- Born
- Birth nameVirginia Gayle Madsen
- Nickname
- Gina
- Height5′ 5″ (1.65 m)
- One of the hottest stars of the mid-1980s, Virginia Madsen has since played a variety of roles that have cemented her reputation as a fantastic actress who can adapt to any part.
Virginia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and belongs to an acting family -- with her brother, Michael Madsen, also an actor, and her mother, Elaine Madsen (née Melson), an Emmy-winning writer, poet, and producer. Her paternal grandparents were Danish, and her father, Calvin Madsen, was a firefighter. Audiences first caught a glimpse of her as "Princess Irulan" in the 1984 science fiction epic Dune (1984). She followed that up with Electric Dreams (1984); however, it was in 1986 that Virginia captured the hearts of the audience with an intense portrayal of a Catholic school girl who fell in love with a boy from a prison camp in Duncan Gibbins' Fire with Fire (1986). Virginia played the role of "Lisa" and her co-star was Craig Sheffer, who played Lisa's love interest, "Joe Fisk". Kari Wuhrer also made an appearance as Virginia's best friend, "Gloria". Fire with Fire (1986) was a low-budget production, starring a bunch of fresh faces who were till then-unknown to Hollywood. However, the movie was a success and elevated its three young stars overnight. Virginia has never looked back since.
Not only did she receive amazing reviews for her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated performance in Alexander Payne's hit film, Sideways (2004), but this Independent Spirit Award-winning actress has an illustrious resume of roles alongside the most notable and respected actors in the business.
Also on Virginia's slate is her production company, with partner Karly Meola, called "Title IX Productions". Their first project was the documentary I Know a Woman Like That (2009), which previewed at the Phoenix Film Festival in April 2009 and premiered at the Chicago Film Festival in October 2009. The doc was directed by Virginia's mother, Elaine Madsen, about the lives of extraordinary women ages 64-94. Next in the company's lineup is the documentary Fighting Gravity (2010), about women ski jumpers' ongoing battle for the right to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Title IX will team up with "Empire 8 Productions" and Vancouver-based "Screen Siren" on the project. The duo also has several projects in development that they're shopping around for financing including screenwriters Sebastian Gutierrez's screen adaptation of Martha O'Connor's novel "The Bitch Posse" and a remake of the 1984 film Electric Dreams (1984), in which Virginia appeared.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Z.Martin and 42West
- SpousesNick Holmes(2020 - present)Danny Huston(September 2, 1989 - 1992) (divorced)
- Children
- ParentsCal Madsen
- RelativesMichael Madsen(Sibling)Hudson Madsen(Niece or Nephew)Christian Madsen(Niece or Nephew)Max Madsen(Niece or Nephew)Kalvin Madsen(Niece or Nephew)Luke Madsen(Niece or Nephew)
- Her brother, actor Michael Madsen, refuses to see any of her movies in which she appears naked.
- Both eyes are different. Left eye is part brown and part green and right eye is all green.
- Claims that she was hypnotized for some of the scenes in Candyman (1992).
- 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. She would later star (no pun intended) in Unforgettable (1998)(#4.22).
- Has a child, with Antonio Sabato Jr., named Jack Sabato (b. 6 August 1994).
- 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.
- 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]
- 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.
- [growing older] My mother said, When you're in your 40s you're free, but when you're in your 50s, you fly. And she was right. I don't know how I feel about 60. I'm not there yet. But the closer I get to it, I'm like, It's all right. I have some role models I can look at and say, I like the way that looks. I want to emulate that.
- [surviving abuse early in her career] The thing is, you just move on. If no one's going to do anything about it and it's over, I'm just going to move on and you're not going to ruin my life. If I was attacked by somebody or if somebody scared me, it was like, you're not going to win. I felt like, You're not damaging my life. You're not damaging me. I think that's how I thought about it: I still win, because I'm still standing.
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