Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan b. 5 September 1973 in Florence, Italy is an American actress.

Born to a French mother and an Irish father and the oldest of six children, her family relocated to America when Rose was just nine years old. There she began modeling as a child. Her first role was won at the age of 19 as Nora in Encino Man, but it wasn't until she ran away to Los Angeles, California and met independant film director Greg Araki that she found her big break. Araki cast her as the female lead in his hit film The Doom Generation, where she portrayed a foul-mouthed sexpot in the midst of a violent, crime-prone bisexual love triangle.

Another small role in the film Bio-Dome with Stephen Baldwin led to the role that brought her into major public attention. McGowan was cast as Tatum in the hit horror film Scream. As the anti-stereotypical busty blonde who gets slaughtered (by, of all things, a garage door) McGowan left a huge impression on the viewing audience. Soon she was appearing everywhere in independant films like "Southie", "Going All the Way", "Lewis & Clark & George" and "Phantoms" by Dean Koontz.

Her next critically acclaimed performance would be in the 1999 black comedy "Jawbreakers" where she played a high school student who tries to cover up her (allegedly) accidental murder of a friend. McGowan was quickly getting a reputation for playing brassy, bitchy and often violent characters, and to add to this reputation she began a very public romance with shock-rocker Marilyn Manson. Soon McGowan was popping up as celebrity events in very revealing outfits with Manson on her arm.

The end of that relationship coupled with several unwise choices (including a small role in the wrestling-themed movie "Ready to Rumble", which was a massive bomb at the box-office) served to nearly push McGowan out of the limelight. However in 2001 she was cast as Paige Matthews in the hit television series "Charmed" as a replacement for Shannon Dougherty. Currently she can be seen on the show weekly as part of a trio of witchy-sisters.