TLDR: Mary McDonnell began on The Closer as Sharon Raydor, Brenda Leigh Johnson’s bureaucratic antagonist, then took over as the lead of the spinoff Major Crimes for six seasons when Kyra Sedgwick departed.
She chose to have her character killed off in the series finale, a decision she describes as collaborative and deliberate. Since Major Crimes ended in 2018 she has worked selectively in film and television.
Taking over a hit show from a beloved lead is one of the more thankless positions in television. The incoming actor gets compared to the departing one regardless of merit, and the audience that built its loyalty around the original performance is never fully transferable.
Mary McDonnell did not just survive the transition from The Closer to Major Crimes. She ran the franchise for six more seasons, earned her own devoted following, and closed it on her own terms.
That is a better outcome than most transitions produce.
Who Mary McDonnell Is
Mary McDonnell was born on April 28, 1952, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and built her career primarily in film and theater before television became her primary medium.
She earned Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for Dances with Wolves (1990) and Best Actress for Passion Fish (1992), establishing her as a serious dramatic actress well before The Closer arrived.
She is also known to science fiction audiences for playing President Laura Roslin in the reimagined Battlestar Galactica series from 2003 to 2009, a performance that generated its own devoted following.
How Sharon Raydor Became the Lead
McDonnell first appeared on The Closer in Season 4 as Captain Sharon Raydor of the Force Investigation Division, the unit responsible for investigating officer misconduct.
Her role was to make Brenda Leigh Johnson’s professional life difficult, and she did it with an icy, formal professionalism that made her genuinely formidable rather than just obstructive.
Producer James Duff began positioning Raydor for a larger role well before Sedgwick’s departure was announced.
By the final seasons of The Closer, McDonnell was appearing in increasingly substantial material, and the audience had developed enough familiarity with Raydor to follow her into a new show.
Six Seasons on Her Own Terms
Major Crimes ran from August 2012 to January 2018, producing 105 episodes across six seasons.
McDonnell played Raydor in every one of them, navigating the character from antagonist to protagonist, from adversary to mentor, and eventually to the late-series romantic storyline with Detective Flynn that gave the show its most emotionally resonant material.
The series ended with Raydor’s death from a heart condition in the finale, a conclusion McDonnell has described as the right ending.
She and producer James Duff had decided that Sharon deserved a meaningful close rather than simply fading from the screen.
McDonnell has also acknowledged that she was personally ready to move on after six years as the lead.
What She Has Done Since
Since Major Crimes ended, McDonnell has worked selectively.
She appeared in the film Ready or Not (2019) and has taken on occasional television and film roles.
She has been public about her preference for meaningful work over volume, which is consistent with a career that has always prioritized quality over quantity.
See our guide to The Closer cast where they are now for the full picture of what the ensemble has been doing since both shows ended.
Mary McDonnell and Major Crimes: Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mary McDonnell doing now?
Since Major Crimes ended in 2018, McDonnell has worked selectively in film and television, including an appearance in Ready or Not (2019). She has two Academy Award nominations from earlier in her career, for Dances with Wolves and Passion Fish.
Why was Sharon Raydor killed off in Major Crimes?
Mary McDonnell and producer James Duff decided collaboratively to give the character a meaningful ending rather than simply fade out. McDonnell has said she was also personally ready to move on after six seasons as the lead.
Did Mary McDonnell and Kyra Sedgwick get along on The Closer?
Yes. McDonnell has described their relationship as respectful and collaborative. The antagonism between Raydor and Brenda was a performance. Neither woman has suggested any personal friction either during the show or since.
