Amy Madigan

Early life and education

Amy Marie Madigan was born September 11, 1950 in Chicago to Dolores (; 1921–1992), an administrative assistant and amateur actress who performed in community theatre, and John J. Madigan (1918–2012), a journalist who worked for Newsweek and provided political commentary on programs such as Meet the Press and Face the Nation; he interviewed a range of political figures, from Richard Nixon to Martin Luther King Jr., and hosted his own show with WBBM (AM). Madigan is Catholic and third-generation Irish American. She has two brothers, Jack and Jim.

During high school, Madigan performed in school plays. She moved to Los Angeles in 1974.

Career

1980–1989: Film debut and other roles

In the 1980s, Madigan transitioned from a singing career to acting, and studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. Her first television role was Adele on an episode of Hart to Hart in 1981; she then had role in the television film Crazy Times. The following year, she made her film debut as Terry Jean Moore in Love Child, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress. In 1983, she starred as Alison Ransom in the television film The Day After.

In 1984, she portrayed McCoy in the film Streets of Fire, and had a supporting role as Viola Kelsey in Places in the Heart. In 1985, she starred in the television film The Laundromat, written by Marsha Norman, opposite Carol Burnett. She won a CableACE Award for her performance as Deedee Johnson. She then co-starred as Glory Scheer, with her husband Ed Harris, in Alamo Bay, directed by Louis Malle. Also in 1985, she played Sunny Mackenzie-Sobel, a woman in a difficult marriage, in Twice in a Lifetime. She received Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

Madigan made her Off-Broadway debut in 1987, portraying Sue Jack Tiller in The Lucky Spot by Beth Henley, for which she won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. In 1988, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance in The Prince of Pennsylvania. That year, she performed in A Lie of the Mind at the Mark Taper Forum. In 1989 she played the wife of Kevin Costner's lead character in Field of Dreams, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; and played Chanice Kobolowski, the girlfriend of John Candy's character, in the John Hughes film Uncle Buck. Also in 1989, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance as Sarah Weddington in the television film Roe vs. Wade.

1990–2009: Career fluctuations

In 1990, Madigan starred opposite Paula Kelly in Stevie Wants to Play the Blues by Eduardo Machado, for which she won a Drama-Logue Award. In 1991, she starred opposite Olympia Dukakis in the Emmy-nominated television film Lucky Day. She made her Broadway debut in the role of Stella Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1992, opposite Jessica Lange and Alec Baldwin, and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut Performance. Madigan next appeared opposite Timothy Hutton in The Dark Half (1993), a film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name, directed by George A. Romero.

In 1996, she and Harris produced and starred in the television film Riders of the Purple Sage. She then starred with Tilda Swinton in Female Perversions. In 1997, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her performance as Brett Armerson in the film Loved. In 2000, she portrayed Peggy Guggenheim in the film Pollock, starring her husband, which he also directed and produced. In 2002 she had a supporting role as Reggie Fluty, the officer who responded to aid the dying Matthew Shepard in the television film The Laramie Project. In 2003–2005, Madigan had the supporting role of Iris Crowe/Irina, sister of villain Justin Crowe, in HBO's series Carnivále. In 2005, she starred as Lori Lansky in Winter Passing, directed by Adam Rapp. The following year, she had a supporting role as Patricia Carver, a CIA headquarters analyst, in the Emmy-winning television film The Path to 9/11. In 2007, she played the sister-in-law of Helene (Amy Ryan), Beatrice "Bea" McCready, in the film Gone Baby Gone, directed by Ben Affleck. In 2008, Madigan played Dr. Katharine Wyatt on several episodes of ABC's medical drama series Grey's Anatomy. She then guest-starred on TNT's crime drama series Saving Grace as Gretchen Lagardi.

When talking about her career in a 2010 interview with The Los Angeles Times, journalist Susan King described Madigan's career writing, "Like so many actresses older than 50, [she] has had difficulties finding meaningful roles.". Madigan opined about her career and the lack of roles for actresses her age saying, "My husband works a lot more than I do...You know what the situation is. The reality is you have to make your peace with it sometimes even when you have a depressive day, which I still have.”

2010–present: Later projects and ''Weapons'' (2025)

In 2011, she guest-starred in the final episode of TNT's drama series Memphis Beat. Madigan returned to theater in 2015, directing a stage production of Off the King's Road at the Odyssey Theater in Los Angeles.

In 2018, she had a supporting role in the independent drama American Woman opposite Sienna Miller, followed by a supporting role in Scott Cooper's horror film Antlers (2021), playing a school principal in a small Oregon town plagued by a supernatural entity. In 2024, Madigan starred as Judge Motley in the independent drama Bull Street, which premiered as the opening night film at the Sarasota Film Festival. In 2025, she had a pivotal role in Zach Cregger's horror mystery film Weapons, playing the eccentric and mysterious Gladys, the great-aunt of a young boy whose classmates go missing in his small community.

In a 2025 interview with The New York Times, Madigan spoke of her career, saying, "Opportunities [as an older actress] are less and you just hope that something finds you so you can find it. And I don't take it for granted, because you can go up and then you can go all the way down, as we know."

Madigan's performance in Weapons earned her great critical acclaim and awards recognition, including the Critics Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress and New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as nominations for the Actor Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. On January 22, she earned her second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination; the 40-year gap between this nomination and her previous nomination for Twice in a Lifetime set the record for longest gap between Oscar nominations for an actress.

Personal life

Madigan married actor Ed Harris on November 21, 1983. They have one daughter. Madigan and Harris have been frequent collaborators during their careers.

Madigan toured the United States performing as a vocalist in several rock bands through the 1970s before relocating to Los Angeles. She also performed as a solo singer and pianist in Dallas, Texas, in the late 1970s and early 1980. Recounting her career as a singer in a 2015 interview, Madigan said: "I had been working in [music] for a very long time. I am not a writer, so I wasn’t generating my own personal material. I just felt myself kind of hitting the same brick wall...I miss music every day. It’s very visceral and emotional. You can pack something into three minutes, and you can’t do that in any other medium."

Since 2016, Madigan has served on the board of trustees at Reed College.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theater

Awards and nominations