Virginia Madsen was born on September 11, 1961 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is an American actress.

Madsen had seemed to be on the cusp of stardom twenty years earlier, in 1984, when she appeared as the cello-player-next-door in the romantic comedy Electric Dreams and as Princess Irulan in the sci-fi epic Dune. But her big breakthrough role never quite came. Instead, for the next two decades she took parts in a scattershot mix of TV movies like Long Gone (1987) and studio 'B' movies like the sequel Highlander II (1991) and the horror flick Candyman (1992).

The quirky independent film Sideways cast her as a wine enthusiast on the cusp of middle age who begins an awkward romance with a nebbish played by Paul Giamatti. The film was a surprise hit, winning five Academy Award nominations.

She also starred in Firewall (2006), Companion (2006) and a TV series, Smith (2006).

She was engaged to actor Billy Campbell. She married actor Danny Huston in 1989 and they divorced in 1992. Madsen also had a relationship with actor Antonio Sabato Jr.

Filmography

• In the Shadow of Wings (2008)
• A Haunting in Connecticut (2007)
• Diminished Capacity (2008)
• "Smith" (7 episodes, 2006-2007)
• Ripple Effect (2007)
• The Number 23 (2007)
• The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
• "Justice League" (4 episodes, 2002-2006)
• A Prairie Home Companion (2006)
• Firewall (2006)
• Scooby Doo in Where's My Mummy? (2005)
• Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild (2005)
• "Teen Titans" (1 episode, 2005)
• Sideways (2004)
• Brave New Girl (2004)
• "Boomtown" (1 episode, 2003)
• Nobody Knows Anything! (2003)
• "CSI: Miami" (1 episode, 2003)
• "Spider-Man" (1 episode, 2003)
• "Dawson's Creek" (1 episode, 2003)
• Artworks (2003)
• Tempted (2003)
• "American Dreams" (1 episode, 2002-2003)
• American Gun (2002)
• "The Practice" (2 episodes, 2001)
• Just Ask My Children (2001)
• Almost Salinas (2001)
• Crossfire Trail (2001)
• Full Disclosure (2001)
• Children of Fortune (2000)
• After Sex (2000)
• Lying in Wait (2000)
• The Inspector General (2000)
• The Haunting (1999)
• "Frasier" (4 episodes, 1999)
• The Florentine (1999)
• Ambushed (1998)
• "Star Trek: Voyager" (1 episode, 1998)
• Ballad of the Nightingale (1998)
• The Rainmaker (1997)
• The Apocalypse Watch (1997)
• Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
• Just Your Luck (1996)
• The Prophecy (1995)
• "Earth 2" (1 episode, 1994)
• Bitter Vengeance (1994)
• Blue Tiger (1994)
• Caroline at Midnight (1994)
• Linda (1993)
• Dune 2: Battle for Arrakis (1993)
• A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story (1992)
• Candyman (1992)
• Love Kills (1991)
• Becoming Colette (1991)
• Victim of Love (1991)
• Ironclads (1991)
• Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
• The Hot Spot (1990)
• Heart of Dixie (1989)
• Third Degree Burn (1989)
• "Moonlighting" (3 episodes, 1989)
• Hot to Trot (1988)
• Gotham (1988)
• Mr. North (1988)
• Zombie High (1987)
• Slam Dance (1987)
• Long Gone (1987)
• "The Hitchhiker" (1 episode, 1987)
• Modern Girls (1986)
• Fire with Fire (1986)
• "Mussolini: The Untold Story" (1985)
• Creator (1985)
• The Hearst and Davies Affair (1985)
• A Matter of Principle (1984)
• Dune (1984)
• Electric Dreams (1984)
• Class (1983)

Awards

• Independent Spirit Award Best Supporting Female "Sideways" 2005
• Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture "Sideways" 2005
• Boston Society of Film Critics Award Best Ensemble Cast "Sideways" 2004
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004
• Broadcast Film Critics Association Award Best Acting Ensemble "Sideways" 2004
• Los Angeles Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004
• National Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004
• New York Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004
• San Francisco Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004
• Toronto Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress "Sideways" 2004