Virginia Madsen born September 11, is an American actress. Madsen made her film debut in with a small part in Class. After a string of parts in teen films , comedies and thrillers of varying commercial success, Madsen received critical acclaim and a Saturn Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of grad student Helen Lyle in Candyman Other notable film appearances during this period included The Prophecy , Ghosts of Mississippi , and The Rainmaker She is married and has one child.
Her paternal grandparents were Danish, and her mother has Irish and Scottish along with distant Native American ancestry. Of her experience with Liss, she said: "I had wanted to join his class since I was It was well worth the wait because I don't think I could have got that sort of training anywhere else, especially in the United States I always wanted to make a real career out of acting. Madsen made her acting debut at age 22, in a bit part where she landed her role as Lisa in the romantic comedy film Class , co-starring Jacqueline Bisset and Rob Lowe.
Madsen first became known to audiences in with her portrayal of a Catholic school girl who fell in love with a boy from a prison camp in Duncan Gibbons' Fire with Fire , though the film drew scathing reviews. That same year she also appeared in the music video for " I Found Someone " by Cher. She played a secretary named Allison Rowe in the comedy film Hot to Trot She also starred as Helen Lyle , an anthropology student, in the horror film Candyman , which drew good reviews and was a box office success.
Film critic Roger Ebert said that Madsen had a "strong scene", [ 10 ] while reviewer James Berardinelli noted that "the supporting cast is solid, with turns from.
Virginia Madsen as a witness for the plaintiff". Madsen delivered a critically acclaimed performance in Sideways , directed by Alexander Payne. Her role catapulted her onto the Hollywood A-list.
