September 5th, 2007 - Happy Birthday Rose McGowan!

McGowan is the second-eldest of six children (plus two half-siblings), born in Florence, Italy to Terri, an American writer of French descent, and Daniel McGowan, an Irish-born artist. 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 Europe with her parents. 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 10, when they divorced. She subsequently relocated to Oregon and then Gig Harbor, Washington where she also met childhood friend actor Rey-Phillip Santos. McGowan did not speak English until she moved to the U.S.

McGowan’s formative years were spent with her father in Seattle, Washington attending Roosevelt High School and Nova Alternative High School. At the age of 16, McGowan officially emancipated herself from her parents. She pursued a possible career in the film industry during her late teens, and also enrolled in a beauty school as a back-up.

McGowan made her first appearance in a Hollywood film with a bit role in the 1992 Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man. Her role in the 1995 black 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 was subsequently cast as Tatum Riley, the best friend of Neve Campbell’s character Sidney, in the 1996 hit horror film Scream.

McGowan used to live in Seattle, Washington, but currently resides in Los Angeles, California. She was in a very public five-year relationship with shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, and often appeared with him at celebrity events in extremely provocative clothing, such as the chain-mail transparent dress and thong she wore to the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. McGowan later ended their two-year engagement over “lifestyle differences.”

McGowan has admitted to sleepwalking 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 known as an activist for Boston Terriers. She herself has two, 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 and her friend Natasha Andres have recently started selling their own line of Pinken Mint purse caddies, which are hooks used to hang handbags from tables and chairs in restaurants as an alternative to resting them on possibly unclean floors. Celebrities such as Keira Knightley, Carmen Electra, and Virginia Madsen have been known to use the caddies.

According to an article in the New York Post, McGowan experienced 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.

Her straight-forward, take-it-as-it-comes persona is reflected in her acting method. “I’m not really one of those people who goes and writes some big back story 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.”

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