fighter.
Her acting debut was on the show All My Children.
Although she played the mother of Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale in The Fighter, she is only ten years older than they are.
Had a son with then-boyfriend John Heard in 1987 and adopted another son in 1984.
Beat out Julia Roberts for the role of Linda Warner on the soap opera All My Children.
