Tess Harper

 ( 20th-century American Actresses ) 

Tender Mercies was Harper's feature film debut. Peter Wilson, Truth no stranger in this fiction, The Vancouver Sun, June 18, 1983, page 27 She earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role. Clay Hutt, Golden Globes often mirror Oscars, El Paso Herald-Post, January 27, 1984, page 58

Harper appeared in the TV mini-series Chiefs (1983) and Celebrity (1984), as well as many including (1983) and Reckless Disregard (1985). In 1983, she appeared in the full-length feature Silkwood. Peggy Soric, Former SMS student Tess Harper enjoys success, Springfield Leader and Press (Springfield, Missouri), December 21, 1986, page 80 In 1986, Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work as Chick Boyle in Crimes of the Heart, which was directed by her Tender Mercies director Bruce Beresford. She later played parts in Ishtar (1987), Far North (1988), The Man in the Moon (1991), The Jackal (1997) and Loggerheads (2005). She also took part in Michael Jackson's music video "Black or White" (1991), playing the mother.

From 1994 to 1995 Harper had a regular role on the CBS series Christy, playing mountain woman Fairlight Spencer.Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows 1946 – Present (7th edition), page 185, Ballantine, 1999 She also had a recurring role on another CBS television series, Early Edition, from 1996 to 2000. She portrayed the mother of lead character Gary Hobsen. Harper shared a Screen Actors Guild Award (in the Best Ensemble Cast category) with her fellow cast members in the Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men, in which she played the wife of Tommy Lee Jones's character.

She had the recurring role of Mrs. Pinkman on Breaking Bad, appearing in the first three seasons, as well as the sequel Netflix movie .

• Encyclopedia of Arkansas bio