Biography

Andie MacDowell

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Overview

Born
April 21, 1958 · Gaffney, South Carolina, USA
Birth name
Rosalie Anderson MacDowell
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Biography

Andie MacDowell was born Rosalie Anderson MacDowell on April 21, 1958 in Gaffney, South Carolina, to Pauline Johnston (Oswald), a music teacher, and Marion St. Pierre MacDowell, a lumber executive. She was enrolled at Winthrop College located in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Initially discovered by a rep from Wilhelmina Models while on a trip to Los Angeles. Later signed on with Elite Model Management in New York City in 1978. Made debut film appearance in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984). Went on to study method acting at the Actors Studio. Had commercial success with performances in Harold Ramis's Groundhog Day (1993) and Mike Newell's Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).
- IMDb mini biography by: anonymous

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents
Relatives

Trademark

Curly ringlet-filled black hair
Southern-inflected accent
Characters who smile and laugh a great deal

Trivia

In her first film (Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)), her Southern accent was so heavy that her voice was entirely dubbed by Glenn Close.
She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) and Groundhog Day (1993).
She was scheduled to receive a Medal of Honor in the Arts at Winthrop University on October 22, 2004. She attended the university for two semesters in the late 1970s, only to have been told that she would not go far in acting.
In 2000, she filed suit against Walmart for displaying her picture in several stores without permission.
Has a son, Justin, born in 1986, and two daughters, Rainey Qualley, born in 1990, and Margaret Qualley, in 1994.

Quotes

(1996, on Marisa Tomei turning down her role in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)) They saw a lot of other people for the role. I was quite impressed that I was the one who was, in fact, doing the movie. Not only did Marisa Tomei lose out as an artist for not taking the opportunity to work with wonderful people on this amazing movie, she lost a lot of money. And the money just keeps coming. See, I didn't get money for it up front, but I had points. I had a huge mortgage and I didn't plan the last baby, but Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) paid for me to sit back and take a year off, pay my mortgage, have plenty of money and even invest some, too.
(1996, on having her voice dubbed by Glenn Close for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)) When I heard the news, I was in my hotel room, alone. At the time of Greystoke, I was not even in a good relationship, so I had no one to share it with. I didn't deceive myself for one minute about what the media was going to do with it or what people in the business were going to think. I said to myself, "Either I jump out that window out of humiliation and embarrassment or I fight." The choice was there: die or fight. It was set up so perfectly for people to think that I had no capabilities, whatsoever. So, I decided to go to class, to evolve. Until Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989), I was untouchable. My manager was fighting for me with people who would not even see me. It certainly hasn't been easy, but I'm proud of my achievements.