Madeleine Stowe (born August 18, 1958)[ is an American actress. She appeared mostly on television before her role in the 1987 crime-comedy film Stakeout. She went on to star in the films Revenge (1990), Unlawful Entry (1992), The Last of the Mohicans (1992), Blink (1993), 12 Monkeys (1995), The General's Daughter (1999), and We Were Soldiers (2002). For her role in the 1993 independent film Short Cuts, she won the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress.
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From 2011 to 2015, Stowe starred as Victoria Grayson, the main antagonist of the ABC drama series Revenge. For this role, she was nominated for the 2012 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She also played Ingrid Kersh in the HBO series .
Early life
Stowe, the first of three children, was born at the Queen of Angels Hospital,[ in Los Angeles, California,]
Stowe's father suffered from multiple sclerosis, and she accompanied him to all his medical treatments.[ "The Trip to Bankable", Los Angeles Times, January 30, 1994.]
Acting career
Early years
Not being especially interested in her college classes, she volunteered to do performances at the Solaris, a Beverly Hills theater, where a movie agent saw her in a play and got her several offers of appearances in TV and films. In 1978, she made her debut in an episode in the police drama series Baretta, followed by a string of TV work with guest appearances on The Amazing Spider-Man, Barnaby Jones and Little House on the Prairie. In 1978, she played a leading role as Mary in the television movie, The Nativity (1978).
Breakthrough and film career
In 1987, Stowe appeared in her first breakthrough role in the feature film Stakeout with Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez.[ The film debuted at No.1 at the box office.][ Closet Land (1990), AllRovi.]
In 1992, she appeared opposite Kurt Russell in the crime drama Unlawful Entry.[ Unlawful Entry, Box Office Mojo.] That same year, Stowe played Cora Munro in The Last of the Mohicans, which also starred Daniel Day-Lewis. Her critically acclaimed performance in the film, which grossed more than $75 million worldwide, elevated Stowe from supporting player to an A-list movie star.[ The next year, director Robert Altman cast Stowe in the award-winning ensemble cast movie Short Cuts, where she gave one of her most acclaimed screen performances as the wife of a compulsively lying and adulterous police officer played by Tim Robbins. She won the National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award and a Volpi Cup for her performance in the movie. She also made a cameo appearance in Stakeout sequel Another Stakeout.][ The following year, Stowe played a leading role as a blind musician in the thriller Blink, in the neo-noir thriller China Moon, and in the Western Bad Girls.][ The year after that, she was a sympathetic psychiatrist in the financially successful and critically lauded science-fiction movie 12 Monkeys. Stowe received a Saturn Awards nomination for this performance.
In 1994 Stowe was named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World".]
Stowe postponed her acting career in 1996 to concentrate on her family life. She settled for several years in a Texas ranch, with her daughter May and husband Brian Benben.[ Madeleine Stowe: Best Revenge, People, December 12, 2011.] In 1998, she came back with The Proposition and Playing by Heart, and then The General's Daughter, opposite John Travolta in 1999.[ In 2003, she starred in the thriller Octane as Senga Wilson, a single mother trying to save her teenage daughter (Mischa Barton) from a bizarre cult obsessed with blood and cars.
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Recent years
Stowe's onscreen appearances became increasingly rare in the 2000s, as she focused on motherhood. She later stated in an interview : "I never thought, 'I'm retiring,' but I didn't feel that 'thing' revving in me. I was much more focused on May. It was frustrating at times, but now I see how she's turned out, I wouldn't have it any other way."[ TELEVISION REVIEW When the Course of True Love Is Derailed by Disease, March 12, 2005, The New York Times.] Stowe starred in the not-picked-up Fox pilot Southern Comfort about a woman who takes over her mobster husband's business when he gets sent to prison.[ IN OTHER FALL PILOT NEWS..., Feb 27, 2006, TV Guide.] In 2007, she appeared in the recurring role of Dr. Samantha Kohl in Jeff Goldblum's detective drama Raines on NBC, a mid-season replacement. The series was canceled after two months. In 2009 she starred in the Lifetime movie, The Christmas Hope.[
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In 2011, Stowe announced her return and began playing Victoria Grayson, the glamorous and powerful matriarch of the Grayson family, on ABC's television drama series Revenge.[ PEOPLE's 2012 World's Most Beautiful Woman, People, Retrieved April 28, 2012.][ Madeleine Stowe Shares Mom's Best Beauty Advice, People, April 17, 2012, Retrieved April 25, 2012.] The series ended in 2015 after four seasons and 89 episodes.
In May and June 2016, Stowe guest hosted primetime films on Turner Classic Movies, appearing in dozens of wraparounds on the channel. In 2019, she returned to acting starring as actress Margot Weston in the Netflix musical drama series, Soundtrack.
In 2025, Stowe stars in the HBO supernatural horror television series which is based on Stephen King's novel It (1986) and serves as a prequel to the films It (2017) and It Chapter Two (2019).
Personal life
In 1982, Stowe married Brian Benben, whom she had met on the set of the NBC miniseries The Gangster Chronicles the previous year. Before living in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, they lived on a ranch west of Austin, near Fredericksburg, Texas.
In 2008, Stowe traveled to Haiti and helped found Artists for Peace and Justice. She is on the board of directors of the foundation.
Filmography
Film
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| 1981 | Gangster Wars | Ruth Lasker | |
| 1987 | Stakeout | Maria McGuire | |
| 1988 | Tropical Snow | Marina | |
| 1989 | Worth Winning | Veronica Briskow | |
| 1990 | Revenge | Miryea Mendez | |
| Lillian Bodine | |
| 1991 | Closet Land | Victim | |
| 1992 | Unlawful Entry | Karen Carr | |
| Cora Munro | |
| 1993 | Another Stakeout | Maria McGuire | Uncredited cameo |
| Short Cuts | Sherri Shepard | |
| 1994 | China Moon | Rachel Munro | |
| Blink | Emma Brody | |
| Bad Girls | Cody Zamora | |
| 1995 | 12 Monkeys | Kathryn Railly | |
| 1998 | The Proposition | Eleanor Barret | |
| Playing by Heart | Gracie | |
| 1999 | | Warr. Off. Sara Sunhill | |
| 2001 | Impostor | Maya Olham | |
| 2002 | We Were Soldiers | Julia Moore | |
| Avenging Angelo | Jennifer Barrett Allieghieri | |
| 2003 | Octane | Senga Wilson | aka Pulse |
Television
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| 1978 | Baretta | Anna | Episode: "The Marker" |
| Maria Calderon | Episode: "Escort to Danger" |
| Mary, mother of Jesus | Television film |
| Hetty Hutter | Movie |
| 1979 | Barnaby Jones | Diane | Episode: "School of Terror" |
| 1980 | Beulah Land | Selma Kendrick Davis | Miniseries |
| Little House on the Prairie | Annie Crane | Episode: "Portrait of Love" |
| 1981 | Trapper John, M.D. | Cassie | Episode: "Creepy Time Gal" |
| Ruth Lasker | Miniseries |
| 1984 | Amazons | Dr. Sharon Fields | Movie |
| 1986 | Blood & Orchids | Hester Ashley Murdoch | Movie |
| 2002 | | Isabel Amberson Minafer | Movie |
| 2005 | Saving Milly | Milly Martinez | Movie |
| 2006 | Southern Comfort | Charlotte | Pilot |
| 2007 | Raines | Dr. Samantha Kohl | 5 episodes |
| 2009 | | Patricia Addison | Movie |
| 2011–2015 | Revenge | Victoria Grayson | 89 episodes |
| 2016 | 12 Monkeys | Lillian | Episode: "Memory of Tomorrow" |
| 2019 | Soundtrack | Margot Weston | 10 episodes |
| 2021 | Eli Roth's History of Horror | Herself | Docuseries; episode: "Infections" |
| 2025 | | Ingrid Kersh / Periwinkle | 6 episodes |
Awards and nominations
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| 1993 | Venice Film Festival | Special Volpi Cup for Best Ensemble Cast | Short Cuts | |
| 1994 | National Society of Film Critics | Best Supporting Actress | |
| Golden Globe Awards | Special Award for Ensemble Cast | |
| 1996 | Sci-Fi Universe Magazine, USA | Best Actress in a Genre Motion Picture | 12 Monkeys | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Actress | |
| 2000 | Blockbuster Entertainment Awards | Favorite Supporting Actress - Suspense | The General's Daughter | |
| ALMA Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film | |
| 2003 | American Veterans Center | Best Actress | We Were Soldiers | |
| 2005 | Imagen Awards | Best Actress | Saving Milly | |
| 2012 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | Revenge | |
| Dorian Awards | Television Performance of the Year | |
| ALMA Awards | Favorite TV Actress – Drama | |
| 2013 | TV Guide | Favorite Villain | |
| 2014 | Keck School of Medicine of USC | Humanitarian Award | |
External links
