Virginia Madsen

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9.2 Superb
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Biography

Recent Role:
Senator Catherine Lewis on The Event
Gender:
Female
Born:
9-11-1963
Birthplace:
Chicago, Illinois (USA)
Birth Name:
Virginia Madsen
Born into a family familiar with the ups and downs of acting, Virginia came into this world on September 11, 1963, in Chicago, Illinois. Her mother, Elaine, is a writer and producer who has won awards. Her dad, Cal, was a firefighter.

It wasn't until her teen years that the acting bug bit big time, and she began developing her acting skills at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.

To further those skills, she enlisted the help of Chicago's Ted Liss Acting Studio and continued her studies at the Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.



… More While still a teenager, she and her boyfriend made the decision and moved to Hollywood, where at 19, she made her onscreen debut in the film Class, which was also where she had her first of numerous nude scenes.

That movie did not do well, but Virginia did get noticed and better roles began slowly finding her, including a choice supporting role in the David Lynch film Dune in 1984. Mirroring her unstable personal life, her career continued on a rocky road of highs and disappointments.

But her work was steady and her performances almost always stole the attention of the films she was in. Roles in Long Gone, Heart of Dixie, The Prophecy, Highlander II, Becoming Colette, The Hot Spot, Candyman, Dune 2, The Rainmaker, The Haunting, Children of Fortune, After Sex, and Tempted, kept her in front of the public eye and she became a favorite supporting actress, one whom audiences enjoyed seeing. But stardom eluded Virginia and she took some time off to step back, be a mom, and try to figure out what she needed to do with her career.

After various parts in different television shows, her career suddenly perked up after the Louis L'Amour novel-made-cable-tv-movie Crossfire Trail, co-starring Tom Selleck. Overnight, people were once again talking about Virginia Madsen.

Then Alexander Payne saw her photo among possible female leads for his film Sideways and after an audition, Payne and producer Michael London quickly signed her.

Virginia received rave critical and audience reviews and received the Oscar nomination for best supporting actress for Sideways. She's now on the A list in Hollywood after completing major films like Firewall, Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, The Astronaut Farmer, Ripple Effect, and the upcoming features The Number 23, Being Michael Madsen, and In the Shadow of Wings. And she feels her career is now back on path.

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  •  
    9 Superb
    empty hide show

    Virginia Madsen is really a talented actress. In every role she really makes you believe that she actually is the character she's portraying. This sense of realism is what makes her really stand out above the masses of the rest of actresses today. My favorite movie of her's is "Sideways."

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    amauriel Added Feb 26, 2007 All my reviews
  •  
    10 Perfect
    What a rarity: Beauty, brains and talent. In this case, we're talking about Virginia Madsen! hide show

    In The Beginning

    When I was beginning my career in movie making, I had the pleasure to work with Virginia Madsen as she was starting off too. We were both employeed by HBO in the production of their very first self made movie Long Gone, which was about the Grapefruit League of baseball players back in the 1950s in Florida.

    All I can say is that Virginia was a stunningly beautiful woman, a great talent we could all see even then, and she was very nice.

    One day on the set at a baseball stadium, her part called for her to run up to the fencing behind home plate and look through to where the camera was. She did this several times and then one time she ran and slipped and fell hard. I ran up to her and starred down into her multi-colored eyes and asked her if she was okay. As I reached my hand out to her, she said she was fine and smiled a smile that melted my heart instantly. No more mister tough guy. I was putty.

    After that, whenever she would she me on set, she would smile and say, "Hi Rob!"

    I've worked for 20 years in the biz and it's so refreshing to see that there are indeed nice folks still making movies today.

    Thanks for the memories, Virginia. May you continue your wonderful ride!

    sd

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    sounddude Added Feb 1, 2007 All my reviews
 

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