Amy Madigan Biography

Amy Madigan is an American actress whose career has spanned film, television, and theater, earning her an Academy Award nomination and multiple major critics' honors. Known for emotionally nuanced, often quietly forceful performances, she has remained a respected character actor for over four decades.

Amy Marie Madigan was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in a culturally engaged, Irish-American Catholic family. Before acting, she pursued music, touring the United States as a vocalist and keyboard player in rock bands throughout the 1970s.

Amy transitioned to acting in the early 1980s, studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute while landing her first television roles. She made her film debut in Love Child (1982), earning a Golden Globe nomination, and gained wider recognition for Twice in a Lifetime (1985), which brought her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Across the late 1980s and 1990s, Amy became known for key roles in films such as Field of Dreams (1989), in which she played Kevin Costner’s fiercely supportive wife, and the comedy Uncle Buck (1989). She also won a Golden Globe and received an Emmy nomination for portraying lawyer Sarah Weddington in the television film Roe vs. Wade (1989). Later, she was a memorable presence on series including HBO’s Carnivàle (2003–2005), Grey’s Anatomy (2008–2009), and Fringe (2009).

Amy has sustained a parallel stage career, appearing Off-Broadway in The Lucky Spot (1987) and on Broadway as Stella Kowalski in a 1992 production of A Streetcar Named Desire, both of which earned her notable theater award recognition. In the 2010s and 2020s, she continued to work steadily in independent films and genre projects, including Antlers (2021), the drama Bull Street (2024), and the horror film Weapons (2025), the latter earning her new critical acclaim, including her second Academy Award nomination.

Amy has been married to actor Ed Harris since 1983, and the two have frequently collaborated on screen and as producers, including on projects like Alamo Bay(1985), Riders of the Purple Sage (1996) and Pollock (2000). Celebrated for her commitment to complex, often morally grounded characters, she is regarded as a versatile performer whose body of work bridges mainstream Hollywood, independent film, and serious theater.