Stowe, the eldest of three sisters, was born Madeline Mora Stowe in Eagle Rock, a working-class suburb of Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Mireya (née Mora), immigrated from Costa Rica and came from a prominent family, and her father, Robert Stowe, a civil engineer, was a native of Oregon. Stowe's father suffered from multiple sclerosis.

At the age of ten, Stowe began taking piano lessons Read more...

For nearly fifteen years, Stowe appeared mostly in minor or supporting roles in movies and on TV. A few of her performances from this period became, however, well-known to the public, as was the case for Stakeout (1987), where she played opposite to Richard Dreyfuss, and Revenge, (1990), which co-starred Kevin Costner. In 1992 Stowe finally performed a leading role in a high-profile film, The Last Read more...

Stowe has been married to actor Brian Benben since 1982, after meeting when they acted in a TV film the previous year. The couple have a daughter, May (born 1996), and spend spare time on the ranch they own in Texas.

In December 2007, she endorsed and campaigned for John Edwards in the U.S. presidential election, 2008.