The second eldest of six children, Rose McGowan was born to a French mother and Irish father, who were part of a hippy commune called "The Children of God", based in Italy.
      Eventually, the family left Europe when Rose was nine, putting down roots in the western United States. But life was not easy for the headstrong young girl, and after saving up some money from odds jobs, she ran away at thirteen for Los Angeles in hopes of becoming an actress. But below the glamour and glitz of Tinseltown, Rose sometimes found herself sleeping on the streets, or if she was lucky, in nightclubs after hours.
      After hammering the sidewalks doing the audition circuit, Rose landed a small part in the comedy Encino Man opposite Brendan Fraser, but it was in 1994 that fate would turn a kind eye towards the five foot one beauty when she was spotted by a casting agent on an L.A. sidewalk. The chance meeting led to her being cast as the angry young lead in Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation. The film opened to mixed reviews and a fair amount of controversy, but nevertheless, it helped to expose McGowan to a larger audience, and aided in establishing a fair sized fanbase. Several films followed, but as with so many of its young stars, it was the teen thriller Scream which shot Rose into the mainstream of public awareness. The sexy, dark haired ingenue was on her way to the stardom she had always dreamed of.
      Over the years, Rose dated a number of fellow thespians, including Ryan Phillippe and Matthew Lillard. She was also engaged to shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, but broke up after two years.
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