Post by Phoenix on Sept 5, 2010 6:23:47 GMT -5
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.
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.
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 2007McGowan 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 sci-fi 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 "that’s gonna go first is Conan, which kinda makes sense because Red Sonja kinda came out after that, so, in the Robert E. Howard world. So we’ll see. I hope to do it." "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.