Birth Name :Rose Arianna McGowan
Height :5' 4" (1.63 m)
Appearing as a cross between Betty Boop's evil sister and a very curvaceous Hell's Angel, actress Rose McGowan made an undeniably distinct impression on Hollywood in the late '90s. With her sharp tongue and brash sensuality, McGowan has been a source of both titillation and discomfort to an industry that still hasn't quite figured out what to do with women who are both unapologetically smart and sexual.
The child of hippies, McGowan was born September 5, 1975, in Florence, Italy, to a French mother and Irish father. The second oldest of six children, McGowan was raised on an Italian commune run by the Children of God cult. The controversial cult was known for panhandling as well as for taking extremely liberal approaches to parenting.
Her family relocated to Oregon when McGowan was ten, and she left the commune at 15, legally emancipating herself from her parents. She supported herself with a variety of odd jobs and even lived on the streets for awhile before traveling to Los Angeles to attend an arts school.
It was there that she was discovered by director Gregg_Araki, who encountered her loitering outside a gym, refusing to go in because it was "too corny." Araki was busy casting his Sundance entry, The_Doom_Generation, and gave her the role of Amy Blue, the film's beautiful, spoiled, and morally ambiguous protagonist.
Prior to her role, McGowan had only appeared as a minor character in 1992's Encino_Man, making her casting in Araki's film all the more fortuitous. The_Doom_Generation was released in 1995, to mixed reviews and a fair amount of controversy, but helped to establish McGowan as, if not Hollywood's Next Big Thing, then Internet fodder for slavering males everywhere.
The film also gave her a greater chance at steady work and she followed The_Doom_Generation with the low-budget thriller Kiss and Tell (1996). Subsequently, she landed a role in another thriller possessing a decidedly bigger budget, Wes_Craven's Scream (1996). The film was a surprise hit and McGowan's turn as a frisky student who has an unfortunate encounter with a garage door further widened her fan base.
After starring in the 1997 TV movie Devil in the Flesh, McGowan appeared in two back-to-back movies with fellow rising star Ben_Affleck. First came her turn as the girl who tries to seduce a very excited Jeremy_Davies in 1997's Going All the Way, followed by her role in the ski slope thriller Phantoms (1998). 1999 saw her take the lead in the independent film Jawbreaker, in which she starred with Rebecca_Gayheart.
As Alpha Bitch Courtney Shane, McGowan excelled in a role that was equal parts vamp, tramp, and camp. During this same period, McGowan began a relationship with gothy shock-rocker Marilyn Manson. The counter-culture pair seemed like a match made in entertainment heaven and she caused quite a stir by accompanying her beau to the 1998 MTV Movie Awards in a dress that consisted of little more than a few strands of black beads draped over her distinctly visible nude body. The two became engaged but eventually broke up over reported lifestyle differences.
In 2001, a new period began in McGowan's career when star Shanen Doherty left the hit WB show Charmed, leaving directors looking for a witchy, raven-haired actress to replace her. McGowan joined costars Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs and found no trouble connecting with the show's fans, staying with the series for five years--two years longer than her predecessor. As the show was wrapping up in 2006.
McGowan signed up for another role that fit perfectly with her screen image. Dark, sexy, and kitschy beyond a shadow of a doubt, the over-the-top flick Grindhouse would pair the actress with directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, who would each direct a full length film for the double feature. The starlet would have a small but memorable role in Tarantino's Death Proof, but she would have the starring role in Rodriguez's feature Terror Planet as a leg amputee whose appendage is replaced by a big, shiny machine gun.
* Born:
December 13, 1974 in Italy
* Job Titles:
Actor, Worked in a beauty salon
Family
* Brother: Nathaniel McGowan. born c. 1971
* Father: Daniel McGowan. Irish; ran the Italian chapter of Children of God when McGowan was born; left McGowan s mother for the nanny when McGowan was nine years old
* Mother: Terri McGowan. French; abandoned by husband when he ran off with family nanny when Rose was nine years old
* Sister: Daisy McGowan. born c. 1975
Significant Others
* Companion: Ahmet Zappa. born on May 15, 1974; began relationship in fall 2001; no longer together
* Companion: David Zinczenko. born c. 1970; dated in 2002; no longer together
* Companion: Kip Pardue. met during the filming of Vacuum in 2001; no longer together
* Companion: Marilyn Manson.
* Companion: Robert Rodriguez. Met when she starred in his film, Grindhouse (2007); reportedly began an affair on the set, which caused the breakup of his 16 year marriage; reps for both Rodriguez and his wife say that they were separated before production began; announced their engagement in October 2007; no longer together
* Companion: Ryan Kavanaugh.
Milestones
* 1984 Moved to USA; family settled in the Pacific Northwest
* 1989 Spent time in drug rehab clinic, although claims never to have had drug problem
* 1990 Made early TV appearance in an episode of the Fox series True Colors
* 1991 Became an emancipated minor
* 1992 Made film debut in Encino Man
* 1995 Had breakthrough role as speed princess in Gregg Araki s The Doom Generation
* 1997 Appeared opposite Peter O Toole in Phantoms and opposite Jeremy Davies in Going All the Way
* 1997 Reteamed with Araki for a cameo in Nowhere
* 1999 Headlined the black comedy Jawbreaker
* 2000 Co-starred in the comedy feature Ready to Rumble
* 2001 Joined the cast of The WB series Charmed
* 2005 Portrayed Ann-Margret in the CBS miniseries Elvis
* 2007 Co-starred in both segments of the double feature, Grindhouse, a collaboration of both Robert Rodriguez s Planet Terror, and Quentin Tarantino s Death Proof
* 2008 Co-starred opposite Ben Kingsley in the drama thriller Fifty Dead Men Walking
* 2009 Appeared in a recurring role on FX s Nip/Tuck
* 2010 Cast as Cherry Darling in Rodriguez action drama Machete
* Raised in Children of God cult in Italy
* Was child model in Vogue Bambini and other Italian magazines from age three