Madeleine Stowe (born August 18, 1958) and raised in Eagle Rock, a section of Los Angeles. Her father, Robert, was a civil engineer from Oregon, while her mother, Mireya (née Mora Steinvorth), came from a prominent family in Costa Rica. One of Stowe's maternal great-great-grandfathers, politician José Joaquín Mora Porras, was a younger brother of President Juan Rafael Mora Porras, who governed Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859. Another maternal great-great-grandfather, Bruno Carranza, was briefly President of that country in 1870 (he resigned three months after taking office); his wife, Stowe's great-great-grandmother Gerónima Montealegre was the sister of President José María Montealegre Fernández, who governed Costa Rica from 1859 to 1863, and himself the son of his country's first Vice Head of State Mariano Montealegre Bustamante, himself the half brother of Mariano Montealegre y Romero, the founder of the Montealegre family branch in Nicaragua.
Stowe's father suffered from multiple sclerosis, and she accompanied him to all his medical treatments. She originally aspired to become a concert pianist, taking lessons between the ages of ten and eighteen. She later explained that playing the piano was a means to escape having to socialize with other children her age. Her music teacher, Sergei Tarnowsky, had faith in Stowe, even teaching her from his deathbed. Following his death at the age of 92, she quit, later commenting, "I just felt it was time to not be by myself anymore."
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). She starred in two NBC miniseries: Beulah Land (1980) and The Gangster Chronicles (1981), which starred Brian Benben, her future husband. She also starred in several television films, such as Amazons (1984) and Blood & Orchids (1986). In 1984, she was featured in the music video for JD Souther's song "Go Ahead and Rain".
Breakthrough and film career
upright|thumb|Madeleine Stowe in 2002
In 1987, Stowe appeared in her first breakthrough role in the feature film Stakeout with Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez. In 1988, she played a leading role in Ciro Durán's film Tropical Snow, with David Carradine. She co-starred with Mark Harmon in the comedy Worth Winning, with Kevin Costner in the 1989 thriller Revenge, and opposite Jack Nicholson in 1990 in The Two Jakes. She played a leading role in the 1991 independent film Closet Land.
In 1992, she appeared opposite Kurt Russell in the crime drama Unlawful Entry. 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. In 1995, Stowe was chosen by Empire as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History".
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. In 1998, she came back with The Proposition and Playing by Heart, and then The General's Daughter, opposite John Travolta in 1999. In 2001, she starred in the science-fiction box office bomb Impostor. In 2002, she played Julia Moore in the war film We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, and the box office flop action-comedy Avenging Angelo opposite Sylvester Stallone. 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 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. It debuted on September 21, and was picked up for a full season by ABC on October 13. Stowe's portrayal of the character received critical praise, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for this role. In April 2012, she was listed at No. 5 in People magazine's annual Most Beautiful Woman list. 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. The series was canceled after one season.
In 2025, Stowe stars in the HBO supernatural horror television series It: Welcome to Derry 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. Together they have one daughter, born in 1996. Before living in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, they lived on a ranch west of Austin, near Fredericksburg, Texas. , Stowe resides in Memphis, Tennessee in the Midtown historic district of Chickasaw Gardens.
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
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1981
|Gangster Wars
|Ruth Lasker
|
|-
|1987
|Stakeout
|Maria McGuire
|
|-
|1988
|Tropical Snow
|Marina
|
|-
|1989
|Worth Winning
|Veronica Briskow
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1990
|Revenge
| Miryea Mendez
|
|-
|'
|Lillian Bodine
|
|-
|1991
|Closet Land
|Victim
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1992
|Unlawful Entry
|Karen Carr
|
|-
|'
|Cora Munro
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1993
|Another Stakeout
|Maria McGuire
||Uncredited cameo
|-
|Short Cuts
|Sherri Shepard
|
|-
|rowspan="3"| 1994
|China Moon
|Rachel Munro
|
|-
|Blink
|Emma Brody
|
|-
|Bad Girls
|Cody Zamora
|
|-
|1995
|12 Monkeys
|Kathryn Railly
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1998
|The Proposition
|Eleanor Barret
|
|-
|Playing by Heart
|Gracie
|
|-
|1999
|'
|Warr. Off. Sara Sunhill
|
|-
|2001
|Impostor
|Maya Olham
|
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2002
|We Were Soldiers
|Julia Moore
|
|-
|Avenging Angelo
|Jennifer Barrett Allieghieri
|
|-
|2003
|Octane
|Senga Wilson
|aka Pulse
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|rowspan="4"| 1978
|Baretta
|Anna
|Episode: "The Marker"
|-
|'
|Maria Calderon
|Episode: "Escort to Danger"
|-
|'
|Mary, mother of Jesus
|Movie
|-
|'
|Hetty Hutter
|Movie
|-
|1979
|Barnaby Jones
|Diane
|Episode: "School of Terror"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 1980
|Beulah Land
|Selma Kendrick Davis
|Miniseries
|-
|Little House on the Prairie
|Annie Crane
|Episode: "Portrait of Love"
|-
|rowspan="2"| 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
| It: Welcome to Derry
| Ingrid Kersh / Periwinkle
| 6 episodes
|-
|
| I Will Find You
| Gertrude Payne
| Mimiseries
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#b0c4de;"
! Year
! Association
! Category
! Work
! Result
|-
| 1993
| Venice Film Festival
| Special Volpi Cup for Best Ensemble Cast
| rowspan="3" |Short Cuts
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1994
| National Society of Film Critics
| Best Supporting Actress
|
|-
| Golden Globe Awards
| Special Award for Ensemble Cast
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1996
| Sci-Fi Universe Magazine, USA
| Best Actress in a Genre Motion Picture
| rowspan="2" |12 Monkeys
|
|-
| Saturn Awards
| Best Actress
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2000
| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
| Favorite Supporting Actress - Suspense
| rowspan="2" |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
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 2012
| Golden Globe Awards
| Best Actress – Television Series Drama
| rowspan="4" |Revenge
|
|-
| Dorian Awards
| Television Performance of the Year
|
|-
| ALMA Awards
| Favorite TV Actress – Drama
|
|-
|2013
|TV Guide Awards
|Favorite Villain
|
|-
| 2014
| Keck School of Medicine of USC
| colspan=2|Humanitarian Award
|
|}
References
External links
- Madeleine Stowe at People.com