Virginia Madsen Galleries 2

  With her luxurious blonde hair, almond-shaped hazel eyes and comely figure, Virginia Madsen initially specialized in playing either femme fatales or imperiled heroines in unambitious made-for-cable movies, buther consistently strong performances ultimately earned her a career second act that included an Oscar nomination.

Early in her career, Madsen gained attention playing glamorous companions of larger-than-life men in several telefilms. As actress Marion Davies, she played opposite Robert Mitchum as newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst in "The Hearst and Davies Affair" (ABC, 1985). Madsen made for a golden blonde version of the historically dark and brooding Claretta Petacci opposite George C. Scott's Italian dictator in the miniseries "Mussolini: The Untold Story" (NBC, 1985). She was a more apt choice to play a tough-as-nails beauty queen in "Long Gone" (HBO, 1987), a well regarded comedy-drama about a minor league baseball team in the 1950s.

Madsen's sporadic feature career has been uneven, usually playing unremarkable leads in minor movies. Her first major screen credit was Princess Irulan in David Lynch's overblown and perversely obscure sci-fi epic, "Dune" (1984). She was commendable opposite Anthony Edwards in "Mr. North" (1988), directed by her then-husband Danny Huston. Madsen also simmered stylishly as a bored Southern housewife who ensnared drifter Don Johnson in Dennis Hopper's cult classic "The Hot Spot" (1990). Her best feature role may well be in "Candyman" (1992), a superior Clive Barker adaptation, as a graduate student whose life is transformed while studying urban folklore in a Chicago housing project. The film provided Madsen a rare opportunity to create a character that was as bright and curious as she was beautiful. She had far less to do in a subsequent horror outing, "The Prophecy" (1995), as an elementary school teacher involved in a battle between two angels on Earth.

The actress continued to work steadily, and to good effect, with roles in such high-profile films as director Rob Reiner's "Ghosts of Mississippi" (1996), director Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation of John Grisham's legal potboiler "The Rainmaker" (1997) and Jan de Bont's version of Shirley Jackson's supernatural "The Haunting" (1999). But Madsen was subsequently seen more frequently in made-for-television fare and lower-profile movies. Series television provided a welcome showcase for Madsen's talents: She spent several episodes of "Frasier" as one of two paramours vexing the indecisive Dr. Frasier Crane in 1999; enjoyed a rich recurring role on the ABC legal drama "The Practice" in 2001 as a political candidate's wife on trial for murder; and appeared for a season as Rebecca Sandstorm, the small town book club member who dares introduce radical, progressive reading material, on the NBC nostalgia drama "American Dream" from 2002-2003 and re-ignited her career to some degree.

Madsen's career blossomed into full flower in 2004 when Alexander Payne sent her the script for his serio-comic road movie "Sideways" and asked her to audition: the actress nailed the part and was cast as Maya, the warm-hearted wine country waitress who believes in reinvention and takes a liking to the neurotic Miles (Paul Giamatti). Her winning performance revitalized her career and earned critical plaudits. Madsen was bestowed with numerous awards and nominations for Best Supporting Actress: she won honors from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics, Toronto Film Critics and Broadcast Film Critics Association to name a few, and earned nominations for the SAG Awards, Golden Globes and Academy Awards.

from movies.yahoo.com

  In the Shadow of Wings (2006) (pre-production)
The Astronaut Farmer (2006) (filming) .... Audie Farmer
A Prairie Home Companion (2006) (post-production) .... The Dangerous Woman
Ripple Effect (2006) (post-production) .... Sherry

Firewall (2006) .... Beth Stanfield
Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005) (V)
Sideways (2004) .... Maya
Brave New Girl (2004) (TV) .... Wanda Lovell
Nobody Knows Anything! (2003) .... Prison Lawyer
Artworks (2003) .... Emma Becker
Tempted (2003) (TV) .... Emma Burke
... aka Returning Lily (Australia: video title) (USA: working title)
... aka A Mother's Choice (cable TV title)
"American Dreams" (2002) TV Series .... Rebecca Sandstrom (2002-2003)
... aka Our Generation (Australia) (USA: working title)
American Gun (2002) .... Penny Tillman
Just Ask My Children (2001) (TV) .... Brenda Kniffen
Almost Salinas (2001) .... Clare
Crossfire Trail (2001) (TV) .... Anne Rodney
... aka Louis L'Amour's 'Crossfire Trail' (USA)
Full Disclosure (2001) (V) .... Brenda Hopkins
Children of Fortune (2000) (TV) .... Ingrid Bast
After Sex (2000) .... Traci
The Inspector General (2000) (TV)
Lying In Wait (2000) .... Vera Miller

The Haunting (1999) .... Jane
... aka Maldición, La (USA: Spanish title)
The Florentine (1999) .... Molly
Ambushed (1998) .... Lucy Monroe
Ballad of the Nightingale (1998)
The Rainmaker (1997) .... Jackie Lemanczyk
... aka John Grisham's The Rainmaker
The Apocalypse Watch (1997) (TV) .... Karin De Vries
... aka Robert Ludlum's The Apocalypse Watch (USA: complete title)
Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) .... Dixie DeLaughter
... aka Ghosts From the Past
Just Your Luck (1996) (V) .... Kim
... aka Whiskey Down (Australia) (USA: working title)
The Prophecy (1995) .... Katherine Henley
... aka God's Army (Europe: English title)
... aka God's Secret Army (Europe: English title)
Bitter Vengeance (1994) (TV) .... Annie Westford
Blue Tiger (1994) .... Gina Hayes
... aka Irezumi (Japan)
Caroline at Midnight (1994) .... Susan Prince
... aka Someone's Watching
Linda (1993) (TV) .... Linda Cowley
... aka Lust for Murder
Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis (1993) (VG) (voice) .... Princess Irulan
... aka Dune 2 (International: English title: short title)
A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992) (TV) .... Carolyn Warmus
... aka The Lovers of Deceit: The Carolyn Warmus Story (USA: alternative title)
Candyman (1992) .... Helen Lyle
... aka Clive Barker's Candyman (USA)
Love Kills (1991) (TV) .... Rebecca Bishop
Becoming Colette (1991) .... Polaire
... aka Colette
Victim of Love (1991) (TV) .... Carla Simmons
... aka Raw Heat (USA: DVD title)
Ironclads (1991) (TV) .... Betty Stuart
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991) .... Louise Marcus
... aka Highlander II: The Renegade Version (UK: director's cut) (USA: video title (director's cut))
... aka Highlander - Le retour (France)
... aka Highlander 2 (Argentina)
The Hot Spot (1990/I) .... Dolly Harshaw

Heart of Dixie (1989) .... Delia
Third Degree Burn (1989) (TV) .... Anne Scholes
Hot to Trot (1988) .... Allison Rowe
Gotham (1988) (TV) .... Rachel Carlyle
... aka The Dead Can't Lie
Mr. North (1988) .... Sally Boffin
Zombie High (1987) .... Andrea
... aka The School That Ate My Brain
Slam Dance (1987) .... Yolanda Caldwell
Long Gone (1987) (TV) .... Dixie Lee Boxx
... aka Stogies (USA)
Modern Girls (1986) .... Kelly
Fire with Fire (1986) .... Lisa Taylor
... aka Captive Hearts
"Mussolini: The Untold Story" (1985) (mini) TV Series .... Claretta Petacci
Creator (1985) .... Barbara
... aka The Big Picture (USA)
The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985) (TV) .... Marion Davies
A Matter of Principle (1984) (TV) .... Lou Ellen 'Ellie'
Dune (1984) .... Princess Irulan
Electric Dreams (1984) .... Madeline Robistat
Class (1983) .... Lisa