Rose McGowan

by Andre Ward | Published September 5, 2007

Independent moviemakers looking for edgy starlets were blessed with their muse as Rose McGowan was born today in 1973. She began her career with a few clunkers, starring beside the great Pauly Shore in Encino Man and Bio-Dome, but would only break through with roles in the indie The Doom Generation and horror flick Scream. Soon McGowan would be drawn to darker, sexier roles, playing cruel teenage murderesses in both Devil in the Flesh and the black comedy Jawbreaker. Unfortunately, her most famous role might be for her infamous 100% see-through silver outfit at the 1998 MTV VMA’s alongside her then-fiance Marilyn Manson. Born to play femme fatales and badass biker chicks, McGowan’s standout role to date is in Robert Rodriguez’s Planet Terror as former go-go dancer Cherry Darling, outfitted with an assault rifle for a leg after flesh-chomping zombies take hers. Rose’s over-the-top character is the stuff indie cinema legends are built on, diving headfirst into the zombie mayhem. Up next for McGowan is Black Oasis, the tale of B-movie actress Susan Cabot.

Factoid: Rose was born in Florence, Italy where her father ran the Italian Chapter of the Children of God, the same religious circle into which Joaquin and River Phoenix were also born into.