Today we offer a closer look at the popular American model and actress Andy MacDowell. She is known to the audience both for numerous shootings in advertising and for roles in such films as Groundhog Day, Four Weddings and One Funeral, Short Stories, and many others.
Andy MacDowell: biography
The future celebrity was born on April 21, 1958 in a small town called Gaffney, located in South Carolina, USA. At birth, she was given the name Rosalie Anderson, which she later shortened to Andy. Mother worked as a music teacher, and father worked in logging. The McDowell family was large (Andy has three older sisters) and lived modestly. When the future Hollywood celebrity turned six years old, her parents divorced. Andy's mother was very worried about this event and soon became addicted to alcohol. However, she did her best to prevent her girls from feeling lonely and constantly gifting them with small, but pleasant gifts. Andy, however, had a hard time, since from a young age she had to work part-time at low-paid jobs to help her family make ends meet.
Model business
At the age of 20, Andy went to New York to try herself as a model. She was hired by the world famous Elite agency. The modeling career has successfully gone uphill. As a result, Andy MacDowell, whose photo has not been taken off the covers of fashion magazines for a long time, today is seen by a good half of the audience as a girl from L'Oreal advertising than an actress. In addition to this brand, she also worked with brands such as Yves Saint Laurent, Calvin Klein, Armani Perfume, and many others.
Andy MacDowell: filmography, the beginning of a career in cinema
The girl’s debut on the big screen took place in 1984. It was a blockbuster called Greystoke. Andy got the role of Jane Porter, and Christopher Lambert became her shooting partner. The film was about the fate of a boy who was raised by monkeys, and then he was taken by a Belgian researcher. Despite the excellent game of Andy, this role did not bring success to her. In addition, the directors felt that her southern accent "cuts the ear." As a result, her character spoke in the voice of the famous actress Glenn Close.
In subsequent years, McDowell rarely acted in films, and if she did, then in episodic roles. She devoted the main attention to model work. So, in 1985 she took part in the filming of the series "Spencer", as well as in the film "Lights of St. Elmo." In 1987, Andy played, although not a big, but very significant role of Antei in the film called “The Secret of the Sahara”.
First success
Despite the fact that most film critics believed that McDowell’s movie career would not end before it began, in 1989 the actress made a splash, starring in the movie “Sex, Falsehood and Video” by Stephen Soderberg. Andy brilliantly played the main character named Anne. Her partners on the set were Peter Gallagher and James Spader. The picture is a psychological movie drama, which tells about the difficult relationship of a woman who has become disillusioned with family life, and a man who has made an excellent career and has a big house, a beautiful wife and a passionate lover, but who has despaired of finding her true love. Andy in her role was very convincing and made a great impression on both the audience and film critics.
Career continuation
Andy MacDowell, whose filmography finally replenished with a very noticeable work, became the object of attention of producers and directors. However, most often she was offered roles not in serious films, but in comedies and melodramas.
So, in 1990, she, along with Gerard Depardieu, starred in the film "Residence Permit", in which she played a heroine who entered into a fictitious marriage with a French citizen who needed an American "green card". At the same time, Andy took part in the painting "Women and Men: Stories of Seduction."
The film career of the actress went uphill. And almost every year films with Andy MacDowell began to appear on the screens, if not in the main, then in a very noticeable role. So, in 1991, she played the girlfriend of the main character performed by Bruce Willis in the film "The Hudson Hawk" directed by Michael Lehmann. Her next work was the picture "The subject of beauty", where she starred in conjunction with John Malkovich.
In 1993, the actress took part in the filming of Groundhog Day, in which she got the role of a character named Rita. The film was a huge success, and McDowell's partner on the set was Bill Murray.
A year later, another cinema masterpiece with Andy’s appearance appeared on the big screens. It's about the sensational comedy melodrama "Four Weddings and One Funeral" directed by Michael Newell. This tape became the highest grossing record in the history of British cinema at that time and served as an impetus for the career of all the actors involved in it.
McDowell was very much in demand and regularly pleased the audience with her appearance on the screens. The most memorable projects with her participation include the following: “Michael”, “Plenty”, “End of violence”, “Speculator”, “Club of losers”, “Joe”, “Beauty salon”, “Road to Tara”, “Intervention " and others.
Recent work of the actress
In 2009, Andy starred in a very successful comedy entitled "The Six Wives of Henry LeFey." In the same year she was busy with work and on another project - the film "Five minutes to five dead." Over the next few years, McDowell also appeared on the screen in such films as Lonely Star (2010), Monte Carlo (2011) and Jane Style (2012). From 2013 to the present day, Andy has been busy working on the series Cedar Bay. In this project, she plays the main role of Judge Olivia Lockhart.
Personal life
Andy MacDowell was married twice, but both of her marriages ended unsuccessfully. So, the first spouse of the famous model and actress was businessman Paul Kwally, to whom she gave birth to three children. Their marriage lasted from 1986 to 1999. Andy's second choice was also a successful businessman named Rhett Hartsog. The couple married in 2001, but four years later the couple decided to divorce.