Hi everyone, it's Sophia and welcome back to Work in Progress.

Today's guest is Tony, Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actress, Mary Louise Parker.

Mary Louise is probably most recognizable for playing Nancy Botwin, the protagonist of Weeds,

but she is also a powerhouse performer in live theater. She originated roles in shows like Proof,

Heisenberg, Pryloid to a Kiss, and so many more. She's a phenomenal writer who's written

for The New York Times, O Magazine, S. Quire, and even put out a critically acclaimed book,

Dear Mr. You, in 2015. In her personal life, Mary Louise is an avid practitioner of Transcendental

Meditation and Mother of Two. She often travels as part of her humanitarian efforts through both the

David Lynch Foundation and Hope North, an organization dedicated to helping Ugandan orphans,

child soldiers, and civil war victims find safety, stability, and access to education.

Mary Louise is one of those people who seems to be able to be both openly self-aware and

incredibly empathetically focused, and I am so excited for both you and me. I am a huge fan

to get to know her a little bit better today. Enjoy.

Well, just before we get started, I've always wondered, do you prefer to be called Mary Louise,

or just Mary? What's your approach? Oh, it's Mary Louise. Thanks for asking. It is Mary Louise.

Okay, great. I thought so. That's what my parents always called me, so.

I've got a girlfriend who I did a show with years ago, Bethany Joy, and she goes by that

professionally, but all her friends just call her Joy, so I always feel like because of her,

I'm very conscious of double-named ladies. Yeah, I do. With a lot of nicknames, and it kind of

gives you, I feel like it gives you the agency to constantly create new ones if you feel like it,

look just randomly, which I guess you should have anyway if you feel like using a new name.

I don't know. There's something kind of nice about it. I'm really curious. Who was Mary Louise

...