Marge Gunderson (Fargo character)
| Marge Gunderson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| First appearance | Fargo |
| Created by | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen |
| Portrayed by |
Frances McDormand (Film) Edie Falco (canceled pilot) |
| Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Occupation | Chief of police |
| Affiliation | Brainerd Police Department |
| Spouse(s) | Norm Gunderson |
| Children | unnamed child |
Marge Gunderson is a fictional character and leading protagonist in the 1996 film Fargo. The character is portrayed by Frances McDormand and created by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. McDormand received critical acclaim for her performance as Marge, earning her an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Marge Gunderson (née Olmsted) is the chief of police in Brainerd, Minnesota. In the film, set during the winter of 1987, Marge is seven months pregnant. She is married to her husband, Norm (John Carroll Lynch), a local wildlife artist.
McDormand portrays Marge in a stereotypical "Minnesota nice" fashion. She is very friendly towards the people she meets, even while she's interrogating suspects. She is also very intelligent when it comes to her police work, often picking up on the criminal clues before other officers. Aside from her job, Marge is a very loving wife towards Norm by being very proud and supportive of his artwork, giving him positive encouragement even when he doubts his own skills.
Despite being the leading protagonist, Marge Gunderson doesn't appear in Fargo until 33 minutes into the film. She is first introduced by receiving an early morning telephone call regarding a roadside homicide caused by Gaear Grimsrud (Peter Stormare) and Carl Showalter (Steve Buscemi), which left three people dead including a Minnesota State Patrolman. Marge quickly, and accurately, concludes that the murders happened after the trooper pulled over a car, with dealer plates, resulting in the driver killing the officer and two witness after a high-speed pursuit.
Records from the murdered state trooper's last traffic stop, along with a phone call to Proudfoot, placed at a local truck stop by two suspicious men, lead her to Jerry's dealership in Minneapolis, where she questions Jerry Lundegaard. While in Minneapolis, Marge reconnects with former classmate, Mike Yanagita. Mike tells her that he was married to a former classmate of theirs who died and tries to seduce her, but fails.
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