Parker grew up in South Carolina and she learned acting at the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Her excellent work in the acting industry had made her the recipient of awards multiple times from award-giving bodies such as Golden Globe Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, and Tony awards.
After Mary-Louise Parker had earned a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards for her role of the character, Harper Pitt on Angels in America in the year, 2003, Mary-Louise Parker had a lot of success as the character, Nancy Botwin on Weeds from the year, 2005 till the year, 2012.