Rose McGowan

Rose McGowan
McGowan at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Rose Arianna McGowan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present

Rose Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress known for her role as Paige Matthews in WB Network supernatural drama series Charmed, as well as for her roles in several major Hollywood films including The Doom Generation, The Black Dahlia, Scream, Jawbreaker, and Grindhouse. In 2008 she was guest programmer and co-host of TCM's film-series program, The Essentials. She played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS mini-series Elvis.

Early life

McGowan, the second-oldest of six children (plus two half-siblings), was born in Florence, Italy, the daughter of Terri, an American writer of French descent, and Daniel McGowan, an artist of Irish descent. Daniel McGowan ran an Italian chapter of the Children of God to which both he and his wife held membership until 1978. McGowan spent her early childhood amid the group's communes, often traveling Europe with her parents. Through her father's art contacts in Italy, McGowan became a child model and appeared in Vogue Bambini and various other Italian magazines. Her parents returned to the United States when she was 10, when they divorced. She subsequently relocated to Oregon and then to Gig Harbor, Washington, where she also met childhood friend Rey-Phillip Santos. McGowan did not speak English until she moved to the U.S.

McGowan's formative years were spent with her father in Seattle, Washington, attending Roosevelt High School and Nova Alternative High School. At the age of 15, she officially emancipated herself from her parents. McGowan pursued a possible career in the film industry during her late teens, and also enrolled in a beauty school as a back-up.

Career

McGowan made her first appearance in a Hollywood film with a bit role in the 1992 Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man. Her role in the 1995 dark comedy The Doom Generation brought her to the attention of film critics, and she received a nomination for "Best Debut Performance" at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. McGowan was subsequently cast in a supporting role in the 1996 hit horror film Scream.

McGowan at the premiere for Grindhouse in March 2007

McGowan spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in a variety of independent films, including roles in Southie, Going All the Way, and Lewis & Clark & George. In 1997, she appeared in the critically acclaimed short Seed, directed by San Francisco-born filmmaker Karin Thayer, and played opposite Peter O'Toole in the 1998 film adaptation of the Dean Koontz novel Phantoms. Notably, McGowan also starred in the 1999 comedy Jawbreaker, where she played a snooty high school student who tries to cover up a classmate's murder. That role earned McGowan a nomination for Best Villain at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.

In 2001, McGowan was cast as Paige Matthews in the popular The WB television series Charmed, as a replacement lead actress after Shannen Doherty's departure from the show. She was offered to be a producer after the seventh season alongside co-stars Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano, but turned it down. The series ended its run on May 21, 2006.

During and after Charmed, McGowan tackled a variety of different roles. She portrayed actress/singer Ann-Margret in Elvis, a Golden Globe-winning CBS mini-series about the life of Elvis Presley, and also appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia. In 2007, McGowan headlined the critically-acclaimed Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double-feature Grindhouse, released on April 6, 2007. Cast in utterly divergent roles, McGowan appears in both portions of the film, as go-go dancing Cherry Darling in Planet Terror, and as Pam in Death Proof. She followed up the project with a role in the IRA thriller Fifty Dead Men Walking and a recurring role as a con artist on the acclaimed drama series Nip/Tuck. After a brief hiatus from film, McGowan returned in 2010 with roles in the big-screen thriller Machete, a role that was eventually cut from the theatrical film but will be encluded in the DVD, she also stars in the fantasy drama Dylan's Wake as Charlie a semi-homless crackhead. She will appear in 2011 as an evil half-human/half-witch Marique in the blockbuster Conan.

McGowan's name was attached to several recent films which ended up being unmade. Following the release of Grindhouse, she signed to play B-movie staple Susan Cabot in Black Oasis, to be directed by Stephan Elliott. However, the film was affected by the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike and ultimately put on indefinite hold. Another project, a proposed film adaptation of the Sylvia Plath novel The Bell Jar alongside Julia Stiles, also never came to fruition. She was also attached to three projects to be produced by Robert Rodriguez, a remake of the science fiction cult classic Barbarella, a proposed television series titled Women in Chains!, and a big-screen update of the Red Sonja comic books. After several years of development, Rodriguez announced in 2009 that Barbarella had been canceled due to location difficulties, While in July 2010 McGowan was asked about Red Sonja she replied: "What’s gonna go first is Conan, which kinda makes sense because Red Sonja kinda came out after that ... in the Robert E. Howard world. So we’ll see. I hope to do it." She added, "Everything’s based on maybe how Conan does". Women in Chains! appears to have never gotten past the script stages and is believed to no longer be in development.

In addition to film and television, McGowan lent her voice to the video games Darkwatch, playing a femme fatale named Tala, and Terminator Salvation, playing a troubled soldier named Angie Salter. She also co-hosted the TCM's film-series program The Essentials alongside Robert Osbourne in 2008, discussing classic Hollywood film, a subject close to her heart.

Music

While dating Marilyn Manson, McGowan appeared in a music video for the song "Coma White", and also performed backing vocals on the song "Posthuman." Both of these songs are available on the album Mechanical Animals.

McGowan appeared on a BT track called "Superfabulous" from his album Emotional Technology, which was also featured on the final Charmed soundtrack, The Final Chapter. The song has been featured in several films, including Win a Date with Tad Hamilton and Raising Helen. She wrote and recorded a song titled "Protection," which was featured in her 2001 film Strange Hearts. McGowan has also appeared in the Imperial Teen music video for "Yoo Hoo", which was featured on the Jawbreaker soundtrack.

McGowan has expressed interest in recording an album of her own. During an interview with Living TV, she said, "I was actually thinking of going back and doing more soulful tunes and older tunes...and I would love to, when I have a little bit more time." In the Charmed episode "Sense and Sense Ability," McGowan performed, in character, a cover of the Peggy Lee classic "Fever." In 2007, it was announced that McGowan would be performing three songs from the Planet Terror portion of Grindhouse. These songs were released on the soundtrack by the Varèse Sarabande label. The songs are entitled "You Belong to Me" (a Dean Martin/Jo Stafford cover), "Useless Talent #32" and "Two Against the World."

Modeling

McGowan was the face of American clothing company Bebe from 1998 to 1999. She was also the cover model for the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark, which was released in 1996. In addition to clothing endorsements, McGowan has appeared on numerous magazine covers, including Seventeen, Interview, Maxim, GQ, Entertainment Weekly and Rolling Stone. She has also frequently been featured on Maxim, FHM and Stuff magazine's sexiest women lists.

Awards

In 1996, McGowan was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her role in The Doom Generation. A few years later, at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards, she was nominated for "Best Villain" for her role in Jawbreaker. In 2005, McGowan won "Best Sister" at the Family TV Awards, for her role on Charmed. In 2006, Blender included her on their list of the sexiest women of TV and film. The most recent award won by McGowan was under the category Femme Fatale for the 2007 Spike TV Guys' Choice Awards, which aired June 13, 2007. The award was for the role of Cherry in Grindhouse. McGowan was nominated for "Scream Queen" at the 2007 Scream Awards on Spike TV for her performance in Grindhouse.

Personal life

McGowan at the 2008 San Diego Comic-Con

McGowan lived in Seattle, Washington, but currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She was in a very public 3 ½-year relationship with rock musician Marilyn Manson. After a formal engagement lasting two years, McGowan ended the relationship over "lifestyle differences". Prior to the release of Grindhouse, there was speculation that McGowan was dating director Robert Rodriguez. In May 2007, it was reported that they confirmed their relationship while appearing hand-in-hand at the Cannes Film Festival. On October 12, 2007 it was announced by Zap2it.com that McGowan was engaged to Rodriguez. They planned to wed in 2009, but reportedly split on October 2, 2009.

McGowan visits a member of the U.S. Air Force during a USO visit to Southwest Asia.

McGowan has admitted to sleepwalking as a child. "The weirdest spot I ever woke up was a snow bank in Montreal. Now I just speak Italian in my sleep." McGowan also suffers from agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder.

McGowan is known as an activist for Boston Terriers. She herself has two, Bug and Fester, and has personally donated to various Boston rescues. McGowan reportedly encouraged friends to donate to Boston Terrier Rescue Net, and according to BTRN: "Having fallen in love with Bug and Fester, her friends donated generously. It amounted to a considerable contribution, which will go a long way in helping BTRN and the needy volunteers who selflessly give to deserving Bostons."

According to an article in the New York Post, McGowan suffered serious injuries in a car accident early in 2007. Riding as a passenger, her car was struck by another vehicle and the force of the impact drove her eyeglasses into her face. McGowan is quoted as saying, "I didn't realize I was hurt until I put my hand to my face and felt the flap of skin. My glasses had sliced me under my eye." After obtaining the services of a plastic surgeon, McGowan is reported to be suffering no long-lasting consequences from the incident.

Of her acting method, McGowan said "I'm not really one of those people who goes and writes some big backstory and agonizes over characters...For me personally, it's just kind of more instinctive. But I don't have kind of an acting background. I fell into it accidentally."

In late 2009 McGowan was amongst several celebrities who participated in the protest NOH8.

IRA controversy

McGowan, whose paternal family originates from County Cork, has expressed support for the cause of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), with the reports of her comments being released into the media on September 11, 2008. After starring in Fifty Dead Men Walking, she was quoted as saying "I imagine had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it." Her comments were attacked by the author of the autobiography upon which the film is based, Martin McGartland, who said "Rose McGowan's comments were insulting to victims of IRA terrorism and she should apologize."

Filmography

McGowan at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2008

Film and video games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Encino Man	Nora	aka California Man
1995	The Doom Generation	Amy Blue	Nominated Independent Spirit Award
1996	Bio Dome	Denise
1996	Kiss & Tell	Jasmine Hoyle
1996	Scream	Tatum Riley
1997	Going All the Way	Gale Ann Thayer
1997	Seed	Miriam
1997	Nowhere	Valley Chick #3
1997	Lewis & Clark & George	George
1998	Southie	Kathy Quinn
1998	Phantoms	Lisa Pailey
1998	Devil In The Flesh	Debbie Strand	aka Dearly Devoted
1999	Jawbreaker	Courtney Alice Shayne	Nominated MTV Movie Award
1999	Sleeping Beauties	Sno Blo
2000	Ready to Rumble	Sasha
2000	The Last Stop	Nancy
2001	Strange Hearts	Moira Kennedy	aka Roads to Riches
2001	Monkeybone	Miss Kitty
2002	Stealing Bess	Debbie Dinsdale	aka Vacuums
2005	Darkwatch: Curse of the West	Tala	Video game
2006	The Black Dahlia	Sheryl Saddon
2007	Grindhouse - Planet Terror	Cherry Darling
2007	Grindhouse - Death Proof	Pam
2008	Fifty Dead Men Walking	Grace Sterrin
2009	Terminator Salvation	Angie Salter	Video game
2010	Machete	Ginger
2010	Dylan's Wake	Charlie
2011	Conan	Marique	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	True Colours	Suzanne	Episode: "Life with Fathers"
1999	Coma White	Jackie-O	aka Marilyn Manson: Coma White Music Video.
2001	What About Joan?	Maeve	Episode: "Maeve"
2001– 2006	Charmed	Paige Matthews	112 Episodes
2001	The Killing Yard	Linda Borus	Television film
2005	Elvis	Ann-Margret	Television miniseries
2008	The Essentials	Herself	27 Episodes
2009	Nip/Tuck	Dr. Theodora 'Teddy' Rowe	5 episodes

External links

• Rose McGowan at IMDb
• Rose McGowan on Twitter
• Template:Tvtome person
• Rose McGowan on xFamily.org - Includes information about her experience with the Children of God.
• Maxim interview
• MoviesOnline Interview, Grindhouse