Oscar-winning actress Mary Steenburgen adds a story of her own to the hit series Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist when it kicks off its second season. Steenburgen admits not having the same singing and dancing skills as her Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist castmates, but found an undeniable connection to the story.
Five Things You Need to Know:
- The series revolves around Zoey Clarke, a computer programmer who discovers she has the ability to hear the innermost thoughts of people as songs. Each episode features multiple song-and-dance numbers that develop the storyline.
- Steenburgen plays Zoey's mom in the series and has to deal with the death of her husband at the end of season 1. Season 2 picks up a few months later, after his death, and explores how the family grieves through song and togetherness.
- Steenburgen, who is married to actor Ted Danson, is an actress, singer, and songwriter. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress playing Lynda Dummar in Jonathan Demme's 1980 film, Melvin and Howard. She also co-starred in Time After Time, Cross Creek, Parenthood, Back to the Future Part III, Philadelphia, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Elf, The Brave One, Step Brothers, The Proposal, The Help, Book Club and Happiest Season.
- In 2007, Steenburgen underwent minor surgery on her arm, which required a general anesthetic. Shortly thereafter, she began experiencing music playing in her head day and night. She subsequently took music lessons so that she could write down what she was hearing. She has collaborated with musicians from Nashville and was also signed to Universal Music as a songwriter. She says "I think learning so much about writing music has helped me not be so obsessive not hearing it all the time, yeah, it’s pretty much like an over scored movie."
- Steenburgen has been acting since 1978 and she mixes it up between TV and film. She has developed a certain philosophy if a show is a hit or not, saying: "My reps are not going to like this statement, but I actually never think if it will be successful when I do it, but I know that may not be a smart way to build your career, but at this point in my life what I do is a bit more selfish than that. I do things that scare me or I think someone out there will get something from this and it might add to the good in the world."