Rose McGowan

Early life

McGowan, the second-eldest of six children (plus two half-siblings), was born in Certaldo, Italy, the daughter of Terri, a former writer and Microsoft employee, and Daniel McGowan, who worked as a commercial artist. Her parents were American, and she has Irish and French ancestry. Daniel McGowan ran an Italian chapter of the Children of God, to which both he and his wife held membership until 1978. McGowan spent her early childhood amid the group's communes, often traveling through Europe with her parents. When interviewed by Howard Stern in 2001, she stated she had avoided the group's calls for members to become sexually active as children, and stated that she never personally experienced abuse as a child. Through her father's art contacts in Italy, McGowan became a child model and appeared in Vogue Bambini and various other Italian magazines.

Her parents returned to the United States when she was ten years old, settling in Eugene, Oregon.

McGowan had a wayward childhood, living as a teenage runaway in Portland, Oregon and associating with a group of drag queens in the city. After her parents divorced, McGowan lived with her father in Seattle, Washington, attending Roosevelt High School and Nova Alternative High School, and worked at McDonald's. At the age of 15, she officially emancipated herself from her parents and relocated to Los Angeles.

Early work: 1992–2007

McGowan made her first appearance in a Hollywood film with a role in the 1992 Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man. Her role as Amy Blue in the 1995 dark comedy The Doom Generation brought her to the attention of film critics, and she received a nomination for "Best Debut Performance" at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. McGowan achieved widespread recognition when she was cast as Tatum Riley in the 1996 hit horror film Scream. The film became a huge critical and financial hit, grossing over $100 million in its initial run. She was the cover model for the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark, which was released in 1996. She became the face of American clothing company Bebe from 1998–99.

McGowan spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in a variety of independent films, including roles in Southie, Going All the Way, and Lewis & Clark & George. In 1997, she appeared in the short film Seed, directed by San Francisco-born filmmaker Karin Thayer, and played opposite Peter O'Toole in the 1998 film adaptation of the Dean Koontz novel Phantoms. That year, McGowan gained much attention for the revealing fishnet outfit she wore to the 1998 Video Music Awards.

The following year she starred in the 1998 dark comedy Jawbreaker, where she played a popular yet malevolent high school student who tries to cover up her involvement in a classmate's murder. That role earned McGowan a nomination for Best Villain at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.

In 2001, McGowan was cast as Paige Matthews in the popular WB television series Charmed, as a replacement lead actress after Shannen Doherty departed the show. She was offered to be a producer after the seventh season alongside co-stars Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano, but turned it down. The series ended its run on May 21, 2006.

During and after Charmed, McGowan tackled a variety of different roles. She portrayed actress/singer Ann-Margret in Elvis, a Golden Globe-winning CBS mini-series about the life of Elvis Presley, and also appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia.

Later work: 2007–present

In 2007, McGowan headlined the Quentin Tarantino/Robert Rodriguez double-feature Grindhouse, released on April 6, 2007. McGowan appears in both portions of the film, as go-go dancing Cherry Darling in Planet Terror, and as Pam in Death Proof. She followed up the project with a role in the IRA thriller Fifty Dead Men Walking and a recurring role as a con artist on the acclaimed drama series Nip/Tuck. After Fifty Dead Men Walking concluded filming, McGowan sparked controversy in the UK in September 2008 when she stated that she would have joined the IRA had she lived in Belfast during the Troubles and that her "heart just broke for the cause".

After a brief hiatus from film, McGowan shot a cameo in the Robert Rodriguez thriller Machete, a role ultimately cut but included on the DVD release, and played a semi-homeless junkie in the fantasy drama Dead Awake. Her name was attached to several recent films which ended up being unmade. Following the release of Grindhouse, she signed to play B-movie staple Susan Cabot in Black Oasis, to be directed by Stephan Elliott. However, the film was affected by the writers' strike and ultimately put on indefinite hold. Another project, a proposed film adaptation of the Sylvia Plath novel The Bell Jar alongside Julia Stiles, also never came to fruition. She was attached to three projects to be produced by her partner Robert Rodriguez, a remake of the science fiction cult classic Barbarella, a proposed television series titled Women in Chains!, and a big-screen update of the Red Sonja comic books. After several years of development, Rodriguez announced in 2009 that Barbarella had been canceled due to location difficulties.

In addition to film and television, McGowan lent her voice to the video games Darkwatch, playing a femme fatale named Tala, and Terminator Salvation, as a troubled soldier named Angie Salter. She also co-hosted the TCM's film-series program The Essentials alongside Robert Osbourne in 2008, discussing classic Hollywood film.

In 2010, McGowan confirmed that Red Sonja had been postponed to fit Conan continuity, and that the project may resurface depending on the success of Conan the Barbarian. In 2011, she appears as an evil half-human/half-witch in the comic book adaptation Conan the Barbarian and guest starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a grifter who targets New York sex clubs. McGowan headlined the psychological thriller Rosewood Lane from director Victor Salva, while she appeared in the lead role in the TV movie The Pastor's Wife alongside Michael Shanks. McGowan stars in the feature film The Tell-Tale Heart (2014 film), an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's short story, which was released in 2014.

In 2013, she played young Cora in a flashback in the show Once Upon A Time. In January 2014, she was cast as Josie Acosta for Chosen, a TV series airing via Crackle. Her role became a main one in season 3 of the series, which premiered later in 2014. Her movie, Rise of the Lonestar Ranger was released on March 6, 2014. Also in 2014, her directorial debut Dawn — a short — premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In January 2015, Tangerine Entertainment acquired McGowan as director for The Pines. The thriller will be her feature-film directorial debut.

In June 2015, McGowan sparked controversy with a Twitter post saying "casting note that came w/script I got today. For real. name of male star rhymes with Madam Panhandler hahahaha I die" attached to a casting note for an Adam Sandler film script. The note read "Please make sure to read the attached script before coming in so you understand the context of the scenes, Wardrobe note: Black (or dark) form-fitting tank that shows off cleavage (push-up bras encouraged). And formfitting leggings or jeans. Nothing white." McGowan later said, "It was just so dumb. I was offended by the stupidity more than anything. I was offended by the fact that went through so many people's hands and nobody red flagged it. This is normal to so many people. It was probably even a girl that had to type it up. It's institutionally OK." This reportedly led to McGowan being fired by her agent. She later clarified that talent agent Sheila Wenzel was not responsible for “firing” her after she took a stand against sexism in Hollywood. "I'm interested in making the industry better so that women following in my footsteps know that they don't have to take abuse just because she wants be creative", the actress told People magazine regarding alleged misogyny in the film industry.

Music

While dating Marilyn Manson, McGowan appeared in a music video for the song "Coma White"; she performed backing vocals on the song "Posthuman". Both of these songs are available on the album Mechanical Animals (1998).

McGowan appeared on a Brian Transeau track called "Superfabulous", from his album Emotional Technology, which was also featured on the final Charmed soundtrack, The Final Chapter. The song has been featured in several films, including Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! and Raising Helen. She wrote and recorded a song titled "Protection", which was featured in her film Strange Hearts (2011). McGowan has also appeared in the Imperial Teen music video for "Yoo Hoo", which was featured on the Jawbreaker soundtrack, and she recorded the theme song from the film, Dead/Awake (2010).

McGowan has expressed interest in recording an album of her own. During an interview with Living TV, she said, "I was actually thinking of going back and doing more soulful tunes and older tunes ... and I would love to, when I have a little bit more time." In the Charmed episode "Sense and Sense Ability", McGowan performed, in character, a cover of the Peggy Lee classic "Fever". She performed three songs from the Planet Terror portion of Grindhouse, released on the film's soundtrack by the Varèse Sarabande label. The songs are entitled "You Belong to Me" (a Dean Martin/Jo Stafford cover), "Useless Talent #32", and "Two Against the World".

She also appeared briefly in Charli XCX's video for "Break the Rules".

In 2015, McGowan released her debut single, simply titled "RM486".

General

McGowan lived in Seattle, Washington but currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She admitted she had been a sleepwalker as a child: "The weirdest spot I ever woke up was a snow bank in Montreal. Now I just speak Italian in my sleep."

McGowan is an activist for LGBT rights and campaigned against Proposition 8, which sought to ban same sex marriage in the state of California. She is also known as an activist for Boston Terriers. She has two, named Bug and Fester, and has personally donated to various Boston rescues. McGowan reportedly encouraged friends to donate to Boston Terrier Rescue Net, and according to BTRN: "Having fallen in love with Bug and Fester, her friends donated generously. It amounted to a considerable contribution, which will go a long way in helping BTRN and the needy volunteers who selflessly give to deserving Bostons."

McGowan caused controversy during the making of Fifty Dead Men Walking when she stated: "I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100% have been in the IRA. My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it."

According to an article in the New York Post, McGowan suffered serious injuries in a car accident early in 2007. Riding as a passenger, her car was struck by another vehicle and the force of the impact drove her eyeglasses into her face. McGowan is quoted as saying, "I didn't realize I was hurt until I put my hand to my face and felt the flap of skin. My glasses had sliced me under my eye." After obtaining the services of a plastic surgeon, McGowan is reported to be suffering no long-lasting consequences from the incident. In a 2011 interview, McGowan stated that even after three surgical procedures, her right arm remained considerably impaired as a result of the accident.

Of her acting method, McGowan said: "I'm not really one of those people who goes and writes some big backstory and agonizes over characters ... For me personally, it's just kind of more instinctive. But I don't have kind of an acting background. I fell into it accidentally."

In late 2009, McGowan was among several celebrities who participated in the protest NOH8.

Controversy

McGowan caused controversy for some of her remarks, which have been characterized as homophobic or transphobic. Her controversial statements include branding gay men as more misogynistic than straight men, claiming gay people "fought for right to wear speedos" and take MDMA, and her criticism of Caitlyn Jenner for stating that "the hardest part about being a woman is figuring out what to wear," after Jenner was named "Woman of the year" by Glamour. McGowan also held a defiant party in support of the Brunei-owned Beverly Hills Hotel, despite a boycott over Brunei's anti-gay laws, which prescribes death by stoning for same-sex activities. She later apologized for generalizing gay men as misogynistic, but defended the rest of her comments. With regard to Jenner, she stated, "Let me take this moment to point out that I am not, nor will I ever be, transphobic. The idea is laughable. Disliking something a trans person has said is no different than disliking something a man has said or that a woman has said. Being trans doesn't make one immune from criticism."

Relationships

McGowan had a very public three and a half year relationship with rock musician Marilyn Manson. After a formal engagement lasting two years, McGowan ended the relationship over "lifestyle differences." Prior to the release of Grindhouse, there was speculation that McGowan was dating director Robert Rodriguez. In May 2007, it was reported that they confirmed their relationship while appearing hand-in-hand at the Cannes Film Festival. On October 12, 2007, it was announced by Zap2it.com that McGowan was engaged to Rodriguez. They planned to wed in 2009, but reportedly split in October 2009.

In July 2013, after one year of dating, McGowan became engaged to artist Davey Detail. They married on October 12, 2013 in Los Angeles. In February 2016, Rose McGowan filed for divorce from Detail, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized in November 2016.