Virginia Madsen

{{real world}}
{{Sidebar actor|
|name       = Virginia Madsen
|image      = Kellin, Unforgettable.jpg
|birth name = Virginia Gayle Madsen
|gender     = Female
|birthday   = {{d|11|September|1961}}
|birthplace = Chicago, Illinois, USA
|deathday   = 
|deathplace = 
|roles      = 
|characters = {{dis|Kellin|Ramuran}}
|image2     = 
}}

Actress '''Virginia Madsen''' {{born|11|September|1961}} is the {{w|Academy Award}}- and {{w|Golden Globe}}-nominated actress who played {{dis|Kellin|Ramuran}} in the {{s|VOY}} [[VOY Season 4|fourth season]] episode {{e|Unforgettable}}. She was born in Chicago, Illinois, and graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois. She is the sister of veteran actor {{w|Michael Madsen}} and was engaged to actor {{w|Antonio Sabato, Jr.}}.

== Films ==
Madsen made her film debut in 1983, co-starring with {{film|7}} actor [[Alan Ruck]] in the comedy ''Class''. The following year, she played Princess Irulan in the cult science fiction epic ''Dune''. Also starring in this film were {{s|TNG}} actor [[Patrick Stewart]], fellow VOY guest actor [[Brad Dourif]], and {{s|ENT}} guest star [[Dean Stockwell]].

Her next film was the 1985 science fiction romantic comedy ''Creator'', which co-starred [[Jeff Corey]], [[Michael McGrady]], [[David Ogden Stiers]], [[Kenneth Tigar]], and [[Ian Wolfe]], with [[Ellen Geer]] portraying Madsen's mother. Madsen then acquired some popularity with her starring role in the 1986 drama ''Fire with Fire'', which also featured her VOY co-star [[Tim Russ]]. The following year, she worked with another VOY regular, [[Robert Beltran]], in the film ''Slam Dance'' (co-starring [[Rosalind Chao]], [[Herta Ware]], and [[John Fleck]]). She has also co-starred with [[TNG]] guest actor [[Clayton Rohner]] in two films: 1986's ''Modern Girls'' (with [[Cameron Thor]], [[Stuart Charno]], and [[Mark Holton]]) and 1994's ''Caroline at Midnight'' (with Clayton Rohner, [[Zach Galligan]], [[Jay Baker]], [[Doug Wert]], and [[Kirk Baily]]. In the 1987 horror film ''Zombie High'' Virginia starred with [[Richard Cox]] and [[Kay E. Kuter]].

Madsen is well-known for her starring role in the 1992 horror thriller ''Candyman'', in which she co-starred with fellow ''[[Star Trek]]'' alumni [[Tony Todd]] and [[Tom Towles]]. She won a Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for her performance in this film. Some of her other genre films include ''Highlander II: The Quickening'' (1991) and ''The Prophecy'' (1995). Her other films during the late 1980s and early 1990s include 1988's ''Mr. North'' (with [[David Warner]]) and ''Hot to Trot'' (with [[Jim Metzler]], [[Donald Hotton]], [[Robert Towers]], [[George D. Wallace]], and [[Vyto Ruginis]]), 1989's ''Heart of Dixie'' (with [[Kurtwood Smith]] and [[Barbara Babcock]]), and 1990's ''The Hot Spot'' (with [[William Sadler]] and [[Leon Rippy]]). 

In 1996, she co-starred with [[Whoopi Goldberg]], [[Susanna Thompson]], [[Bill Smitrovich]], [[Terry O'Quinn]], [[Richard Riehle]], [[Bill Cobbs]], [[Thomas Kopache]], and the late [[Brock Peters]] in the drama ''Ghosts of Mississippi''. Also in 1996, Madsen had an uncredited role in ''Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood'', starring [[William Sadler]] and [[Chris Sarandon]] and featuring a cameo by Whoopi Goldberg. The following year, Madsen and her ''Dune'' co-star and fellow ''Trek'' guest actor Dean Stockwell had roles in the legal drama ''The Rainmaker''. 

Madsen co-starred with William Sadler in the 1998 film ''Ambushed'' and had a supporting role in the big-budget 1999 horror remake of ''The Haunting'' (with [[Michael Cavanaugh]]) and starred with noted actor {{w|James Coburn}} in his final film, 2002's ''American Gun''. In 2003, she appeared in the comedy film ''Nobody Knows Anything!'', as did [[Paul Dooley]] and [[Ed Lauter]]. 

Madsen is currently best known for her Academy Award- and Golden Globe-nominated performance as Maya in the acclaimed 2004 comedy drama {{wt|Sideways}}. Following her success in this film, she starred in the {{w|Harrison Ford}} thriller ''Firewall'' and in {{w|Robert Altman}}'s ''A Prairie Home Companion'', both released in 2006. In 2007, she worked with [[John Billingsley]] and [[Denise Crosby]] in the film ''Ripple Effect'', which she Madsen executive produced. That same year, she starred in ''The Astronaut Farmer'' with {{w|Billy Bob Thornton}} and in the {{w|Joel Schumacher}} thriller ''The Number 23'' with {{w|Jim Carrey}} and TNG guest actor [[Ed Lauter]].

More recently, Madsen starred in the 2009 supernatural thriller ''The Haunting in Connecticut'' and played the title character's mother in the upcoming horror-thriller ''Red Riding Hood''. In the animated 2009 direct-to-DVD feature ''Wonder Woman'' (based on [[DC Comics]] characters), Madsen was the voice of Hippolyta, the mother of Wonder Woman (voiced by [[Keri Russell]]). 

== Television ==
Besides her appearance on ''Star Trek: Voyager'', Madsen has made guest appearances on several other television shows. In 1989, she had a recurring role as Maddie Hayes' sister, Annie Charnock, on the drama series ''Moonlighting''. That same year, Madsen appeared in the music video for {{w|Michael Jackson}}'s song "Liberian Girl", along with [[Whoopi Goldberg]].

Ten years later, Madsen recurred as Cassandra Stone on the [[NBC]] situation comedy series ''Frasier'', which starred [[Kelsey Grammer]]. Her last appearance on the show, in the two-parter "Shoutout in Seattle", also featured [[Dan Butler]], [[Patrick Kerr]], and [[Saul Rubinek]]. In 2001 Madsen appeared in two episodes of ''The Practice'', along with [[Bill Smitrovich]].

Madsen made an uncredited appearance on the cult science fiction series ''Earth 2'', starring [[Clancy Brown]] and [[Terry O'Quinn]]. She has also guest-starred on ''Dawson's Creek'', ''CSI: Miami'', and [[Neal McDonough]]'s ''Boomtown'' (with [[Vanessa Williams]]). In addition, Madsen has starred in numerous made-for-TV movies, notably ''The Hearts and Davies Affair'' in 1985 (co-starring [[Fritz Weaver]]), ''Long Gone'' in 1986 (with [[Henry Gibson]]), ''Ironclads'' in 1991 (again working with Fritz Weaver), ''A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story'' in 1992 (with [[Robert Picardo]] and [[Chris Sarandon]]), ''Bitter Vengeance'' in 1994 (with Tim Russ and [[Bruce Greenwood]]), and ''Just Ask My Children'' in 2001 (with [[Casey Biggs]], [[John Billingsley]], and [[Armin Shimerman]]).

During the 2006-2007 season, Madsen was a regular on the short-lived [[CBS Television Studios|CBS]] action drama series ''Smith''. In 2009, she appeared as journalist T.K. Jensen in three episodes of the USA Network series ''Monk'', the first of which also guest-starred [[John Carroll Lynch]]. In 2010, Madsen starred in the ABC series ''Scoundrels'', on which [[Jessica Collins]] and [[Dina Meyer]] have had recurring roles.  She currently has a recurring role on ABC's ''Designated Survivor''.

==External links==
* {{Wikipedia}}
* {{imdb|name/nm0000515||external}}
* {{triviatribute|virginiamadsen.html}}

{{DEFAULTSORT|Madsen, Virginia}}
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