An Academy-award nominated actress, Mare Winningham is also an acclaimed folk influenced singer-songwriter. Born in Phoenix Arizona in 1959 and raised in Los Angeles, she was discovered while appearing in a high school production of The Sound of Music, and in 1978 she made her television debut. She has since starred in numerous telefilms and movies. She won her first Emmy in 1980 for her role in Amber Waves, and shortly thereafter portrayed a young singer-songwriter in the telefilm Freedom, in which she performed the soundtrack’s 8 songs written by Janis Ian. She has been nominated for 7 Emmys, winning again for George Wallace in 1997.

Winningham made her feature film debut in Paul Simon’s One Trick Pony in 1979, and her Oscar-nominated turn in 1995’s Georgia won her critical raves for her superb turn as a Linda Ronstadt-like folkie singer in Seattle WA. Winningham’s performance in the film alerted many to her prowess as a musician, and her debut album What Might Be was released in 1993, followed by 1998’s Lonesomers. In 2007 Refuge Rock Sublime, her Jewish/Country album was released, and in 2014 her collaboration with lyricist Jack Walter resulted in the release of What’s Left Behind. In 2020 she released Live at Cafe Carlyle with the Brothers Crouch. She has toured and performed her music live for the past 4 decades. Her work on and off Broadway has included award-winning performances in Ten Million Miles, a jukebox musical of Patty Griffin’s songs, and Broadway’s Girl From The North Country, the Conor McPherson/Bob Dylan musical, both of which highlight her singing. She lives in NYC.