Virginia Madsen Biography

Virginia G. Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience. Two decades later, she had an Academy Award and Golden Globe"nominated role in the 2004 film Sideways.

Early life

Madsen was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Elaine (née Melson), an Emmy-winning poet, producer and playwright who often works for PBS, and Calvin Madsen, a fireman. Madsen's mother left a career in corporate business to pursue a writing career. Madsen's brother is actor Michael Madsen. Her paternal grandparents were Danish, and her mother has English, Irish, Scottish, German, and distant Native American, ancestry. Madsen is a graduate of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

Her first effort as an actor was as her brother's assistant in magic shows the two would concoct for their family. She later attended the Ted Liss Acting Studio in Chicago and Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Of her experience with Liss, she said: "I had wanted to join his class since I was 12. It was well worth the wait because I don't think I could have got that sort of training anywhere else especially in the United States...I always wanted to make a real career out of acting."

Career

Film

Audiences first caught a glimpse of Madsen on film in a bit part she landed as Lisa in the teen sex comedy Class, along with an appearance in Kenny Loggins' music video "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" from the Footloose soundtrack. She portrayed a cellist named Madeline in Electric Dreams (1984), which was the first film release by Virgin Films Production Company. She was cast as Princess Irulan in David Lynch's science fiction epic Dune (1984).

Madsen first became popular with audiences in 1986 with her portrayal of a Catholic schoolgirl who fell in love with a boy from a prison camp in Duncan Gibbons's Fire with Fire. As beauty queen Dixie Lee Boxx, she was the sexy love interest of minor-league baseball manager Cecil "Stud" Cantrell (William Petersen) in the made-for-cable Long Gone (1987). She played a secretary in the 1988 comedy Hot to Trot and appeared as Maddie Hayes' cousin in the final season of Moonlighting.

She also starred in the 1992 horror film Candyman. During the filming of Candyman, Madsen was hypnotised so that her pupils would remain dilated in certain scenes. The director Bernard Rose wanted the character not to have a typical screaming style when confronted by the villain. Madsen stated in an interview for the DVD in 2004 that there were some days during filming that she did not remember much due to the hypnotism. She told her director that she did not want to be hypnotised after the first few experiences.

A couple of provocative film appearances followed: 1990's The Hot Spot with Don Johnson, directed by Dennis Hopper, and the equally steamy Third Degree Burn with Treat Williams.

Madsen appeared in a small but key role in the Francis Ford Coppola drama The Rainmaker (1997) starring Matt Damon. Film critic Roger Ebert said that Madsen had a "strong scene," while reviewer James Berardinelli noted that "the supporting cast is solid, with turns from... Virginia Madsen as a witness for the plaintiff". Madsen had spent more than twenty years in minor films before her breakout critically acclaimed performance in Sideways (2004). The role catapulted her onto the Hollywood A-list. Her first major role after Sideways was opposite Harrison Ford in Firewall. She later appeared in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, in a key role as the angel. She co-starred with Jim Carrey in The Number 23 and Billy Bob Thornton in The Astronaut Farmer; both films opened in North America on February 23, 2007.

She voiced Queen Hippolyte, mother of Wonder Woman, in the 2009 animated Wonder Woman film.

Television

Madsen has made numerous television appearances including Star Trek: Voyager, CSI: Miami, Dawson's Creek, The Practice, Frasier, and other series. She was also co-host of the long-running TV series Unsolved Mysteries in 1999, during the show's second (and final) season on CBS. She starred opposite Ray Liotta in CBS's short-lived crime drama series Smith. She also had a recurring role in the final season of the USA series Monk.

She appeared with Kenny Loggins in the music video "I'm Free", from the Footloose soundtrack (1984).

In 2010, she landed the starring role of Cheryl West in the ABC crime series Scoundrels. In December 2010, it was announced that she will be joining the cast of NBC's science fiction action series The Event. In 2012, she joined the cast of the AMC television show Hell on Wheels as Mrs. Durant, first appearing in episode eight of season 2, "The Lord's Day."

Producer

In 2008, she formed her own film production company called Title IX Prods. Her first project was a film made with her mother called I Know a Woman Like That. The film is a documentary about the lives of older women. On the creation of the film, she said her mother's active lifestyle was an inspiration to start filming.

"My mother's level of activity, of productivity, was exactly why I thought a project like this would work. Originally, when we put the idea together, she had said, "I'm far too busy. I'm going to Holland, and then I'm going here and there and I'm writing my book." But that's really what it's about."

Her second project is called Fighting Gravity and is about the inability of female ski jumpers to obtain recognition in Olympic competition.

Personal life

When Madsen arrived in Hollywood, she was engaged to actor Billy Campbell. She married actor Danny Huston in 1989 and they divorced in 1992. Madsen also had a relationship with actor Antonio Sabàto, Jr., with whom she had a son, Jack Antonio (born August 6, 1994).

Madsen has heterochromia, a genetic trait resulting in different pigmentation of the eyes. Madsen has one green eye, and one half-green, half-brown eye.

She was a member of the U.S. Dramatic Jury at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Awards

Nominations: Academy Awards

• Sideways (2004) " Best Supporting Actress

Nominations: Golden Globes

• Sideways (2004) " Best Supporting Actress

Other awards

Wins:

• Candyman (1992) " Best Actress: Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films.
• Sideways (2004) " Best Supporting Actress: Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards; Chicago Film Critics Association Awards; Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards; Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards; New York Film Critics Circle Awards; and others.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Class	Lisa
1984	Electric Dreams	Madeline Robistat
	Dune	Princess Irulan
1985	Creator	Barbara Spencer
1986	Fire with Fire	Lisa Taylor
	Modern Girls	Kelly
1987	Slam Dance	Yolanda Caldwell
	Zombie High	Andrea
	Long Gone	Dixie Lee Boxx
1988	Gotham	Rachel Carlyle	Nominated - CableACE Award Award for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
	Mr. North	Sally Boffin
	Hot to Trot	Allison Rowe
1989	Third Degree Burn	Anne Scholes
	Heart of Dixie	Delia June Curry
	Moonlighting	Lorraine Anne Charnock
1990	The Hot Spot	Dolly Harshaw
1991	Victim of Love	Carla Simons
	Becoming Colette	Polaire
	Highlander II: The Quickening	Louise Marcus
	Ironclads	Betty Stuart
1992	A Murderous Affair: Carolyn Warmus The Story	Carolyn Warmus
	Candyman	Helen Lyle	Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival Award for Best Actress Saturn Award for Best Actress
1994	Caroline at Midnight	Susan Prince
	Blue Tiger	Gina Hayes
1995	The Prophecy	Katherine
1996	Just Your Luck	Kim
	Ghosts of Mississippi	Dixie DeLaughter
1997	The Rainmaker	Jackie Lemanczyk
1998	Star Trek: Voyager	Kellin	(1 episode)
	Frasier	Cassandra	(4 episodes)
	Ballad of the Nightingale
	Ambushed	Lucy Monroe
1999	The Florentine	Molly
	The Haunting	Jane
2000	Lying in Wait	Vera Miller
	Children of Fortune	Ingrid Bast
	After Sex	Traci
2001	Crossfire Trail	Anne Rodney	Bronze Wrangler Award for Best Television Feature Film
	Full Disclosure	Brenda Hopkins
	Almost Salinas	Clare
	Just Ask My Children	Brenda Kniffen
2002	Justice League	Dr. Sarah Corwin	(4 episodes, 2002"06)
	American Gun	Penny Tillman
2003	Artworks	Emma Becker	California Independent Film Festival Slate Award for Best Actress
	Nobody Knows Anything!	Prison Lawyer
	CSI: Miami	Krista Walker	(1 episode)
	Tempted	Emma Burke
2004	Sideways	Maya	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Seattle Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble (2nd place) Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
	Brave New Girl	Wanda Lovell
2005	Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?	Cleopatra
2006	Smith	Hope Stevens	(7 episodes, 2006"07)
	Firewall	Beth Stanfield
	A Prairie Home Companion	Dangerous Woman	Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Nominated - Gotham Award for best Ensemble Cast
2007	The Astronaut Farmer	Audrey 'Audie' Farmer
	Ripple Effect	Sherry
	The Number 23	Agatha Sparrow / Fabrizia
	Cutlass	Robin
	Being Michael Madsen
2008	Diminished Capacity	Charlotte
2009	The Haunting in Connecticut	Sara Campbell	Nominated - Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress
	Wonder Woman	Queen Hippolyta
	Monk	T.K. Jensen	(3 episodes)
	Amelia	Dorothy Binney	(her scenes were cut)
2010	Father of Invention	Lorraine
	Scoundrels	Cheryl West
2011	Red Riding Hood	Suzette
2012	Long Time Gone	Augusta
	The Magic of Belle Isle	Charlotte O'Neil
	Hell on Wheels	Mrs. Durant
2012	Jan	Mel	WIGS
2013	Hatfields & McCoys (TV pilot)	Eloise McCoy	show not picked up
2013	The Last Keepers	Abigail Carver
2013	The Hot Flashes	Clementine Winks
2013	Crazy Kind of Love	Augusta Iris