Andie MacDowell's Real Name: Rosalie Anderson MacDowell

Quick answer: Andie MacDowell was born Rosalie Anderson MacDowell on April 21, 1958, in Gaffney, South Carolina. "Andie" comes from her middle name, Anderson. A former model, she starred in sex, lies, and videotape, Green Card, Groundhog Day, and Four Weddings and a Funeral (Library of Congress; South Carolina Encyclopedia).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "MacDowell, Andie" and lists the cross-reference "MacDowell, Rosalie Anderson." One citation reads "b. April 21, 1958 in Gaffney, South Carolina, USA ; birth name: Rosalie Anderson MacDowell." Another, from a book galley, gives "Rosalie Anderson (Andie) MacDowell; b. in Gaffney, S.C., in 1958." The South Carolina Encyclopedia indexes her under "MacDowell, Rosalie Anderson," putting "Andie" in quotation marks as a nickname.

According to the encyclopedia, she was the youngest of four daughters of Marion and Paula MacDowell. Her parents divorced when she was six. She dreamed of acting as a child but spent much of her teens caring for her mother, who struggled with alcoholism. "Becoming independent is what made it possible to leave a small town and go to the big city in the first place," she has said.

Career highlights

MacDowell spent two years at Winthrop College, then walked into Elite Model Management in New York with little modeling experience. She became a successful model in Paris and New York and a longtime face of L'Oréal.

Her film debut was a setback. She played Lady Jane in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984), and the director had her Southern accent dubbed over with Glenn Close's voice. She also appeared in St. Elmo's Fire (1985). Her turn as a repressed Southern housewife in Steven Soderbergh's sex, lies, and videotape (1989) brought a Los Angeles Film Critics Award and a Golden Globe nomination.

A second Golden Globe nomination came for Green Card (1990), in which she played a shy horticulturist. She was Rita, Bill Murray's love interest, in Groundhog Day (1993), and her role in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) earned a third Globe nomination.

The encyclopedia says she preferred a quieter life raising her children, first on a Montana ranch and later in Asheville, North Carolina. She married model and musician Paul Qualley in 1986; they had three children and divorced in 1999. In 2001 she married businessman Rhett D. Hartzog, a former Gaffney schoolmate. Her daughter Margaret Qualley is an actress.

Name notes for searchers

"Andie" is a nickname taken from her middle name, Anderson; her first name is Rosalie. The surname is spelled MacDowell with a capital D. Searches for "Rosalie MacDowell" or "Rosalie Anderson MacDowell" refer to the same person.