Andie MacDowell’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows

The best Andie MacDowell movies and TV shows feature a great mix of dramas, romantic comedies, and some fantastic TV shows over the years. MacDowell got her start as a model in the 1970s before she moved on to acting in the mid-1980s, debuting in Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. However, after a notable part in the young adult movie St. Elmo’s Fire, MacDowell enjoyed her breakout role when she won one of the lead roles in Steven Soderbergh’s breakout hit, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, in 1989.

From there, MacDowell saw a lot of success, including Golden Globe nominations for Green Card, Short Cuts, and Four Weddings and a Funeral. She also picked up roles in fan-favorite movies like Groundhog Day and Hudson Hawk. In the 2000s, MacDowell began to work more on television, both with TV movies and roles in TV shows, with her first major role coming in Cedar Cove in 2013. While she continues to pick up movie roles, it is television that has given the actress most of her success in recent years.

10

Green Card (1990)

Brontë Parrish

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Green Card

PG-13

Comedy

Romance

Drama

Release Date

December 23, 1990

Runtime

108 minutes

Director

Peter Weir

Producers

Edward S. Feldman

Cast

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    Andie MacDowell

    Brontë Mitchell Faure

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    Gérard Depardieu

    Georges Faure

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    Bebe Neuwirth

    Lauren Adler

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    Gregg Edelman

    Phil

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After receiving a Golden Glove nomination for the third movie of her career (Sex, Lies, and Videotape), Andie MacDowell proved it wasn’t a fluke when she earned her second Golden Globe nomination just one year later for the movie Green Card. This lesser-known and mostly forgotten movie sees MacDowell star as Brontë Parrish, an environmentalist who enters into a Green Card marriage with Georges Fauré, an undocumented immigrant from France played by Gérard Depardieu.

This works out well for Brontë, as she uses the marriage credentials to get her dream apartment while having to explain her husband’s constant absence to those around her. Peter Weir earned an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay while Depardieu won a Golden Globe for his performance, with MacDowell only leaving with the nomination.

9

St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)

Dale Biberman

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St. Elmo’s Fire

R

Drama

Romance

9/10

Release Date

June 28, 1985

Runtime

110 Minutes

Director

Joel Schumacher

Writers

Joel Schumacher, Carl Kurlander

Cast

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One of Andie MacDowell’s earliest movies came in 1985 with the ensemble young adult coming-of-age film, St. Elmo’s Fire. This is an all-star Brat Pack movie by director Joel Schumacher. The film follows a group of friends after college graduation, most with no idea what they are supposed to do next in life. The cast is impressive, with Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, and Mare Winningham.

The soundtrack is also memorable, with the song “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) hitting number one.

As for MacDowell, she stars as a hospital intern named Dale Biberman, who is the love interest for Estevez’s Kirby Keager, a law student who works as a waiter. Unlike The Breakfast Club, which received universal acclaim, St. Elmo’s Fire was a more polarizing movie, with the characters mostly unlikable, but it still remains a cult classic for fans of the 1980s Brat Pack movies. The soundtrack is also memorable, with the song “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion) hitting number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

8

Cedar Cove (2013-2015)

Olivia Lockhart

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Cedar Cove

TV-PG

Drama

Romance

Mystery

Release Date

2013 – 2014

Network

Hallmark Channel

Directors

Gary Harvey, Scott Smith

Writers

Bruce Graham

Cast

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    Andie MacDowell

    Olivia Lockhart

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    Dylan Neal

    Jack Griffith

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    Teryl Rothery

    Grace Sherman

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    Brennan Elliott

    Warren Saget

Creator(s)

Martin Wood

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While Andie MacDowell had worked on television before, her first major starring role in her own show didn’t come until 2013 with the Hallmark Channel series Cedar Cove. Based on the bestselling book series by Debbie Macomber, the series follows a community in Cedar Cove, a quiet town where neighbors help each other and no one feels the need to even lock their doors. MacDowell is Olivia Lockhart, the Municipal Court judge, the town’s moral center and compass.

However, not all is perfect there, as Olivia is freshly divorced after the death of their teenage son, and a new cutthroat developer has moved into the town and is threatening changes. The series aired for three seasons and 36 episodes, and it received mostly positive reviews and good ratings throughout its run on the cable network. Critics called the series “relaxing” and positively compared it to Hallmark movies but in a long-form format.

7

Maid (2021)

Paula Langley

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Maid

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

2021 – 2020

Network

Netflix

Cast

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    Margaret Qualley

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    Andie MacDowell

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    BJ Harrison

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Maid was a 2021 miniseries on Netflix that followed a woman who left her abusive boyfriend and took refuge in a shelter, where she gets a job cleaning houses for Value Maids. Margaret Qualley stars as Alex, the young woman, and the miniseries follows her struggles as she works hard to raise her young child and make it on her own, while trying to get past all the government red tape concerning getting assistance to make it through.

Image of three characters from Netflix's Maid

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Qualley’s real-life mother, Andie MacDowell, stars as Paula Langley, Alex’s narcissistic mother diagnosed with severe bipolar disorder, and it is this dysfunctional family relationship that makes things even harder for Alex and her young daughter. The series ran for 10 episodes and received almost universal acclaim, with a 94% fresh Rotten Tomatoes score. The series received a Golden Globes nomination, as did Qualley and MacDowell for their performances. Qualley also earned a Primetime Emmy nomination.

6

Ready Or Not (2019)

Becky Le Domas

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Ready or Not

R

Horror

Comedy

Thriller

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8/10

7.8/10

Release Date

August 21, 2019

Runtime

95 minutes

Director

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett

Writers

R. Christopher Murphy, Guy Busick

Cast

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In Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s 2019 black comedy Ready Or Not, newlywed bride Grace Le Domas participates in a violent game of hide-and-seek with her fiancé’s family, who attempt to kill her during her wedding night as part of a long-standing ritual. The film stars Samara Weaving as Grace, Mark O’Brien as Grace’s husband Alex, Adam Brody as Alex’s brother Daniel, Andie MacDowell as their mother Becky, and Henry Czerny, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, and Elyse Levesque as other members of the murderous family.

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Released in 2019, Ready or Not is a critically acclaimed horror-comedy following a young bride who soon learns that the wealthy family she married into has some dark secrets. Samara Weaving stars as Grace, who marries Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien). However, when she arrives at his family’s palatial estate, she learns that on their wedding night, she will become a hunted woman, with Alex’s family hunting her down to ritually sacrifice her.

Andie MacDowell takes on a villain role here as Becky Le Domas, Alex’s mother and someone who will ensure that the ritual is completed so she can save her family from the curse they are inflicted with. However, what the family doesn’t realize is that Grace is more than equipped to protect herself. Critics praised the movie’s dark humor, awarding it an 89% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score and praising its “crowd-pleasing” horror.

5

The Way Home (2023–Present)

Delilah “Del” Landry

The Way Home

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The Way Home

TV-PG

Drama

Fantasy

23

9.9/10

Release Date

January 15, 2023

Directors

Grant Harvey, Shamim Sarif

Writers

Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, Marly Reed

Cast

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Creator(s)

Heather Conkie, Alexandra Clarke, Marly Reed

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In 2023, Andie MacDowell took part in the Hallmark multi-generational family drama series The Way Home. This series is a time-travel family drama about three generations of willful and independent women in a family who are trying to find each other once again. The three women who can time travel via a pond on their family property include Del (Andie MacDowell), Kat (Chyler Leigh), and Alice (Sadie Laflamme-Snow). Del is Alice’s grandmother and Kat’s mother.

There have been three seasons and 30 episodes, with the third season ending in March 2025. Critics loved the series when it started, awarding it a 100% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, while the audience score was a high 95% Fresh. The audience also loved the second and third seasons, with the second at 92% and the third at 87% Fresh. Most of the fans who reviewed The Way Home on the site praised its old-school plotting and development, highlighting the performances of the lead stars.

4

Short Cuts (1993)

Ann Finnigan

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Short Cuts

R

Drama

Comedy

Release Date

September 5, 1993

Runtime

187 minutes

Writers

Robert Altman

Producers

Cary Brokaw, David Levy, Mike Kaplan

Cast

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In 1993, Andie MacDowell joined the cast of the ensemble comedy-drama Short Cuts by acclaimed director Robert Altman. The cast is huge, with countless familiar faces in the main roles, including Julianne Moore, Matthew Modine, Anne Archer, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Robert Downey Jr., Tim Robbins, Lily Tomlin, and many more. As for Andie MacDowell, she stars as Anne Finnigan, a woman married to a television commentator, whose son is hit by a car and ends up in a coma.

The movie has 22 main characters, and it follows their lives as each of their stories interconnects at different points in the overall story. It is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver. Critics fell in love with the film, awarding it a 95% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, and it even earned its own Criterion Collection release, honoring its place in film history. Altman earned an Oscar nomination for Best Director, and the cast won a Special Award for Ensemble at the Golden Globes.

3

Four Weddings And A Funeral (1994)

Carrie

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Four Weddings and a Funeral

R

Comedy

Drama

Romance

Release Date

March 9, 1994

Runtime

117 minutes

Director

Mike Newell

Writers

Richard Curtis

Producers

Duncan Kenworthy, Eric Fellner

Cast

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    Hugh Grant

    Charles

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    Andie MacDowell

    Carrie

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    Kristin Scott Thomas

    Fiona

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    Simon Callow

    Gareth

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In 1994, Andie MacDowell starred in one of the best British ensemble comedies of the decade, taking a lead role in Four Weddings and a Funeral. The film sees Hugh Grant star as Charles, a man who meets MacDowell’s Carrie at a wedding. They hit it off, but she lives in America and admits they might have missed out on a good thing. However, they meet again at another wedding, but she is now engaged to be married. As the title suggests, this is a rom-com where they meet up at these events until they finally reach their end point.

Richard Curtis (Notting Hill) wrote the script based on his own experience attending several weddings, and it ended up being a smash hit. It was not only a major box-office success ($245 million on a $4.4 million budget) but also has a 92% Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score, with praise for Grant’s charming performance and Harris’ smart screenplay. It earned two Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and MacDowell was nominated for a Golden Globe while Grant won Best Actor.

2

Groundhog Day (1993)

Rita Hanson

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Groundhog Day

PG

Comedy

Documentary

Drama

Fantasy

Romance

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9/10

9.7/10

Release Date

February 11, 1993

Runtime

101 minutes

Director

Harold Ramis

Writers

Danny Rubin, Harold Ramis

Cast

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Easily the most popular of all of Andie MacDowell’s movie appearances was her role in Groundhog Day. Bill Murray stars as Phil Connors, a local weatherman who has contempt for the people who live in the small town where he works. However, when he learns that he is repeating the same day over and over (which happens to be Groundhog Day), he has to figure out what changes he needs to make in his own life to finally move forward in his life and escape the time loop in which he is trapped.

Phil (Bill Murray) looks confused while holding a groundhog in the driver's seat of a car in Groundhog Day.

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Andie MacDowell stars as Rita Hanson, Phil’s love interest and someone who doesn’t believe him when he tells her that he is stuck in a time loop. The film was a box office success, making $105 million on a $14.6 million budget. However, more importantly, it has become a beloved cult classic and was even added to the National Film Registry in 2006 by the Library of Congress. There was even a musical based on the movie made in 2016.

1

Sex, Lies, And Videotape (1989)

Ann Bishop Mullany

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Sex, Lies, and Videotape

R

Drama

Release Date

August 4, 1989

Runtime

101 Minutes

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Writers

Steven Soderbergh

Cast

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    Andie MacDowell

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While Andie MacDowell enjoyed a breakout in St. Elmo’s Fire, it was her performance in Sex, Lies, and Videotape that made her a star. This was Steven Soderbergh’s breakout movie, with James Spader starring as a troubled man who videotapes himself discussing sex and fantasies with a variety of women. He wants to learn how they have an impact on people’s marriages and relationships and focuses on a married couple and the wife’s younger sister.

Andie MacDowell stars as Ann Bishop Mullany, a woman who is married to John (Peter Gallagher), a successful lawyer, but is unfulfilled. Laura San Giancomo is Cynthia, Ann’s younger sister, who is cheating with John. The film earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay, while Andie MacDowell won an Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress, also picking up her first Golden Globes nomination as well.