Audiences 1st get a look of Madsen when Princess Irulan around David Lynch's science fiction epic Dune (1984). Madsen number 1 became popular by using audiences within 1986 with her portrayal of a Catholic school girl who fell smitten by using the son from either the prison camp inside Duncan Gibbons' Fire with Fire. Madsen's more noted film appearances include 1990's The Hot Spot using Don Johnson, and a steamy Third Degree Burn by using Treat Williams. Within 2004 she had the comeback of sorts by using Sideways, which garnered her rave reviews and Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.

Madsen's older brother Michael Madsen is also an actor (he refuses to view any films where she has the au naturel scene), & her mother Elaine Madsen is an Emmy-winning writer and producer. Once Madsen arrived within Hollywood she was engaged to actor Billy Campbell. She was married to Danny Huston from 1989 to 1992. She late experienced the relationship by using actor Antonio Sabato Jr., which in 1994 produced a son, Zack.

Filmography
(2004) Sideways (2003) Nobody Knows Anything! (2003) Artworks (2002) American Gun (2001) Almost Salinas (2000) After Sex (2000) Lying In Wait (1999) The Haunting (1999) The Florentine (1998) Ambushed (1998) Ballad of the Nightingale (1997) The Rainmaker (1996) Ghosts of Mississippi (1995) The Prophecy (1994) Blue Tiger (1994) Caroline at Midnight (1992) Candyman (1991) Becoming Colette (1991) Highlander II: The Quickening (1990) The Hot Spot (1989) Heart of Dixie (1988) Hot to Trot (1988) Mr. North (1987) Zombie High (1987) Slam Dance (1986) Modern Girls (1986) Fire with Fire (1985) Creator (1984) Dune (1984) Electric Dreams (1983) Class