Mary Mara, a veteran actress who appeared on TV shows such as “Law & Order,” “NYPD Blue” and “Ray Donovan,” has died after drowning in the St. Lawrence River over the weekend.
She was 61.
Troopers responded to a possible drowning call at 8 a.m. Sunday. Once on the scene in Cape Vincent, they found her body, according to a New York State Police report obtained by The Post.
Mara was visiting her sister and was swimming in the water, police said. TMZ reported she jumped in to exercise.
Her body exhibited no signs of foul play and has been taken to the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy, according to the state police.
“Mary was one of the finest actresses I ever met,” Craig Dorfman, her manager, said in a statement to Variety. “I still remember seeing her onstage in 1992 in ‘Mad Forest’ off-Broadway. She was electric, funny and a true individual. Everyone loved her. She will be missed.”
Mara, who lived in Cape Vincent, was a Syracuse native. She graduated from Corcoran High School before heading to San Francisco State University and Yale — she earned a master’s degree in fine arts from the latter’s School of Drama — to learn the skills she used in her more than three-decade professional career.
Mara went on to act in over 20 movies and 40 TV shows, including “The West Wing,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” “ER,” “Nash Bridges,” “The Practice,” “Star Trek: Enterprise,” “Lost” and “Shameless,” among others. She also appeared in the films “Mr. Saturday Night,” starring Billy Crystal, and “Love Potion No. 9,” opposite Sandra Bullock.
Her most recent gig, according to her IMDb page, was 2020’s “Break Even.”
Mara also appeared opposite Michelle Pfeiffer and Jeff Goldblum in the 1989 Shakespeare in the Park production of the Bard’s “Twelfth Night,” followed by a string of 1990s appearances for NYC’s acclaimed Manhattan Theatre Club.
