VIP: Mary McDonnell talks success and humility

With a sense of humor and a lot of humility, success in both your personal and professional life is yours for the taking, says Mary McDonnell, now starring on TNT's Major Crimes, returning Monday (9 p.m. ET/PT).

The Oscar-nominated actress boasts an impressive résumé (Dances with Wolves, Battlestar Galactica), but there have been bumps in the road.

"You're going to get ... doses of being brought to your knees and swung at by a giant bat more than once and there's going be moments where you just fall off the face of earth," says McDonnell, 61. "So, learning how to take your licks and making it part of the program is key to being able to bounce back and finding the next beautiful thing."

As for her 29-year marriage to actor Randle Mell? "The same things that used to make me angry now make me howl with laughter, and I say, 'If only I could have gotten there sooner, but whatever.' "