Marsha Mason's knew from an early age that she wanted to be a star. When she finally reached Hollywood and won some of the most coveted roles from better known stars, nobody in her family was surprised. Stardom had always been in her cards.

Born in 1942, Marsha Mason attended Catholic school for most of her young life, before winning a drama scholarship to Webster College in St. Louis. There, she was cast as the lead in almost all of the school's productions. When she graduated in 1964, she moved to New York to seriously pursue her dream of becoming an actress.

Life in New York was good. She met and married fellow actor Gary Campbell, and began appearing in a number of television commercials. After her first big break, however, in a leading role in the Broadway play "Cactus Rose," her marriage began to crumble. Five years after they were married, Marsha and Campbell were divorced.

Still, her career was flourishing, and galvanized by her theatrical success, Marsha auditioned for a role in the Paul Mazursky film Blume in Love. Another director, also impressed by her talents, cast her in the role of Maggie in the film Cinderella Liberty with James Caan. It was a role that would earn her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination.

At 21, Marsha Mason was a bona fide star and the film offers began pouring in. But something was about to happen that would change all that. While auditioning for a part in Neil Simon's play, "The Good Doctor," she fell for Simon. And Simon fell for her. They were married in 1973, only 22 days after they met. When the play finished its run, Marsha put her career on a back burner so that she could devote time to her marriage and to Simon's two daughters.

Appreciative of her commitment to their marriage and to his children, Simon wrote the movie The Goodbye Girl for her. A huge success, the film received five Oscar nominations, including one for Marsha. Now, a powerful creative team, Marsha and Neil went on to make three more films together, but despite being seen as one of Hollywood's most glamourous couples, they divorced in 1983 after ten years of marriage.

For Marsha, the split was an opportunity to develop her own identity, separate from that of Simon's. In 1987, she attended the Bob Bondurant Racing School and earned her racing license. Now a stock car racer, she has won numerous racing awards. Now settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Marsha Mason runs a working farm where she grows medicinal herbs, and continues to act and to challenge herself in a variety of ways.