Virginia Madsen is an American actress and producer. She made her film debut in Class (1983), which was followed by a lead role in Electric Dreams (1984). She rose to prominence the following year with her role in the cult film Dune (1984). She subsequently appeared in The Hot Spot (1990), Fire with Fire (1991), and Candyman (1992).
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Madsen’s other notable films include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The Prophecy (1995), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Sideways (2004), and The Number 23 (2007). She has also had roles in television series, such as Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003), Smith (2006), and Designated Survivor (2016–2018).
Madsen was born on September 11, 1961, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Elaine Madsen (née Melson), an Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker and author, and Calvin Madsen, a fireman. She has an older brother, Michael Madsen, who is also an actor, producer, and director. Madsen’s parents divorced when she was two years old, and she was raised by her mother in Woodstock, Illinois.
Madsen began her acting career after graduating from New Trier High School in 1979. She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and began appearing in stage productions. She made her film debut in Class (1983), which was followed by a lead role in Electric Dreams (1984). She rose to prominence the following year with her role in the cult film Dune (1984).
Madsen’s other notable films include The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992), The Prophecy (1995), Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Sideways (2004), and The Number 23 (2007). She has also had roles in television series, such as Just Shoot Me! (1997–2003), Smith (2006), and Designated Survivor (2016–2018).
Madsen has been married twice. Her first marriage was to actor Danny Huston, with whom she has two children: daughter Sophia (born 2000) and son Jack (born 2002). The couple divorced in 2009. Madsen married actor Karl Urban in 2014. They have one child together: daughter Indiana Rose (born 2015).
Madsen has a net worth of $8 million. She has been nominated for several awards, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
General Info
Full Name
Virginia Madsen
Date Of Birth
September 11, 1961
Height
1.65 m
Profession
Film producer, Voice Actor, Television presenter, Businessperson
Education
New Trier High School
Nationality
American
Family
Spouse
Danny Huston
Children
Jack Sabato
Parents
Elaine Madsen, Calvin Madsen
Siblings
Michael Madsen, Cheryl Madsen
Partner
Antonio Sabàto, Jr.
Accomplishments
Awards
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Sup...
Nominations
Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Performance, Satellite Award for Best ...
Movies
Candyman, Sideways, The Hot Spot, Joy, The Number 23, Dune, The Magic of Belle Isle, The Haunting in Connecticut, Electric Dreams, Red Riding Hood, Fire with Fire, Highlander II: The Quickening, Ghosts of Mississippi, The Astronaut Farmer, The Haunting, Long Gone, The Rainmaker, Slam Dance, Mr. Nort...
TV Shows
Scoundrels, Smith, American Dreams, I Love the '90s: Part Deux, Mussolini: The Untold Story, Unsolved Mysteries
Playing "Lisa" in Fire with Fire (1986) is a perfect example of how I am, intense, impulsive, full of love and ready to risk it all if I have to. Playing her was incredibly easy, as everything was just so natural.
2
I laugh when I hear someone talking about an actress "making such good choices." Yeah, well, she was probably broke! Or she's being supported and doesn't have to worry about it. And I hope that people keep that in mind when an actor suddenly does a movie for the Sci Fi Channel that is maybe not "important." We've got to make a living. People are going to do the "pay the rent" movie once in a while. The important movies don't pay well. They're for scale, or even worse, something they invented called "independent scale," in which case it's like it's costing me money to make the movie. You're getting $500 per week, before taxes and American Express is calling. So it is our job. It's how we make our living, and you don't always have the luxury of making a movie like Sideways (2004). I even got paid well to do that! Especially for me, at the time. [interviewed by Russ Fischer, CHUD.com, February 2007]
3
When you say no a lot as an actor, you're going to go broke, and that's been the hardest thing to go through in the last 10 years. Being a single mother and having financial problems is a nightmare.
Facts
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Fact
1
Counts Network (1976) and its director Sidney Lumet among her favorite films and directors.
(October 7, 2006) Attended the Malibu Celebration of Film Gala Honoring Robert Altman.
4
Studied at Ted Liss Acting Studio in Chicago and at Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Wisconsin.
5
Alumnus of New Trier High School East, Winnetka, Illinois.
6
She has an older sister named Cheryl Madsen, who is the owner of a restaurant in Wisconsin.
7
Claims that she was hypnotized for some of the scenes in Candyman (1992).
8
In an interview, she admitted that she was sobbing so hard at the end of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) when Spock died, that she had to go home as soon as the movie was over.
Was once engaged to actor Billy Campbell. They went to Hollywood together to pursue acting careers and lived in Pacific Palisades. Virginia graduated from New Trier East High School in 1979, a year before Rusty Schwimmer. She was known as "Gina" at NTE and was very active in the school's theater department. Other New Trier graduates include Ralph Bellamy, Charlton Heston, Rock Hudson, Hugh O'Brian, Ann-Margret, Bruce Dern, Penelope Milford, Liz Phair. Attended the Ted Liss Acting Studio in Chicago and Harand Camp Adult Theater Seminar in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
18
Daughter of Cal Madsen (a firefighter) and Elaine Madsen (a poet). They got divorced in 1968.
