- Andie MacDowell is an American model/actress whose breakout role was in the 1985 Brat Pack vehicle ‘St. Elmo’s Fire’
- The South Carolina native starred in ‘Sex, Lies & Videotape,’ ‘Groundhog Day,’ and ‘Multiplicity’
- She welcomed three children with her ex husband, who was also a model
Andie MacDowell has been making fans swoon ever since she first appeared in 1984’s Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Of course, her stunning beauty was already on display as a fashion model, but showcasing it on the big screen made her skyrocket into fame. Not to mention, a year later, she had an unforgettable role in the Brat Pack vehicle St. Elmo’s Fire.
The South Carolina beauty, born in 1958, would continue collecting sought after roles in such hits as Sex, Lies & Videotape, Groundhog Day, and Multiplicity. And she’s having a bit of a renaissance with a few recent projects, including one alongside her daughter in the Netflix drama Maid. Andie won rave reviews for her portrait of Paula, the mother of lead character Alex, a struggling single mom who happens to be played by Andie’s real-life offspring, Margaret Qualley.
As for working alongside her own kid, Andie said she was pleasantly surprised to discover Margaret suggested her for the role. “That’s a really special thing to happen to a parent, to have a child trust them and to want them to play opposite them,” Andie told NPR.
Andie is just as smitten with Margaret as she is with her two other kids, Justin Qualley and Rainey Qualley, the three of whom she welcomed with her first husband, Paul Qualley. “I am so extremely grateful for my three children and their father. My children are the best part of my life. I am constantly learning from them, they are my greatest teachers,” Andie wrote on her Instagram in January 2023. “My job, my work is wonderful but my children are my life.” Let’s learn more about Andie’s three children, below.
Justin Qualley
In 1983, Andie married her fellow Gap model, Paul, who was born in March 1958. Paul was also a rancher and had a short-lived pop singing career, as seen in this throwback YouTube video. The couple would welcome their first child, son Justin, in 1986.
Justin would end up following in his father’s footsteps and get back to toiling the earth as a farmer. In January, Andie took to her Instagram to gush over the news of Justin and his partner Nicolette’s pregnancy. “Nicolette and Justin are down to earth in every way. They are always there for their friends and family,” she wrote alongside snaps of the pregnant parents. “When so much of the world is looking for attention they are looking for each other & are waiting for the perfect gift their child. My son never looks at his phone, he does not live a life online. He has been a blessing and a gift to me from the very beginning. The best thing that ever happened to me. AND I cannot wait to meet my granddaughter!”
Rainey Qualley
Andie and Paul gifted Justin with a baby sister, Rainey, on March 11, 1989. The stunner has followed in both of her parents’ footsteps as she has lived the life of a model, singer and actress already! Her Instagram is full of glamour shots, videos of her singing on stage and posts about how much she loves her family! Too cute!
Margaret Qualley
The youngest of the brood, Margaret was born on October 23, 1994. Five years later, her parents would divorce. The model-turned-actress has obviously been influenced by both her mom and dad in her career, which took off after she earned an Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series category for her role in FX’s hit series Fosse/Verdon.
In 2019, she appeared in Quentin Tarantino‘s Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood. And in 2021, she starred in the Netflix miniseries, Maid, alongside her mom. “It was a real dream getting to work with her. It was one of the more surreal experiences of my life,” she told Collider. “Across the board, there’s the comfort of having your mom in the same place when you’re in the middle of a pandemic and you’re away from home for nine months, then there’s my mom’s whole body of work, which I’m complete awe of and couldn’t look up to her more, and then there’s this thing where you walk into the room and your mom is playing your mom and that definitely shifts the situation. It’s the biggest cheat I’ve ever managed to pull off.”