Rose McGowan

Rósa Arianna McGowan (born September 5, 1973) is an American actress and activist. After her film debut in a brief role in the comedy Encino Man (1992), she achieved recognition for her performance in the dark comedy The Doom Generation (1995), receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination.

McGowan had her breakthrough in the horror film Scream (1996) and subsequently headlined the films Going All the Way (1997), Devil in the Flesh (1998), and Jawbreaker (1999). During the 2000s, she became known to television audiences for her role as Paige Matthews in The WB supernatural drama series Charmed (2001–2006). She starred in the double-feature film Grindhouse (2007), for which she was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2017, Time recognized McGowan as one of the Silence Breakers, the magazine's Person of the Year, for speaking out about sexual assault and harassment, specifically in regard to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases and the MeToo movement. In 2018, she released a memoir, Brave, and starred in the four-part documentary series Citizen Rose.

Rósa Arianna McGowan was born on September 5, 1973, in Florence, Italy, to Irish artist Daniel McGowan, and American writer, Terri. She has two younger half-siblings. Her father ran an Italian chapter of the Children of God, which he and his wife were members of until 1978. McGowan spent her early childhood at the group's communes, often traveling through Europe with her parents.

Through her father's art contacts in Italy, she became a child model and appeared in Vogue Bambini and many other Italian magazines. Her parents returned to her mother's native United States when she was 10 years old, and settled in Eugene, Oregon. McGowan had an untraditional childhood, living as a teenage runaway in Portland, Oregon and associating with a group of drag queens in the city. When her parents divorced, she lived with her father in Seattle, Washington, attended Roosevelt High School and Nova Alternative High School, and worked at McDonald's. She took ballet lessons until she was 13. At 15, she officially emancipated herself from her parents and moved to Los Angeles.

After making her Hollywood film debut with a brief role in the Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man (1992), McGowan was cast in the leading role in Gregg Araki's dark comedy The Doom Generation (1995), which revolved around a threesome of teens who embark on a sex and violence-filled journey. The film brought her a much wider recognition and the attention of film critics; she received a nomination for Best Debut Performance at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. McGowan next obtained the role of Tatum Riley in the slasher cult film Scream (1996), as the casting director believed she best embodied the "spunky", "cynical" but "innocent" nature of the ill-fated character. Upon its release, the film became a huge critical and financial success, grossing over $100 million in North America and $173 million worldwide. Amid her growing public profile, she was the cover model for the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark, which was released in 1996, and became the face of American clothing company Bebe from 1998 to 1999. 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.

McGowan spent the majority of the late 1990s headlining a variety of independent films, including roles in Nowhere (1997), where she reunited with Araki, as well as Southie (1996), Going All the Way (1997), Lewis and Clark and George (1997), and Devil in the Flesh (1998), where she usually played seductive and mysterious characters. She gained much attention for the revealing fishnet outfit she wore to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. 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 appear on the album Mechanical Animals (1998). In the dark comedy Jawbreaker (1999), she portrayed Courtney Shayne, a popular yet malevolent high school student who tries to cover up her involvement in a classmate's murder. McGowan based her performance on that of Gene Tierney's sociopathic character in Leave Her to Heaven (1945). To accompany the release of the film, Imperial Teen's music video for the song Yoo Hoo featured McGowan as her character harassing the band members with jawbreakers. Jawbreaker was a critical and commercial failure, but found success through home video release and subsequent television airings; it has developed a cult following. McGowan earned a nomination for Best Villain at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards.

In 2010, McGowan shot a cameo in the Robert Rodriguez feature Machete, a role ultimately cut, but included on the DVD release, and played a semi-homeless junkie in the fantasy drama Dead Awake. In the 2011 sword and sorcery film Conan the Barbarian, a reimagining of the 1982 film of the same name which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, McGowan starred as an evil half-human/half-witch. Roger Ebert described her role as a "piece of work", writing: "She has white pancake makeup, blood red lips, cute little facial tattoos and wickedly sharp metal talons on her fingers". Filming occurred between March and July 2010 in Bulgaria, and Conan was released on August 19, 2011. Budgeted at US$90 million, the film received negative reviews, and only grossed US$48.8 worldwide. McGowan also 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. In addition to her role in the big-budgeted Conan, McGowan starred in mainly independent productions during the early 2010s, such as the psychological thriller Rosewood Lane (2011) from director Victor Salva, the made-for-television film The Pastor's Wife (2011), alongside Michael Shanks, and a film adaptation of The Tell-Tale Heart, released in 2016.

In an August 2011 interview, McGowan talked about her experience working on the film Rosewood Lane with director Victor Salva, who is a convicted child molester and child pornographer, stating, "I still don't really understand the whole story or history there, and I'd rather not, because it's not really my business. But he's an incredibly sweet and gentle man." 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 guest-starred in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as a grifter who targets New York sex clubs, and also in two episodes of Once Upon a Time between 2012 and 2014, playing the role of the young Cora Mills. She wrote and recorded a song titled "Protection", which was featured in her film Strange Hearts (2011). McGowan 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). In the third season of Chosen (2014), a television series airing via Crackle, McGowan took on the role of an experienced hunter.

McGowan made her directorial debut with the short film Dawn, about a teen from a strict family who falls under the spell of a gas-station employee. The 17-minute film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim; Way Too Indie noted: "This was a real gem of a short film. Dawn's salient literary and cultural references, paired with the film's high production value, gorgeous shots, its slow-burner buildup and gripping conclusion, bring something to the table for everyone, and portends an excellent directorial career for Ms. McGowan". In 2015 the actress appeared in the music video for "Break the Rules" by Charli XCX. In September 2015, McGowan released her debut single, "RM486". The song has strong feminist themes, with its title playing on the name of the abortion drug RU486 and McGowan's initials.

The independent Canadian horror film The Sound, released in 2017, starred McGowan as a best-selling author and paranormal investigator alongside Christopher Lloyd and Michael Eklund. A review in The Hollywood Reporter wrote of her role: "Despite her sympathetic situation, [it] isn't a particularly interesting character. A dismissive attitude and superior self-regard don't improve her likability either. McGowan seems comfortable with the role, however [...]". On January 30, 2018, McGowan released a memoir, Brave, in which she details her childhood and her account of the assault by Harvey Weinstein and its aftermath. McGowan appeared in the art film Indecision IV, which combines dance and gender issues. "Shot in one continuous take, the film [...] was created in May 2018, during a watershed moment in McGowan's life and is a physical expression of her state of mind at that time," a press statement stated. The piece was commissioned by UK's Heist Gallery, and was shown in 2018 at special screenings at the Institute of Light in East London on December 15 and 16, with proceeds going to the charity Refuge.

McGowan 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." On April 21, 2020, she announced that her debut studio album Planet 9, originally released in 2018, would be reissued on April 24. The announcement on social media included a statement: "I'm not trying to be a pop star, but I did make music that heals in a new way."

McGowan is an activist for gay rights and campaigned against California's Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state in 2008. She is also known as an activist for Boston Terriers. She had two, named Bug and Fester, and has personally donated to various Boston Terrier 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 then owned a Boston Terrier she renamed Happy, and a mini-Pomeranian she renamed Sasquatch. In 2021, she had a total of five dogs; four rescue dogs and an emotional support animal named Pearl.

In late 2009, McGowan was among several celebrities who participated in the protest NOH8. In 2017, Time recognized McGowan as one of the Silence Breakers, the magazine's Person of the Year, for speaking out about sexual assault and harassment, specifically in regards to the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases and the MeToo movement. On January 31, 2018, Citizen Rose, a four-part documentary series produced by Bunim/Murray Productions following McGowan and her role in the MeToo movement premiered. In August 2018, McGowan was announced to receive the Inspiration Award at the GQ Men of the Year Awards.

In the early 1990s, McGowan, then relatively unknown, was involved for two years with a man she refers to as William, who, she claims, kept buying her exercise equipment and fashion magazines in an effort to persuade her to get thinner. She developed an eating disorder in her unsuccessful efforts to get her weight down to 84 pounds (38 kg) like the women in the magazines. "I never was able to get below 92 pounds (42 kg)," she wrote later. "I felt like a failure." That relationship and the eating disorder ended in early 1993 when McGowan met Brett Cantor, a part-owner of Hollywood's Dragonfly nightclub. Cantor was stabbed to death in his house that July, and McGowan stated that his murder left her "shattered". The killing remains unsolved.

McGowan had a three-and-a-half-year relationship with rock musician Marilyn Manson. After a formal engagement lasting two years, McGowan ended the relationship in 2001 over "lifestyle differences". In 2007, before the release of Grindhouse, there was speculation that McGowan was dating Robert Rodriguez, the film's director. 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 that McGowan was engaged to Rodriguez. They reportedly split in October 2009. In July 2013, after one year of dating, McGowan became engaged to Davey Detail, an artist. They married on October 12, 2013, in Los Angeles. In February 2016, she filed for divorce from Detail, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized later that year, in November.