Mary Pat Gleason was an American actress and writer.

In a career that spanned over 40 years, Gleason initially found success in television and would have recurring roles in series such as Guiding Light, Davis Rules, The Middleman, Desperate Housewives, 1600 Penn, Will & Grace, and Mom.

A prolific character actress, she also guest starred in a number of programs including Full House, Murphy Brown, Quantum Leap, Who's the Boss?, Empty Nest, Saved by the Bell, Perfect Strangers, Coach, Blossom, Friends, ER, Sex and the City, NCIS, The Mentalist, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, and Shameless.

On the silver screen, Gleason was seen in the films Easy Money (1983), Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), Defending Your Life (1991), Basic Instinct (1992), A Walk in the Clouds (1995), The Crucible (1996), Traffic (2000), Evolution (2001), Bruce Almighty (2003), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004), and Bottle Shock (2008).

In 1986, she shared a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series Writing Team for her contributions to Guiding Light.

Gleason died June 2, 2020, in Burbank, California. She was 70.