Born in La Jolla, CA, Harden studied drama in college, earning a B.A. in theater from the University of Texas, and an M.F.A. in theater from New York University. After graduation, Harden continued developing her acting talents on stage in Washington, D.C. Quickly developing stage talents and a keen ability to portray a wide range of characterizations, Harden earned two Helen Hayes Award nominations for her roles in Crimes of the Heart and The Miss Firecracker Contest. Angels in America brought Harden to Broadway, where she found further success in earning both Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations, as well as winning the Theater World Award for Best Actress. Though she had made an impressive screen debut in Miller's Crossing, disappointment soon followed with a slew of critically shunned successes mixed with a series of creative misfires. Though discouraged in the critics' failure to recognize what Harden considered to be some of her best work, Harden began to focus less on Hollywood validation for happiness, and instead shifted her attention to refining her acting abilities. Moving from quirky dramatic roles, such as her manipulative character in Crush (1992), to quiet dramas like 1996's The Spitfire Grill, and such mainstream efforts as The First Wives Club (also 1996) and Meet Joe Black (1998), Harden found herself comfortable in a wide variety of roles, though it was Ed Harris' long-anticipated Jackson Pollock biopic Pollock (2000) that finally brought the actress mainstream critical recognition for her work. Reunited with Harris from their pairing in an earlier stage production of Sam Sheppard's Simpatico, Harden's role as Pollock's dysfunctional muse earned her the Best Supporting Actress Oscar at the 2000 Academy Awards. The dawning years of the new millennium were undeniably kind to the tireless actress, and after a trio of made-for-television movies in the year 2000 Harden essayed the role of a stylish but enigmatic catalyst to a mystery with decidedly comic undertones in Susan Seidelman's Gaudi Afternoon. A brief foray into sitcom territory followed soon thereafter when Harden co-starred with Richard Dreyfuss in shortlived television series The Education of Max Bickford (2001), and the following year found her sticking to the small screen for the mini-series Guilty Hearts and the made-for-television feature King of Texas (the latter earning her a a Golden Sattelite nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Made for Television). An adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear set in the Old West, King of Texas found Harden essaying the role of cattle-baron John Lear's (Patrick Stewart) eldest daughter. Equally busy in 2003, Harden abandoned the small screen to work with some of the most acclaimed filmmakers in Hollywood. Following a supporting performance in director Clint Eastwood's highly-praised Mystic River, Harden essayed the role of a mother attempting to adopt a South American girl in longtime indie filmmaker John Sayles' Casa de Los Babys and provided a key supporting performance in Mike Newell's Mona Lisa Smile. Later that same year Harden could be spotted in Just Like Mona, the directorial debut of actor Joe Pantoliano.
