Andie MacDowell was first seen in the 1984 Hugh Hudson-directed adventure film ‘Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes’ where she played the role of ‘Jane Porter.’ The film was warmly received by critics and received 3 Academy Award nominations. In 1985, she starred as ‘Dale Biberman’ in the American coming-of-age film ‘St. Elmo's Fire’ directed by Joel Schumacher. While the film received a negative response from critics, it managed to gross over $37.8 million on a budget of $10 million. She next appeared in the 1989 American independent drama film ‘Sex, Lies, and Videotape’ directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film was lauded by critics and was a major commercial success, grossing over $36.7 million on a budget of $1.2 million. MacDowell also won the ‘Independent Spirit Award’ and the ‘Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award’ for her performance in the film. She was next seen in films like ‘Green Card’ (1990), ‘Hudson Hawk’ (1991), ‘The Player’ (1992), ‘Short Cuts’ (1993), ‘Groundhog Day’ (1993), ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’ (1994), ‘Unstrung Heroes’ (1995), ‘Michael’ (1996), ‘The End of Violence’ (1997), and ‘Shadrach’ (1998). In 1999, she portrayed ‘Shelley Snipes’ in the American science-fiction comedy-drama film ‘Muppets from Space’ directed by Tim Hill. The film received a mixed response from critics and failed to perform at the box office.
She continued to star in films like ‘Harrison's Flowers’ (2000), ‘Town & Country’ (2001), ‘Ginostra’ (2002), ‘Beauty Shop’ (2005), ‘Barnyard’ (2006), ‘Intervention’ (2007), ‘Inconceivable’ (2008), ‘The Six Wives of Henry Lefay’ (2009), ‘As Good as Dead’ (2010), and ‘Daydream Nation’ (2010). She starred as ‘Pamela Bennett-Kelly’ in the 2011 American adventure-romantic comedy film ‘Monte Carlo’ directed by Thomas Bezucha. The film opened to a mixed reception and grossed over $39.7 million on a budget of $20 million. She next starred in films like ‘Breaking at the Edge’ (2013), ‘Magic Mike XXL’ (2015), ‘Love After Love’ (2017), ‘Christmas Inheritance’ (2017), ‘Paper Year’ (2018), ‘The Last Laugh’ (2019), ‘Ready or Not’ (2019), ‘No Man's Land’ (2021), and ‘Along for the Ride’ (2022). She last appeared in the 2022 American drama film ‘Good Girl Jane’ directed by Sarah Elizabeth Mintz. The film holds a 71% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
