Andie MacDowell Inspires All

A Great Mother and Career Woman Inspires Women and Children Everywhere.

by Francine Brokaw

Beautiful, caring, charming and dedicated are all words that describe Andie MacDowell. She has been a spokeswoman for L'Oreal for over twenty years, about which she chuckles, "I think I might have broken some kind of record." But her outward beauty is matched by her inner charm and love for her children.

With over 30 films to her credit as well as several television roles, Andie is proud of her career success, but even prouder of her accomplishments in motherhood. She has three children who have never given her any cause for concern. "Knock on wood," she quickly says when talking about how great they have been. Her oldest, a son, is a 19-year-old college student, and her oldest daughter is 17 and will be starting college in the fall. Andie boasts that she will be skipping 12th grade but admits it is bittersweet as she will be moving away to attend school. That only leaves an 11-year-old daughter remaining at home.

"Both of my girls are dancers, and they do competitive dancing," Andie confides with pleasure. "They do ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical. They do it all. They've been doing it since they were both tiny." All the dance events kept the actress busy when she was not making movies, and when her son was younger he was into basketball, which also kept her busy going to his games. None of her children were couch potatoes! "Oh no, no, no. They're very athletic."

Andie resides in North Carolina, although she has lived in Paris, Manhattan, and even Montana. One wonders how a sweet Southern girl managed in the rugged west. Through it all, she has kept that charming Southern accent, although she laughs, "Well, it depends on who you talk to." There's no mistaking that this is a Southern gal. In a world where people are changing their appearance and voices, Andie has never given up her soft Southern dialect and doesn't feel it has been a hindrance to her career. "I've had an incredibly successful career, so I don't know how it could have been," she points out.

In her latest film, Barnyard, Andie voices a mother hen, about which she jokes, "It's a very small character. (Pun intended?) She's a hen. I'm the mother of the baby. If you blink, you might miss her." This is not entirely true, as she later says, "My character actually has a very pivotal part." She is pleased with the film and the message it imparts to audiences. "The moral of the story is about standing up for others, not just thinking about yourself." And she enjoyed making the movie because she was able to do her part in North Carolina and not leave her family. "It was very interesting. I never met the director. I never met anybody. I did it in a room in North Carolina." She chuckles and admits that she "did leave there going 'Oh my goodness. What was that?'" Imagine standing, or sitting, in a little room all alone and voicing an animated hen! "It is my first animated film. It's not my first kids' film. I did a Muppet film (Muppet's from Space) [in which] I played a human." She would jump at the chance to do another animated film. "If I could do it at home, it'd be great."

MacDowell received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Lander University in South Carolina for dedication to the Graham Children's Health Center. She says it was because she does a lot of philanthropic work. And, children's issues are at the center of her heart. She works for various kids' organizations including the local hospital. Children are a big part of her life and, to this accomplished actress and spokeswoman, her family is her top priority. Without any hesitation, when asked what has been the highlight of her life so far she says, "I definitely have to say my children."