Virginia Madsen
{{Short description|American actress and film producer (born 1961)}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2018}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Virginia Madsen
| image = Virginia Madsen.jpg
| caption = Madsen in 2012
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1961|9|11}}{{cite news |author= |date=2018-09-11 |title=Birthdays |work=The Modesto Bee |page=2A |agency=The Associated Press |quote=Actress Virginia Madsen is 57.}}{{Cite encyclopedia | url = https://www.britannica.com/facts/Virginia-Madsen | title = Virginia Madsen Facts | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Britannica | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191029194710/https://www.britannica.com/facts/Virginia-Madsen | archive-date = October 29, 2019 | url-status = live}}
| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
| education = New Trier High School
| spouse = {{Marriage|Danny Huston|1989|1992|end=div.}}
{{Marriage|Nick Holmes|2020}}
| partner = Antonio Sabàto Jr.
(1993–1998)
| children = 1
| mother = Elaine Madsen
| relatives = {{Plainlist|
- Michael Madsen (brother)
- Christian Madsen (nephew)
}}
| occupation = {{Flatlist|
- Actress
- producer
}}
| years_active = 1983–present
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Virginia Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress. She is the recipient of two Critics' Choice Awards, an Independent Spirit Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Madsen made her film debut in 1983 with a small part in Class. Her breakout role came the following year when she played Princess Irulan in David Lynch's Dune. After a string of parts in teen films, comedies and thrillers of varying commercial success, Madsen received critical acclaim and a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of grad student Helen Lyle in Candyman (1992). Other notable film appearances during this period included The Prophecy (1995), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), and The Rainmaker (1997). For her portrayal of waitress Maya Randall in Sideways (2004), Madsen was nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Subsequent credits include A Prairie Home Companion (2006), The Number 23 (2007), The Haunting in Connecticut (2009), Joy (2015), and Lola (2024).
Outside film, Madsen has played recurring roles on Moonlighting (1989), Frasier (1998), American Dreams (2002–2003), Monk (2009), The Event (2011), Hell on Wheels (2012), Witches of East End (2013–2014), and Designated Survivor (2016–2017). Other television credits include American Gothic (2016), The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair (2018), and Swamp Thing (2019). She is married and has one child.
Early life
Virginia Madsen was born in Chicago, Illinois,{{Cite magazine | url = https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/virginia-madsen/178497/ | title = Virginia Madsen | magazine = TV Guide | access-date = October 23, 2018}} the daughter of Elaine (née Nelson), who became an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author, and Calvin Christian Madsen, a firefighter.{{Cite web | url = http://filmthreat.com/uncategorized/method-fest-to-present-the-2007-maverick-award-to-michael-madsen/ | title = Method Fest to present the 2007 Maverick Award to Michael Madsen | last = Bell | first = Mark | work = Film Threat | date = February 23, 2007 | access-date = February 18, 2019}} After Madsen's parents divorced in the late 1960s, when the children were young, her mother left a career in finance to pursue a career in the arts, encouraged by film critic Roger Ebert.{{Cite web | url = https://www.denverpost.com/2007/02/21/a-strong-role-an-equal-partner/ | title = A strong role, an equal partner | last = Kennedy | first = Lisa | work = The Denver Post | date = February 21, 2007 | access-date = March 6, 2018}} Madsen's siblings are Michael Madsen, an actor, and Cheryl Madsen, an entrepreneur. Her paternal grandparents were Danish, and her mother has Irish and Scottish along with distant Native American ancestry.{{Cite web | url = http://www.tv-now.com/intervus/vmadsen/index.html | title = Virginia Madsen | last = Bray | first = Tony | work = TV-Now.com | date = April 2004 |access-date=May 31, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070816085751/http://www.tv-now.com/intervus/vmadsen/index.html | archive-date = August 16, 2007 | url-status = dead}} Madsen and her best friend Rusty Schwimmer are graduates of New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois.{{Cite web | url = http://www.teacherscount.org/campaign/madsen-adams.shtml | title = Virginia Madsen and Suzanne Adams | website = TeachersCount | year = 2006 | access-date = May 31, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070702010849/http://www.teacherscount.org/campaign/madsen-adams.shtml | archive-date = July 2, 2007 | url-status = dead}}
Madsen 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."{{Cite web|url=https://virginia-madsen.org/information/biography|title=Virginia Madsen Biography|work=Virginia Madsen Official Site|date=October 29, 2009 |access-date=Jan 29, 2024}}
Career
=Film=
Madsen made her acting debut at age 22, in a bit part where she landed her role as Lisa in the romantic comedy film Class (1983), co-starring Jacqueline Bisset and Rob Lowe. She next appeared in Kenny Loggins' music video for "I'm Free (Heaven Helps the Man)" from the Footloose (1984) soundtrack.
She portrayed a cellist named Madeline in the science fiction comedy Electric Dreams with Lenny Von Dohlen (1984). She was cast as Princess Irulan in David Lynch's science fiction epic Dune (1984).Madsen's opening monologue from Dune ("In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice, melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness.") was later sampled by Israel-based group Astral Projection in their tracks "Dancing Galaxy" and "Ambient Galaxy" on their album Dancing Galaxy, and by drum and bass artist Aphrodite in his song "Spice (Even Spicier)". In 1985, she starred as Boris (Vincent Spano)'s romantic interest Barbara in the film Creator, which also starred Peter O'Toole.
File:VirginiaMadsenSFIFF06 adj.jpg]]
Madsen first became known to audiences in 1986 with her portrayal of a Catholic school girl who fell in love with a boy from a prison camp in Duncan Gibbons' Fire with Fire, though the film drew scathing reviews. As beauty queen Dixie Lee Boxx, she was the love interest of minor league baseball manager Cecil "Stud" Cantrell (William Petersen) in the HBO original film Long Gone (1987). That same year she also appeared in the music video for "I Found Someone" by Cher. She played a secretary named Allison Rowe in the comedy film Hot to Trot (1988).
Madsen also played femme fatales in films such as Slam Dance (1987), Gotham (1988), The Hot Spot (1990), which co-starred Don Johnson and Jennifer Connelly, and Linda (1993).
She also starred as Helen Lyle, an anthropology student, in the horror film Candyman (1992), which drew good reviews and was a box office success.
She appeared in a small role in the Francis Ford Coppola drama The Rainmaker (1997) alongside Matt Damon and Claire Danes. Film critic Roger Ebert said that Madsen had a "strong scene",{{Cite web | url = https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-rainmaker-1997 | title = The Rainmaker | last = Ebert | first = Roger | work = RogerEbert.com | date = November 21, 1997 | access-date = November 19, 2017}} while reviewer James Berardinelli noted that "the supporting cast is solid, with turns from . . . Virginia Madsen as a witness for the plaintiff".{{Cite web | url = http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/r/rainmaker.html | title = The Rainmaker | last = Berardinelli | first = James | work = ReelViews | year = 1997 | access-date = June 16, 2017}}
Madsen delivered a critically acclaimed performance in Sideways (2004), directed by Alexander Payne. Her role catapulted her onto the Hollywood A-list.{{Cite web | url = http://www.smokemag.com/0905/cover.htm | title = Virginia Madsen's Vintage Year | last = Tarshis | first = Joan | work = Smoke Magazine | date = September 2005 | access-date = May 31, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070630121323/http://www.smokemag.com/0905/cover.htm | archive-date = June 30, 2007 | url-status = dead}}
Her first major role after Sideways was opposite Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany in Firewall (2006). She later appeared in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion, in a key role as the angel. She co-starred alongside Jim Carrey in The Number 23 and Billy Bob Thornton in The Astronaut Farmer; both films were released in North America on February 23, 2007. She voiced Queen Hippolyta, the mother of Wonder Woman, in the animated film Wonder Woman (2009).
=Television=
In 1988, Madsen appeared as Maddie Hayes' cousin in the fifth and final season of the ABC drama series Moonlighting. She has since made various television appearances, including Star Trek: Voyager, CSI: Miami, Dawson's Creek, The Practice, Frasier, and other television series. She was also co-host of the long-running television series Unsolved Mysteries in 1999, during the show's eleventh season (which was also the second and final season on CBS). She starred alongside Ray Liotta in the short-lived CBS crime drama series Smith. She also had a recurring role in the eighth and final season in the USA Network comedy-drama series Monk.
In 2010, she landed the starring role of Cheryl West in the ABC comedy-drama series Scoundrels. In December 2010, it was announced that she would be joining the cast of the NBC science fiction series The Event.{{Cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2010/12/virginia-madsen-joins-nbcs-the-event-90597/ | title = Virginia Madsen Joins NBC's 'The Event' | last = Ausiello | first = Michael | website = Deadline Hollywood | date = December 13, 2010 | access-date = October 25, 2018}} In 2012, she joined the cast of the AMC western drama series Hell on Wheels as Mrs. Hannah Durant, first appearing in episode eight of season 2, "The Lord's Day". In 2013, Madsen began appearing on Lifetime's Witches of East End as Penelope Gardiner, the main villainess of the first season.
She starred as Speaker Kimble Hookstraten in the first season of the ABC political drama series Designated Survivor.{{Cite web | url = https://deadline.com/2016/07/designated-survivor-virginia-madsen-cast-abc-series-1201792535/ | title = 'Designated Survivor': Virginia Madsen Joins New ABC Series In Key Role | last = Andreeva | first = Nellie | website = Deadline Hollywood | date = July 26, 2016 | access-date = October 30, 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171107112815/https://deadline.com/2016/07/designated-survivor-virginia-madsen-cast-abc-series-1201792535/ | archive-date = November 7, 2017 | url-status = live}}
=Producer=
In 2008, Madsen formed her own film production company called Title IX Productions.{{Cite web | url = https://variety.com/2008/film/markets-festivals/virginia-madsen-added-to-amelia-1117984375/ | title = Virginia Madsen added to 'Amelia' | last = Siegel | first = Tatiana | work = Variety | date = April 21, 2008 | access-date = December 3, 2016}} Her first project was a film made with her mother titled 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.{{Cite magazine | url = http://www.abilitymagazine.com/virgina-madsen.html | title = Virginia Madsen and Elaine Madsen Interview | magazine = Ability | date = February–March 2010 | access-date = January 30, 2019}}
Personal life
Madsen was married to actor and director Danny Huston after meeting on the set of Mr. North (1988). They married in 1989 and divorced in 1992.{{Cite magazine | url = http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20113085,00.html | title = People Insider | last = Fink | first = Mitchell | magazine = People | date = July 13, 1992 | access-date = February 26, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140302183100/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20113085,00.html | archive-date = March 2, 2014 | url-status = dead}} Madsen was in a long-term{{clarify|date=May 2025}} relationship with Antonio Sabàto Jr., with whom she has one son, from 1993 to 1998. {{Cite magazine | url = https://people.com/parents/virginia-madsen-says-ex-has-taken-parenthood-on/ | title = Virginia Madsen Says Ex Has 'Taken Parenthood On' | magazine = People | date = June 24, 2010 | access-date = February 18, 2019}}
Madsen has been married to Gilmore Girls actor Nick Holmes since 2020.{{Citation needed |date=March 2024}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1983
| Class | Lisa | |
| rowspan="2"| 1984
| Madeline Robistat | |
| Dune
| |
| rowspan="2"| 1985
| The Hearst and Davies Affair | Marion Davies | Television film |
| Creator
| Barbara Spencer | |
| rowspan="2"| 1986
| Lisa Taylor | |
| Modern Girls
| Kelly | |
| rowspan="3"| 1987
| Dixie Lee Boxx | Television film |
| Slam Dance
| Yolanda Caldwell | |
| Zombie High
| Andrea Miller | |
| rowspan="3"| 1988
| Sally Boffin | |
| Gotham
| Rachel Carlyle | Television film |
| Hot to Trot
| Allison Rowe | |
| rowspan="2"| 1989
| Anne Scholes | Television film |
| Heart of Dixie
| Delia June Curry | |
| 1990
| Dolly Harshaw | |
| rowspan="5"| 1991
| Highlander II: The Quickening | Louise Marcus | |
| Ironclads
| Betty Stuart | Television film |
| Victim of Love
| Carla Simons | Television film |
| Becoming Colette
| Polaire Sorel | |
| Love Kills
| Rebecca Bishop | Television film |
| rowspan="2"| 1992
| Candyman | Helen Lyle | |
| A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story
| Television film |
| 1993
| Linda | Linda Cowley | Television film |
| rowspan="3"| 1994
| Susan Prince | |
| Blue Tiger
| Gina Hayes | |
| Bitter Vengeance
| Annie Westford | Television film |
| 1995
| Katherine | |
| rowspan="2"| 1996
| Just Your Luck | Kim | Video |
| Ghosts of Mississippi
| Dixie DeLaughter | |
| rowspan="2"| 1997
| Karin De Vries | Television film |
| The Rainmaker
| Jackie Lemanczyk | |
| 1998
| Ambushed | Lucy Monroe | |
| rowspan="3"| 1999
| Molly | |
| Ballad of the Nightingale
| Mo Lewis | |
| The Haunting
| Jane Vance | |
| rowspan="2"| 2000
| Traci | |
| Children of Fortune
| Ingrid Bast | Television film |
| rowspan="5"| 2001
| Anne Rodney | Television film |
| Lying in Wait
| Vera Miller | |
| Almost Salinas
| Clare | |
| Full Disclosure
| Brenda Hopkins | Video |
| Just Ask My Children
| Brenda Kniffen | Television film |
| 2002
| Penny Tillman | |
| rowspan="3"| 2003
| Tempted | Emma Burke | Television film |
| Artworks
| Emma Becker | |
| Nobody Knows Anything!
| Prison Lawyer | |
| rowspan="2"| 2004
| Wanda Lovell | Television film |
| Sideways
| Maya Randall | |
| rowspan="2"| 2005
| Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy? | Cleopatra (voice) |
| Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
| The Beast (voice) |
| rowspan="3"| 2006
| Firewall | Beth Stanfield | |
| A Prairie Home Companion
| Dangerous Woman | |
| The Astronaut Farmer
| Audrey "Audie" Farmer | |
| rowspan="4"| 2007
| Agatha Sparrow/Fabrizia | |
| Ripple Effect
| Sherry Atrash | |
| Cutlass
| Robin | Short |
| Being Michael Madsen
| Herself | |
| 2008
| Charlotte | |
| rowspan="2"| 2009
| Hippolyta (voice) |
| The Haunting in Connecticut
| Sara Campbell | |
| 2010
| Lorraine King | |
| rowspan="2"| 2011
| Suzette | |
| Marriage Drama
| Linda | Short |
| rowspan="2"| 2012
| Judy Hammer | Television film |
| The Magic of Belle Isle
| Charlotte O'Neil | |
| rowspan="5"| 2013
| Abigail Carver | |
| The Hot Flashes
| Clementine Winks | |
| Crazy Kind of Love
| Augusta Iris | |
| The Anna Nicole Story
| Television film |
| Jake Squared
| Beth | |
| 2014
| Abigail Charm | |
| rowspan="5"| 2015
| Walter | Karen Benjamin | |
| Dead Rising: Watchtower
| Maggie | |
| An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success
| Karen Thomas | |
| Burning Bodhi
| Naomi | |
| Joy
| Terry Mangano | |
| rowspan="2"| 2016
| Victoria | |
| Better Watch Out
| Deandra Lerner | |
| 2017
| Deena | |
| rowspan="3"| 2018
| 1985 | Eileen Lester | |
| Her Smell
| Ania Adamcyzk | |
| Spare Room
| Nat | |
| 2020
| Congresswoman Angie Bradford | |
| 2021
| Candyman | Helen Lyle (voice) | |
| rowspan="2"| 2022
| Coach Judy | |
| Prey for the Devil
| Dr. Peters | |
| rowspan="2"| 2023
| Valerie Brisky | |
| The Portrait
| Mags | |
| 2024
| Mona | |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! Notes |
|---|
| 1984
| Lou Ellen Purdy | Episode: "A Matter of Principle" |
| 1985
| Main cast |
| 1987
| Christina | Episode: "Perfect Order" |
| 1989
| Annie Charnock | Recurring cast: Season 5 |
| 1994
| Earth 2 | Alonzo Solace's Dance Partner | Episode: "The Church of Morgan" |
| 1998
| Kellin | Episode: "Unforgettable" |
| rowspan="2"| 1999
| Frasier | Cassandra Stone | Recurring cast: Season 6 |
| Unsolved Mysteries
| Herself/Co-Host | Main co-host: season 11 |
| 2001
| Marsha Ellison | Recurring cast: season 6 |
| 2002
| Sarah Corwin (voice) |
| 2002–03
| Rebecca Sandstrom | Recurring cast: season 1 |
| rowspan="5"| 2003
| Pet Star | Herself/Celebrity Judge #2 | Episode: "Episode #2.1 & "#2.3" |
| Dawson's Creek
| Maddy Allen | Recurring cast: Season 6 |
| Spider-Man: The New Animated Series
| Silver Sable (voice) | Recurring cast |
| CSI: Miami
| Krista Walker | Episode: "Death Grip" |
| Boomtown
| Erika Ashland | Episode: "The Big Picture" |
| 2005
| Arella (voice) |
| 2005–06
| Veronica Sinclair/Roulette (voice) |
| rowspan="2"| 2006
| Herself | Episode: "Harrison Ford" |
| TV Land's Top Ten
| Herself | Recurring guest |
| 2006–07
| Smith | Hope Stevens | Main cast |
| 2006–08
| Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan | Herself | Guest cast: Season 3-4 |
| rowspan="2"| 2009
| Herself/Narrator | Episode: "Cheating Extinction" |
| Monk
| T.K. Jensen | Recurring cast: season 8 |
| 2010
| Cheryl West | Main cast |
| 2011
| Senator Catherine Lewis | Recurring cast: season 1 |
| rowspan="3"| 2012
| Jan | Mel | Recurring cast |
| Hell on Wheels
| Mrs. Hannah Durant | Recurring cast: season 2 |
| Ruth & Erica
| Mel | Episode: "September" |
| rowspan="3"| 2013
| Who's Cooking with Florence Henderson | Herself | Episode: "Virginia Madsen" |
| Susanna
| Mel | Episode: "Episode #1.12" |
| Witches of East End
| Recurring cast: season 1 |
| rowspan="2"| 2014
| Herself | Episode: "May 3, 2014" |
| Let's Go to the Movies
| Herself | Episode: "Virginia Madsen" |
| rowspan="2"| 2015
| Herself | Recurring guest |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
| Beth Anne Rollins | Episode: "Maternal Instincts" |
| 2015–16
| Herself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Ross Mathews & Virginia Madsen 1-3" |
| rowspan="2"| 2016
| Jackson (voice) | Episode: "Night Shift/Scalped" |
| American Gothic
| Madeline Hawthorne | Main cast |
| 2016–17
| Kimble Hookstraten | Recurring cast: season 1 |
| 2016–19
| Paige Cowan | Guest Cast: Season 4-5 & 7 |
| 2017
| Commander Heera (voice) | Episode: "Hole in the Sky" |
| 2018
| The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair | Tamara Quinn | Main cast |
| 2019
| Maria Sunderland | Main cast{{Cite web |last=Petski |first=Denise |date=November 1, 2018 |title='Swamp Thing': Virginia Madsen Cast As Maria Sunderland In DC Universe Series |url=https://deadline.com/2018/11/swamp-thing-virginia-madsen-cast-maria-sunderland-dc-universe-series-1202494336/ |access-date=January 12, 2019 |work=Deadline Hollywood}} |
| 2021
| Behind the Monsters | Herself | Episode: "Candyman" |
| 2023
| Marge McKnight | Episode: "Walks of Shame" |
| 2024
| Holidazed | Connie Manetti-Hanahan | Recurring cast |
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Song ! Artist |
|---|
| 1984 |
| 1986
| "But Not Tonight" |
| 1987
| "I Found Someone" | Cher |
| 1989
| "Liberian Girl" |
=Documentary=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 2001
| Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies |
| 2003
| Complicated Women |
| 2009
| I Know a Woman Like That |
| 2012
| Made in New Mexico |
| 2013
| Battling Darkness |
| 2016
| Joy, Strength and Perseverance |
=Podcasts=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title |
|---|
| 2018–21 |
| 2020–23
| Little Stories Everywhere |
| 2021–23
| Whose Amazing Life? |
Awards and nominations
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{rotten-tomatoes-person|virginia_madsen}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Virginia Madsen
| list =
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{IndependentSpiritBestSupportingFemale 2000-2020}}
{{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}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Actress}}
{{TFCA Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Madsen, Virginia}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:Actresses from Chicago
Category:American film actresses
Category:American people of Danish descent
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival award winners
Category:Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female winners
Category:New Trier High School alumni
Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners