Amy Madigan is an American award-winning actress, producer, and former singer, who is married to the famous award-winning actor, Ed Harris.
Early life and family
Amy Marie Madigan was born on 11 September 1950, in Chicago, Illinois USA, to John Joseph Madigan Jr. and Dolores Hanlon Madigan. Her father, born on 11 January 1918, was a prominent journalist who worked for the American weekly news magazine, Newsweek, as well as gave political commentaries on news and public affairs programs such as NBC’s “Meet the Press” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He also had his own news radio program, “WBBM (AM),” that he hosted. Her mother was an amateur actress and administrative assistant. She has two brothers, namely Jack and Jim Madigan.
Dolores died at age 70 on 13 September 1992. John married Elisabeth Kearns in 1993, who was with him until he died from a stroke at age 94 on 5 March 2012 in Lauderhill, Florida.
Amy Madigan
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Education background
She obtained her primary education from St. Philip Neri School in Chicago, and then matriculated from the Aquinas Dominican High School, participating in several plays throughout her school years. She enrolled in the late 1960’s at the then-Chicago Musical College – now known as The Music Conservatory of Chicago College of Music – to major in piano. It hasn’t been disclosed if she was able to get her Bachelor’s Degree in Music She graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Career
First steps
Amy started her career as a musician in the late 1960’s and then she moved to Los Angeles for better opportunities in 1974. She was in the rock band, Jelly, as the lead vocalist, and in 1977, they released their only album, “A True Story,” under Asylum Records.
She posed nude covered in jelly for the June 1978 issue of Hugh Hefner’s men’s magazine, “Playboy,” as part of their music band promotion. It was said that in the late 1970’s, she toured across the US with various bands as a rock singer.
At age 29 she decided to pursue acting, and enrolled at Lee Strasberg’s Theatre and Film Institute in L.A. It is the method acting drama school of the legendary acting coach and actor-director that boasts of having Angelina Jolie, Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johannsen in its alumni. She took up a waitressing job to support herself during that time, but eventually made her television debut in 1981 in an episode of the mystery television series, “Hart to Hart,” while her film debut was in 1982 in “Love Child.” Her portrayal of the main character, Terry Jean Moore, whose life this biopic was based on, earned her a nomination for New Star of the Year – Actress at the 40th Golden Globe Awards.
Further success
Television
Amy has subsequently appeared in over 50 TV films and more than TV series, plus several stage roles. In 1983, she played the role of Alison Ransom in ABC’s drama, “The Day After,” which was about a fictional nuclear war between the US and Soviet Union; more than 100 million people watched its initial broadcast. In 1985, she played the role of Deedee Johnson opposite Carol Burnett as Alberta Johnson in “The Laundromat”, written by the Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman, for which performance she won the CableACE Award for Best Actress in a Theatrical or Dramatic Special.
The controversial 1989 TV movie, “Roe vs Wade,” which was about the 1973 landmark US Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade of protecting a pregnant woman’s freedom to choose to have an abortion without government restriction, earned her the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role – Miniseries or Television Movie from the 47th Golden Globe Awards, and a nomination from the 41st Primetime Emmy Awards, for her role as Sarah Weddington, who was the lawyer of Jane Roe.
Other most notable projects she was part of include the war drama film, “A Bright Shining Lie” (1988); the Peabody Award-winner for Excellence in Television, “Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years” (1999); and the drama, “The Laramie Project” (2002), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and broadcast on HBO that tells the story of the 1998 murder of the gay student, Matthew Sheppard, and its aftermath.
Madigan was a regular cast member of the 2003 dark fantasy and period drama “Carnivale,” set during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. This HBO series had a great first season with high ratings, but was unable to sustain it during its second season, which led to its cancellation in 2005 after 24 episodes. She also appeared as a guest in several popular series, such as “Criminal Minds” (2007), “Grey’s Anatomy” (2008-2009), “Law & Order” (2010), and “How to Get Away with Murder” (2016).
Movies
Amy was in the neo-noir rock musical, “Streets of Fire,” which didn’t fare well at the box office when it was released in 1984, however, she won the Best Actress award at the Spanish Sitges Film Festival for her role in this film as an ex-soldier named McCoy. In 1985, Amy was cast as Sunny Mackenzie-Sobel, the daughter of Harry Mackenzie played by award-winning actor, Gene Hackman, in “Twice in a Lifetime,” which premiered at Seattle International Film Festival. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 58th Academy Awards and 43rd Golden Globe Awards for this performance.
Amy was in the 1989 fantasy-drama sports movie, “Field of Dreams,” which was based on W.P. Kinsella’s novel entitled, “Shoeless Joe,” starring Kevin Costner as Ray Kinsella, husband to Amy’s character, Annie.
It was chosen by the US Library of Congress to be included in the 2017 list of films preserved in the National Film Registry.
Madison was cast for the role of Chanice Koblowski in the 1989 comedy, “Uncle Buck,” with John Candy playing the title role. Although the movie received mixed to average reviews from critics, it fared well at the box office, grossing almost $80 million against the production budget of just $15 million. She then appeared in the 2002 drama, “A Time for Dancing,” which received nominations from the Daytime Emmy Awards and Directors Guild of America in 2004.
The horror movies “The Hunt” and “Antlers” that she was part of were scheduled for release in 2020, but have been postponed due to the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Theatre
Her Off-Broadway debut was in “The Lucky Spot” (1987), which earned her recognition from the Theatre World Award for the 1986-1987 theatre season, and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. Her Broadway debut was in “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1992) in which she received a nomination from the Outer Circle Critics Award for Best Debut Performance in the role of Stella Kowalski. It took her more than 20 years to be part of another stage play, “The Jacksonian” in 2013, which starred Ed Harris; they subsequently worked together in the revival of the Off-Broadway play, “Buried Child,” written by Sam Shepard that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979; it ran from February to April in 2016 and then on 12 November 2016, it started its 14-week long run in the West End.
Other works
Amy worked as an executive producer along with Ed Harris on the 1996 TV movie drama, “Riders of the Purple Saga,” based on the 1912 bestselling Western novel by Zane Grey, and in which they both starred. Madigan also worked behind the scenes as the producer of the drama, “After the Past” (2004); executive producer of the crime film, “Once Fallen” (2010); and director of the stage play, “Off the King’s Road” (2015).
Amy also performed on the soundtrack for episodes of the TV series “Chips” (1981), “Carnivale” (2005), and “Saving Grace” (2008).
Personal life
Amy Madigan married Ed Harris on 21 November 1983, and they have a daughter named Lily Dolores who was born after 10 years on 3 May 1993.
According to Amy, she first saw Ed on stage in Sam Shepard’s play, “Cowboy Mouth,” in 1980 and said that he had a powerful presence with the kind of vulnerability that draws people.
She also said in a Time magazine interview that, ‘It was like something you see in a movie or hear in a song.’ It was obvious to her that she’d see him again after that. They first met at Lee Strasberg’s acting school as they worked on the stage production of “Prairie Avenue” in 1981. It was during the first rehearsal that Ed noticed Amy, who sat on an empty chair beside him. Madigan invited him over to her house one day at lunch break to rehearse over a tuna fish sandwich. Harris said nothing happened that day but that eventually, ‘nature took its course.’
According to Ed, it was when Amy critiqued his performance in the play, “Fool for Love,” and he listened without getting defensive that he realized that marriage to her would be inevitable.
It was during the filming of their first movie together – “Places in the Heart” (1984) – in which they played the role of a couple having an affair that they decided to marry. He said that they sneaked away after breakfast to go to the Waxahachie County, and were married by the justice of the peace.
Not only is the couple stil (apparently) happily married, they also have a good working relationship, as they’ve continued to work together on several projects such as the Louis Malle movie, “Alamo Bay” (1985); the biopic “Pollock” (2000) for which Ed was also the director and producer; and the directorial debut of Ben Affleck in “Gone Baby Gone” (2007).
They currently live in Malibu, California.
Who is Ed Harris?
Ed Harris is an American actor, screenwriter, director and producer, who was born on 28 November 1950, in Englewood, New Jersey.
He studied drama at the University of Oklahoma, then moved to L.A. and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in 1975 from the California Institute of Arts. In 1976, Harris made his stage debut in Thomas Rickman’s play, “Baalam,” and his television debut in an episode of the drama series, “Gibbsville.” His movie debut was in 1978, when he was cast for a minor role in the suspense movie, “Coma,” based on the best‑selling author Robin Cook’s novel of the same name, which starred Michael Douglas and was directed by Michael Crichton.
He is a successful actor who’s starred in more than a hundred films, including “Apollo 13” (1995) and “The Truman Show” (1998), which were not only successful at the box office but also gained him Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He’s appeared in more than 20 TV series, and for his recent work in “Westworld” (2016-present), he received nomination from the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
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Edward Allen “Ed” Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. . Harris is a four-time Academy Award nominee; for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in Apollo 13 (1995), The Truman Show (1998), and The Hours (2002).. . .. and for Best Actor for portraying the artist Jackson Pollock in Harris’ directorial debut Pollock (2000). . He is known for his performances in films such as The Right Stuff (1983), The Abyss (1989), Glengarry Glen Ross (1992), Nixon (1995), The Rock (1996), Absolute Power (1997) and A Beautiful Mind (2001).. . As well as Enemy at the Gates (2001), A History of Violence (2005), Gone Baby Gone (2007), The Way Back (2010), Gravity (2013), Snowpiercer (2013), and Run All Night (2015). . He currently stars in the HBO sci-fi drama series Westworld.. . ..as well as Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s upcoming Starz drama series The One Percent. . He also won a Golden Globe Award for playing Senator John McCain in Game Change (2012). . Harris married actress Amy Madigan, while they were filming Places in the Heart together in 1983.
Harris had more than 60 nominations for his work in movies, television, and theatre, and won more than 20. He received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 13 March 2015, with his wife and daughter in attendence.
Appearance
Amy is 5ft 5ins (1.67m) tall and weighs around 120lbs (54kgs). She has blonde hair and blue eyes; her dress size is 4 and shoe size 8.
Net worth
Amy has worked extensively in her career as an actress, in theatre, movies, and on television. Authoritative sources estimated her net worth to be around $6 million as of May 2020, while Ed Harris’ successful career as an actor, has seen him accumulate an estimated net worth of over $20 million.
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