MADELEINE STOWE
Date of Birth: August 18, 1958
Born in Los Angeles, Stowe is the daughter of a British father and Costa
Rican mother. At ten years of age she began training for a career as a
concert pianist. When her instructor died, so did her aspirations for a
music career. She turned to acting and studied cinema and journalism at the
University of Southern California (USC) for a short time, followed by
volunteer work at Beverley Hills' Solari Theatre. During the stint she met
Richard Dreyfuss' agent, who encouraged her acting ambitions.
She spent the next few years on stage in productions like The Wager, and
Speaking Of... before starting her film career. Beginning on the small
screen in such telefilms as The Nativity, The Deer Slayer, The
Minerva Files, Blood & Orchids, and an appearance on the series
Little House on the Prairie, she then went on to do feature film work.
Stowe filmed the low-budget action flick Tropical Snow in 1986 (released
in 1989), but exposure to moviegoers came after playing the object of
surveillance in Stakeout (1987), co-starring Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio
Estevez. For the next few years, Stowe had a number of strong performances
in films like The Two Jakes (1990), The Last of the Mohicans (1992),
Unlawful Entry (1992), playing the much sought after wife of Kurt Russell,
and Short Cuts (1993).
After a number of flops, Stowe came back with a bang starring in such films
as Twelve Monkeys (1995) with Bruce Willis, and The General's
Daughter (1999) with John Travolta, both of which earned her nominations
and awards for Best Actress. More recently, she won a Best Actress Imagen Award for her leading role in the CBS TV movie Saving Milly (2005).
Stowe lives on a Texas ranch with her husband, actor Brian Benben, whom she
married in 1986.
Filmography:
Octane (2003)
Avenging Angelo (2002)
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Impostor (2002)
Avenging Angelo (2001)
The General's Daughter (1999)
Playing by Heart (1998)
The Proposition (1998)
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
Blink (1994)
Bad Girls (1994)
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman In Carver Country (1993)
Short Cuts (1993)
Another Stakeout (1993) (uncredited)
The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
Unlawful Entry (1992)
China Moon (1991)
Closet Land (1991)
Revenge (1990)
The Two Jakes (1990)
Tropical Snow (1989)
Worth Winning (1989)
Stakeout (1987)