Trivia

In her first film (Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)), her Southern accent was so heavy that her voice was entirely dubbed by Glenn Close.

She has appeared in two films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) and Groundhog Day (1993).

First actress in US cinema history to bank back-to-back number one films at the American box office during the same year. Her film, Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), went number one on the weekend of April 15-17, 1994, but the following weekend it was knocked from the top spot by Bad Girls (1994) also starring MacDowell.

Has a son, Justin, born in 1986, and two daughters, Rainey Qualley, born in 1990, and Margaret Qualley, in 1994.

In 2000, she filed suit against Walmart for displaying her picture in several stores without permission.

She was scheduled to receive a Medal of Honor in the Arts at Winthrop University on October 22, 2004. She attended the university for two semesters in the late 1970s, only to have been told that she would not go far in acting.

Turned down the Jodie Foster role in The Accused (1988) (and Foster won an Oscar for her portrayal).

International L'Oreal celebrity spokesperson for over 25 years.

MacDowell earned the title of #1 female box-office draw (worldwide) with her performances in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Bad Girls (1994).

Her mother, Paula, died in 1981 (caused by chronic alcoholism).

Worked at McDonald's and Pizza Hut as a teenager.

(October 7, 2004) She filed for divorce from childhood friend businessman Rhett Hartzog after nearly three years of marriage.

Inducted into the Hair Fan's Hall of Fame in 2011.

Former cosmetics model.

(May 8, 2001) Received an honorary doctor of letters degree from Lander University in Greenwood, South Carolina, for her dedication to the Graham Children's Health Center.

MacDowell won the LA Film Critics Award for Best Actress, the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989).

(January 19, 2006) Engaged to Atlanta jewelry businessman Kevin Geagan. [Update: Geagan and McDowell are still engaged in 2022, 16 years later.].

She has English, French, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1991 and 2000.

Parents are Marion St. Pierre MacDowell and Pauline "Paula" Johnston; has a stepbrother and a stepsister.

Prior to acting used to be a door to door saleswoman.

She received the inaugural Spirit & Pride of South Carolina Award at the 2015 Beaufort International Film Festival in Beaufort, SC. The award was presented to her by Best-Selling Author Pat Conroy.

Her mother and father divorced when she was 6.

(July 26, 2001) Announced her engagement to Atlanta jewelry businessman (and childhood friend) Rhett Hartzog; they plan to marry in November in Asheville, North Carolina. [Update: McDowell and Hartzog indeed were married November 10, but they were divorced 3 years later.].

Guest speaker at a press conference on the opening night of the inaugural, four-day Asheville Film Festival. (November 2003)

Of Clan Macdowall.

Did make up commercials.

Attended the Beverly Hills International Film Festival in Beverly Hills, California (2010).

Born at 6:00 AM (EST).

Her Aunt Margaret died in August 2012.