made in atlantis - actor biographies
|
Directors, producers, editors, composers, executive producers, writer/co-producers, directors of photography, production designers, costume designers, screenwriters, cnematographers, animal trainers, visual effects supervisors, special effects supervisors and more.
|
Birth Date: April 21, 1958
Birth Place: Gaffney, South Carolina, USA
Andie MacDowell was born in Gaffney, South Carolina, the daughter of Pauline "Paula" Johnston (née Oswald), a music teacher, and Marion St. Pierre MacDowell, a lumber executive. She is of part Scottish descent. Her family owned an Antebellum period summer house in Arden, North Carolina, which has since been made into a bed-and-breakfast named the Blake House Inn. Graffiti from her childhood visits is preserved in an upstairs bedroom closet. She attended Winthrop College for two years before moving briefly to Columbia, South Carolina. There she worked two jobs; one in a clothing boutique and the other in a restaurant/bar called "Stage Door". "Rosie," as she was known locally, lived with her sister, Beverly, and saved all her money so she could move to New York City and start her career. She was initially spotted by a rep from Wilhelmina Models while on a trip to Los Angeles before she would later sign with Elite Model Management in New York City.
In the early 1980s, MacDowell modelled for Vogue magazine and appeared in ad campaigns for Yves Saint Laurent, Vassarette, Armani perfume, Sabeth-Row, Mink International, Anne Klein and Bill Blass. She worked with such esteemed photographers as Bruce Weber, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Irving Penn and Herb Ritts among others.[citation needed] A series of billboards in Times Square and national television commercials for Calvin Klein drew attention to her and led to her 1984 film debut in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, a role in which her lines were dubbed by Glenn Close because her southern accent was too pronounced for her to play the role of an Englishwoman. In 1985, she had a small part in St. Elmo's Fire.
MacDowell studied method acting with teachers from the Actors Studio, in addition to working privately with the renowned coach Harold Guskin.[citation needed] Four years later, director Steven Soderbergh cast her in the independent film Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989). Her performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, several other award nominations and led to a series of starring roles in films such as Green Card, The Object of Beauty, and Short Cuts.
In the 1990s, MacDowell achieved stardom due to the box office success of the 1993 comedy by Harold Ramis, Groundhog Day, and Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), opposite Hugh Grant. Groundhog Day and Four Weddings and a Funeral remain MacDowell's biggest box office hits. Since 1986, MacDowell has appeared in print and television advertisements for the cosmetic and haircare company L'Oréal.
|