Madigan, who is seventy-five, previously received an Oscar nomination for the 1985 drama “Twice in a Lifetime,” a title that now seems prophetic. Since then, she’s figured prominently into some fairly memorable Oscar moments. When Marcia Gay Harden pulled off a startling Best Supporting Actress win for her role in Ed Harris’s film “Pollock” (2000), there was Madigan in the front row, clapping with violent elation. (Harris and Madigan have been married since 1983; the two sat together and sweetly embraced on Sunday night, when Madigan’s name was called.) And, at the 1999 ceremony, Madigan and Harris sat in silent, stone-faced protest when an honorary Oscar was awarded to the director Elia Kazan, who, in 1952, avoided the Hollywood blacklist by naming eight colleagues as former Communist Party members before the House Un-American Activities Committee. It was a scene that triggered flashbacks to Madigan’s performance in “Field of Dreams” (1989), as an outspoken liberal who, at a school P.T.A. meeting, righteously opposes a “Nazi cow” responsible for a book-banning campaign.