Biography
Virginia Gayle Madsen (born September 11, 1961) is an American actress and film producer. She made her film debut in Class (1983), which was filmed in her native Chicago. After she moved to Los Angeles, director David Lynch cast her as Princess Irulan in the science fiction film Dune (1984). Madsen then starred in a series of successful teen movies, including Electric Dreams (1984), Modern Girls (1986), and Fire with Fire (1986). Madsen received further recognition for her starring role as Hele...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Sheepdog
2024
as Dr. Elecia Knox
A decorated combat Veteran is court ordered into treatment when an ex-convict shows up on his doorstep and reveals that he must put himself back toget...

Lola
2024
as Mona
19-year-old Lola James is trying to work to save enough money to get her beloved little brother, Arlo, out of their toxic home. Until one tragic night...

The Portrait
2023
as Mags
After her husband is devastated by a tragic accident, a devoted wife obsesses over a mysterious portrait that resembles him as he was; but when it sta...

Give Me An A
2023
as Coach Judy
Created by an all female filmmaking team, this 17-segment series focuses on the visceral gut reactions of each filmmaker to expand conversations about...

One Day as a Lion
2023
as Valerie Brisky
Jackie Powers will stop at nothing to prevent his son from following him into a life of crime. With his mob employer in pursuit, a chance encounter at...

Prey for the Devil
2022
as Dr. Peters
In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, the Catholic Church reopens exorcism schools to train priests in the Rite of Exorcism. On this sp...

American Badass: A Michael Madsen Retrospective
2022
as Self
An intimate, soul-baring new documentary covering the life and 40+ year career of actor and poet Michael Madsen, from troubled youth to film star, tol...

Candyman
2021
as Helen Lyle (voice)
A Chicago artist's sanity starts to unravel, unleashing a terrifying wave of violence when he begins to explore the macabre history of the Candyman.

Operation Christmas Drop
2020
as Congresswoman Angie Bradford
While gathering evidence to support closing a tropical U.S. Air Force base, a congressional aide warms to its generous captain.

That Click
2019
as Self
A man at the cutting edge of fashion, photojournalism and portraiture, photographer to the stars Douglas Kirkland has portrayed over sixty years of po...

Her Smell
2019
as Ania Adamcyzk
A self-destructive punk rocker struggles with sobriety while trying to recapture the creative inspiration that led her band to success.

Spare Room
2018
as Nat
A broken, guilt-ridden young vet attempts to make amends while renting a room from his fallen brother's widow.

It Was Always You, Helen
2018
as Herself
An interview with actor Virginia Madsen about her work in Candyman (1992).

1985
2018
as Eileen
Having been gone for three years, closeted advertising executive Adrian returns to his Texas hometown and struggles to reveal his dire circumstances t...
Red Christmas: Making 'Better Watch Out'
2017
as Self
Documentary about the film "Better Watch Out"

Better Watch Out
2017
as Deandra Lerner
On a quiet suburban street tucked within a 'safe neighborhood', a babysitter must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house,...

A Change of Heart
2017
as Deena
Discouraged with cards that life has felt him, Hank is a man whose circumstances have steered him to fear change, but his town is adhering less to tra...

Burn Your Maps
2016
as Victoria
A family in emotional turmoil is taken by surprise in this quirky adventure where an eccentric 8-year-old American boy, Wes, has an existential epipha...

Burning Bodhi
2016
as Naomi
Lifelong friends stumble back home after high school when word goes out on Facebook that the most popular among them has died. Old girlfriends, boyfri...

Joy
2015
as Terry
A story based on the life of a struggling Long Island single mom who became one of the country's most successful entrepreneurs.

Lost Boy
2015
as Laura Harris
When Laura Harris's kidnapped son returns after eleven devastating years, what she thinks will be a dream come true turns out to be a family nightmare...

An American Girl: Grace Stirs Up Success
2015
as Mrs. Thomas
Grace is excited for the summer so she can start a business with her friends, but things take an unexpected turn when her mom announces a trip to Pari...

Dead Rising: Watchtower
2015
as Maggie
A group of people fight to survive in a zombie infested town.

Walter
2015
as Karen
A ticket-taker at the local cinema believes he is the son of God. He has agreed to decide the eternal fate of everyone he comes in to contact with.

Road to Capri
2015
as Katherine
One dead father. Two mothers. Two brothers who didn't know they were brothers. One inheritance.

Jake Squared
2014
as Beth
A filmmaker sets out to make a new project in order to figure out how he's screwed up every relationship he's ever had.

All the Wilderness
2014
as Abigail Charm
Keeping to himself in the wake his father's death, James Charm finds refuge in solitary walks and creating morbid sketches — until a charismatic new f...

The Hot Flashes
2013
as Clementine Winks
An unlikely basketball team of unappreciated middle-aged Texas women, all former high school champs, challenge the current high school girls’ state ch...

Anna Nicole
2013
as Virgie Arthur
Voluptuous beauty Anna Nicole Smith marries an elderly millionaire and poses for Playboy, but after her husband's death, her excessive drinking, pill-...

Crazy Kind of Love
2013
as Augusta
While re-evaluating her life, a mother relies on her stoner son and his awkward brother to keep life interesting. When an unlikely romance blossoms be...

The Last Keepers
2013
as Abigail Carver
This romantic fantasy movie is about two people who are the last survivors of an ancient line of goddess worshipers, who sell art at a shop. When thei...

The Magic of Belle Isle
2012
as Mrs. O'Neil
In an effort to tap into his original talent, a wheelchair-bound author moves to a rural town, where he befriends a single mother and her three kids, ...

Hornet's Nest
2012
as Judy Hammer
Set in Charlotte, N.C., the story opens with everyone desperate to solve the latest crisis: a serial killer is specializing in out-of-town businessmen...

Red Riding Hood
2011
as Suzette
Valerie is in love with a brooding outsider, Peter, but her parents have arranged for her to marry another man. Unwilling to lose each other, Valerie ...

Father of Invention
2010
as Lorraine
Nearly a decade after a faulty product landed him in prison, an arrogant inventor is determined to restore his reputation and rebuild his fortune. But...

Amelia
2009
as Dorothy Binney (uncredited)
A look at the life of legendary American pilot Amelia Earhart, who disappeared while flying over the Pacific Ocean in 1937 in an attempt to make a fli...

I Know a Woman Like That
2009
as Self
Actress Virginia Madsen collaborates with her mother Elaine Madsen to produce this documentary, which profiles a collection of fascinating woman betw...

I Know a Woman Like That
2009
Producer
Actress Virginia Madsen collaborates with her mother Elaine Madsen to produce this documentary, which profiles a collection of fascinating woman betw...

The Haunting in Connecticut
2009
as Sara Campbell
When the Campbell family moves to upstate Connecticut, they soon learn that their charming Victorian home has a disturbing history: not only was the h...

Wonder Woman
2009
as Hippolyta (voice)
On the mystical island of Themyscira, a proud and fierce warrior race of Amazons have raised a daughter of untold beauty, grace and strength: Princess...

Diminished Capacity
2008
as Charlotte
A Chicago journalist suffering from memory loss takes leaves from his job and returns to his rural hometown, where he bonds with his Alzheimer's impai...

Cutlass
2007
as Robin
When Robin's daughter Lacy wants to buy an expensive guitar, Robin reminisces about the days when she was a teenager, asking her dad for her first car...

Being Michael Madsen
2007
as Self
Actor Michael Madsen turns the tables on notorious paparazzo, Billy Dant, by hiring a trio of documentary filmmakers to chronicle Dant's life, loves, ...

Ripple Effect
2007
as Sherry
Believing that bad karma is keeping him from realizing his dream, hip clothing designer Amer Atrash (Philippe Caland) attempts to orchestrate salvatio...

Ripple Effect
2007
Executive Producer
Believing that bad karma is keeping him from realizing his dream, hip clothing designer Amer Atrash (Philippe Caland) attempts to orchestrate salvatio...

The Number 23
2007
as Agatha Sparrow / Fabrizia
Animal control officer Walter Sparrow becomes obsessed with a novel that he believes was written about him, as more and more similarities between hims...

The Astronaut Farmer
2007
as Mrs. Farmer
Texan Charles Farmer left the Air Force as a young man to save the family ranch when his dad died. Like most American ranchers, he owes his bank. Unli...

A Prairie Home Companion
2006
as Dangerous Woman
A look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country m...

Firewall
2006
as Beth Stanfield
State-of-the-art security system creator Jack Stanfield has cemented his reputation as a man who's thought of everything. But when a criminal finds a ...

Stuart Little 3: Call of the Wild
2005
as The Beast (voice)
With school out for the summer, The Littles are vacationing in a cabin by the lake, and Stuart is so excited he could burst! But when Snowbell the ca...

Scooby-Doo! in Where's My Mummy?
2005
as Cleopatra (voice)
Scooby-Doo and the Mystery Inc. gang become involved in a supernatural mystery in Egypt.

Sideways
2004
as Maya
Two middle-aged men embark on a spiritual journey through Californian wine country. One is an unpublished novelist suffering from depression, and the ...

Nobody Knows Anything!
2004
as Prison Lawyer
Sarah thinks making a movie is easy. With the guidance of her screenwriter uncle, she goes on a wild journey into the world of Hollywood where she mee...

Sweets to the Sweet: The 'Candyman' Mythos
2004
as Self
Retrospective documentary featuring director Bernard Rose, writer Clive Barker, producer Alan Poul and stars Tony Todd, Virginia Madsen and Kasi Lemmo...

Brave New Girl
2004
as Wanda Lovell
Holly has everything it takes to be a star; the voice, the dream and the dedication, but she lacks the means to break away from her humble Texas upbri...

Artworks
2003
as Emma Becker
A police chief's daughter, a sales agent for a home-security firm, meets an art gallery owner. Love and envy lead them to hatch a plot to steal overlo...

Tempted
2003
as Emma Burke
The strain of juggling her responsibilities as wife, mother, and successful paralegal have worn Emma Burke out. Thus it is that Emma welcomes the oppo...

American Gun
2002
as Penny Tillman
A father uses the serial number on a hand gun in an attempt to track down his daughter's killer. The truth he uncovers is an unsettling reminder of th...

Just Ask My Children
2001
as Brenda Kniffen
Based on the true story of a modern-day witch hunt, in which a couple is falsely accused and imprisoned for molesting their own children.

Full Disclosure
2001
as Brenda Hopkins
A reporter discovers a woman who is a suspected terrorist.

Almost Salinas
2001
as Clare
Life takes a strange turn when a group of outsiders come to the small town of Cholame, the famed site of James Dean's fatal car crash. Cholame's only ...

Lying in Wait
2001
as Vera Miller
Young bachelor Babee is looking after his dead mother's estate when married couple Keith and Vera move in. Babee becomes attracted to them by the beau...

Captured on Film: The True Story of Marion Davies
2001
as Self
Blonde, beautiful and talented, Marion Davies was the first and funniest screwball comedienne. As star of two of the best comedies ever made, Show Peo...

Crossfire Trail
2001
as Anne Rodney
Rafe Covington is as good as his word, and he's determined to keep his promise to a dying man that he'll look after the man's widow and Wyoming ranch....

Children of Fortune
2000
as Ingrid Bast
Navy detective Dave Passenger is assigned to investigate the murder of a sailor's girlfriend. Dave follows the trail of evidence to a small Arizona co...

After Sex
2000
as Traci
A group of attractive women get together for a weekend of bonding, hoping to relax and getaway from the anxiety of their boyfriends. The women travel ...

The Haunting
1999
as Jane
Dr. David Marrow invites three distinct individuals to the eerie and isolated Hill House to be subjects for a sleep disorder study. The unfortunate gu...

Ballad of the Nightingale
1999
as Mo Lewis
A down-on-her luck prostitute embarks on a wild adventure that puts her in contact with the Mafia.

The Florentine
1999
as Molly
A slice-of-life story unfolds inside The Florentine, a bar in a Pennsylvania steel town whose brightest days are behind it, leaving behind many of lif...

Ambushed
1998
as Lucy Monroe
Jim Natter, the leader of a violent Kuk Klux Klan lodge, is shot dead. His teenage son Eric Natter is found nearby, and taken into police custody for ...

The Rainmaker
1997
as Jackie Lemancyzk
When Rudy Baylor, a young attorney with no clients, goes to work for a seedy ambulance chaser, he wants to help the parents of a terminally ill boy in...

The Apocalypse Watch
1997
as Karin De Vries
A CIA analyst takes over a case from his brother, a field agent who was killed in the line of duty, in this thriller based on a Robert Ludlum novel.

Ghosts of Mississippi
1996
as Dixie DeLaughter
A Mississippi district attorney and the widow of Medgar Evers struggle to bring a white supremacist to justice for the 1963 murder of the civil rights...

Just Your Luck
1996
as Kim
Six million dollars suddenly goes up for grabs when an aged diner's heart fails after he discovers that he has won the lottery. Which of the remaining...

The Prophecy
1995
as Katherine Henley
The angel Gabriel comes to Earth to collect a soul which will end the stalemated war in Heaven, and only a former priest and a little girl can stop hi...

Bitter Vengeance
1994
as Annie Westford
Annie marries Jack Westford, a cop when they met. Six years later, Jack is now working as a security guard in a bank and feels that he was unfairly fi...

Blue Tiger
1994
as Gina Hayes
Gena is a sweet and dedicated mother to her little son. One day, whilst shopping with him for a halloween mask, her son is accidently shot through the...

Caroline at Midnight
1994
as Susan Prince
A policeman's wife falls for a reporter who suspects her husband of corruption and murder.

Linda
1993
as Linda Cowley
Two couples, friends for a long time, decide to go away together. Things soon take a turn for the worse when Linda and Jeff spend far too much time to...

Candyman
1992
as Helen Lyle
The Candyman, a murderous soul with a hook for a hand, is accidentally summoned to reality by a skeptic grad student researching the monster's myth.

A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story
1992
as Carolyn Warmus
A married man meets a beautiful woman and they begin an affair.

Love Kills
1991
as Rebecca Bishop
Glamorous fashion photographer Rebecca is getting even. Angered by her husband's infidelity, she takes a lover - a mysterious hunk she fist met during...

Becoming Colette
1991
as Polaire
French writer recalls her start as the country wife of a Paris publisher who called her erotic work his own.

Victim of Love
1991
as Carla Simmons
Therapist Tess falls for widowed professor Paul, who's having an affair with Carla, one of her patients. Tess turns a dangerous page when she uncovers...

Ironclads
1991
as Betty Stuart
Ironclads is a 1991 made-for-television movie produced by Ted Turner's TNT company about the events behind the creation of the CSS Virginia from the r...

Highlander II: The Quickening
1991
as Louise Marcus
In the year 2024, the ozone layer is believed to have been destroyed, and it's up to MacLeod and Ramirez to set things right. Opposition comes from bo...

The Hot Spot
1990
as Dolly Harshaw
Upon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities — and the local women — after he robs a bank.

Heart of Dixie
1989
as Delia June Curry
In the 1950s, three young sorority women re-assess their values in light of the burgeoning civil rights movement.

Third Degree Burn
1989
as Anne Scholes
A down-and-out private eye (Treat Williams) gets too close to the wife (Virginia Madsen) of a rich man (Richard Masur) soon found dead.

Hot to Trot
1988
as Allison Rowe
Fred P. Chaney receives as inheritance after the death of his mother a speaking horse that also has good knowledge about the stock-market. With the he...

Gotham
1988
as Rachel Carlyle
A New York private eye searches for a socialite who supposedly drowned 10 years before.

Mr. North
1988
as Sally Boffin
Mr. North, a stranger to a small, but wealthy, Rhode Island town, quickly has rumors started about him that he has the power to heal people's ailments...

Zombie High
1987
as Andrea
A freshman begins to notice that students at her new school are losing their individuality. She discovers that the faculty are operating on the studen...

Slam Dance
1987
as Yolanda Caldwell
When framed for the murder of a sultry blonde, an underground cartoonist is drawn into a web of corruption, blackmail and deceit.

Long Gone
1987
as Dixie Lee Boxx
Story of the Tampico Stogies, a low minor-league baseball team, and its star player and manager, Stud' Cantrell, as they battle for the league champio...

Modern Girls
1986
as Kelly
Margo, Kelly, and CeCe have three things in common: they're roommates, they're gorgeous, and they're hooked on the glamour and excitement of L.A.'s ro...

Fire with Fire
1986
as Lisa Taylor
A young woman from a Catholic school and a young man from a nearby prison camp fall in love and run away together to escape the law, the church and th...

Creator
1985
as Barbara Spencer
With the help of student assistant Boris and stolen university equipment, Dr. Harry Wolper plans to clone his dead wife. But then he meets Meli, an eg...

The Hearst and Davies Affair
1985
as Marion Davies
Dramatization of the scandalous, long-time love affair between the powerful but married publisher and the chorus girl he helped turn into a Ziegfeld s...

Dune
1984
as Princess Irulan
In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spi...

A Matter of Principle
1984
as Lou Ellen Purdy
A miserable man who doesn't believe in the holidays must contend with his 11 children and wife celebrating the most wonderful time of the year.

Electric Dreams
1984
as Madeline Robistat
Miles buys himself a state-of-the-art computer that starts expressing thoughts and emotions after having champagne spilled on it. Things start getting...

Class
1983
as Lisa
Naive Midwestern prep student Jonathan bonds with his more worldly roommate, Skip, who takes the small-town boy under his wing. At Skip's urging, the ...
Street Smart
N/A
as Beth
A look into the lives of a lively group of unhoused young adults in the iconic beach town, who come together with humor and a bit of Robin Hood-style ...