Rachel Maddow

Acting

Rachel Maddow

Born 1973-04-01 · Castro Valley, California, USA

Rachel Maddow (born April 1, 1973, in Castro Valley, California, U.S.) is an American political commentator, television host, and radio personality best known as the host of "The Rachel Maddow Show" (2008– ) on the cable news channel MSNBC. Maddow grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area with her father, an attorney, and her mother, a school administrator. She attended Stanford University, where she earned a B.A. in public policy in 1994. As a senior she received the John Gardner Fellowship for public service, which allowed her to work with the AIDS Legal Referral Panel in San Francisco and become involved in prison AIDS advocacy. During her time at Stanford she publicly came out as a lesbian by posting an open letter throughout her dormitory. In 1995 Maddow went to the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She completed her doctorate (D.Phil.) in politics in 2001. Her dissertation examined HIV/AIDS and health care reform in British and American prisons. Before finishing her degree, Maddow returned to the United States and settled in western Massachusetts. While continuing her prison AIDS advocacy and completing her dissertation, she held a variety of jobs. Her broadcasting career began after she answered an open audition at a local radio station in Holyoke, Massachusetts, for a “news girl” on a morning program. She won the position and served as the host’s on-air sidekick before eventually receiving her own show on a Northampton station. In 2004 a friend passed recordings of Maddow’s work to producers at Air America, a newly formed liberal talk radio network. She was hired as a news reader and soon became co-host of "Unfiltered" with Lizz Winstead and Chuck D. After the program ended in 2005, she was given her own weekday program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," which later expanded from one hour to two. Through her radio work she developed a reputation as a knowledgeable and policy-focused commentator. While continuing on radio, Maddow began appearing on MSNBC in 2005 as a guest on Tucker Carlson’s political talk program, where she frequently debated conservative viewpoints. Over the following years she appeared regularly on various cable news and political discussion programs. After Carlson’s show ended in 2008, Maddow became a frequent guest host on MSNBC’s "Countdown with Keith Olbermann." Her television program, "The Rachel Maddow Show," premiered on MSNBC on September 8, 2008, combining news coverage, political commentary, and interviews with figures from politics, culture, and academia. The program quickly became one of the network’s most prominent political shows. In addition to broadcasting, Maddow has written several books. Her first, "Drift: The Unmooring of American Military Power" (2012), examined U.S. military policy since the Vietnam War. She later published "Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth" (2019), about the global oil and gas industry, and "Bag Man: The Wild Crimes, Audacious Cover-Up, and Spectacular Downfall of a Brazen Crook in the White House" (2020), written with Michael Yarvitz and based on her podcast about former U.S. vice president Spiro Agnew.

Acting credits

Red, White & Royal Blue poster
7.9

After an altercation between Alex, the president's son, and Britain's Prince Henry at a royal event becomes tabloid fodder, their long-running feud now threatens to drive a wedge in U.S./British relations. When the rivals are forced into a staged truce, their icy relationship begins to thaw and the friction between them sparks something deeper than they ever expected.

Red, White & Royal Blue

2023

The Ides of March poster
6.7

Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.

The Ides of March

2011

From Russia with Lev poster
8.2

A documentary exploring Lev Parnas' involvement in the Trump-Ukraine scandal that resulted in the former president's impeachment, detailing Parnas' unexpected entanglement with Trump and Giuliani, leading to his incarceration.

From Russia with Lev

2024

Feels Good Man poster
7.0

When indie comic character Pepe the Frog becomes an unwitting icon of hate, his creator, artist Matt Furie, fights to bring Pepe back from the darkness and navigate America's cultural divide.

Feels Good Man

2020

RBG poster
7.5

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg now 84, and still inspired by the lawyers who defended free speech during the Red Scare, Ginsburg refuses to relinquish her passionate duty, steadily fighting for equal rights for all citizens under the law. Through intimate interviews and unprecedented access to Ginsburg’s life outside the court, RBG tells the electric story of Ginsburg’s consuming love affairs with both the Constitution and her beloved husband Marty—and of a life’s work that led her to become an icon of justice in the highest court in the land.

RBG

2018

Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn poster
10.0

An inspiring love story about a self-described “poor, gay, black man from North Philly” on his historic run for the United States Senate. But this race is about more than taking on the political competition. It’s about taking on an entire system.

Kenyatta: Do Not Wait Your Turn

2023

Stormy poster
6.7

Delve into the life and times of Stormy Daniels as she shares her story and account of events that have become part of American history.

Stormy

2024

All the President's Men Revisited poster
7.0

The Watergate case was the original game changer of America politics. How has Watergate changed the Presidency? What effect has the scandal had on our political leaders? And has hope and optimism forever been replaced in our national dialogue by doubt and cynicism? In 1973, Watergate's most pivotal year, reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein doggedly investigated the scandal exposing the long, twisted trail of cover-ups and lies.

All the President's Men Revisited

2013

The Occupation of the American Mind poster
8.4

Over the past few years, Israel's ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of the Gaza strip have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world—except the United States. This documentary takes an eye-opening look at this critical exception, zeroing in on pro-Israel public relations efforts within the U.S.

The Occupation of the American Mind

2016

Miss Representation poster
6.9

The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.

Miss Representation

2011

The Fight poster
5.2

Inside the ACLU, five scrappy lawyers battle against the Trump administration’s historic assault on civil liberties - from separating families at the border, to rolling back transgender, reproductive, and voting rights.

The Fight

2020

No artwork available
10.0

The Muslims Are Coming follows a band of Muslim-American comedians as they visit big cities, small towns, rural villages, and everything in between to combat Islamophobia! These Muzzies not only perform standup at each tour stop but create ridiculous interventions in unsuspecting town squares, like the ol' classic, "Ask a Muslim Booth."

The Muslims Are Coming!

2013

Pandemic: The People, The Conspiracy, The Journey poster
4.5

No synopsis available yet.

Pandemic: The People, The Conspiracy, The Journey

2020

Greedy Lying Bastards poster
5.5

What happens when an industry has too much power? "Greedy Lying Bastards" presents a searing indictment of the influence, deceit and corruption that defines the fossil fuel industry.

Greedy Lying Bastards

2013

A Greater Society poster
NR

It’s the 2014 midterms and residents of a South Florida retirement community feel the weight of democracy on their shoulders. In one of the most influential counties of America’s largest swing state, these political kingmakers trade their golf clubs for clipboards and hit the pavement to get out the vote. A GREATER SOCIETY is a feature documentary to inspire voter turnout. Inside the gates of Wynmoor Village are three miles of manicured lawns lined with palm trees, a golf course, and carefully maintained condominiums. At first glance, it’s just another retirement community where elders go to enjoy their golden years relaxing by the pool and taking ceramics classes; but look further and you’ll see that the people who live in this community share something unique: the power to have a real impact on national politics.

A Greater Society

2018

The American Vice President: Rethinking a Political Afterthought poster
7.0

The American Vice President explores the little-known story of the second-highest office in the land, tracing its evolution from a constitutional afterthought to a position of political consequence. Focusing on the fraught period between 1963 and 1974, when a grief-stricken and then scandal-plagued America was forced to clarify the role of the vice president, the film examines the passage and first uses of the 25th Amendment and offers a fresh and surprising perspective on succession in the executive branch.

The American Vice President: Rethinking a Political Afterthought

2024

Serving in Secret: Love, Country, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell poster
NR

Tracing the U.S. military's long history of discrimination against the gay community and one couple's personal journey for acceptance.

Serving in Secret: Love, Country, and Don't Ask, Don't Tell

2023

Left of the Dial poster
7.4

A documentary look at the troubled first year of liberal talk radio start up Air America and its slate of hosts, including Al Franken, Rachel Maddow, and Marc Maron.

Left of the Dial

2005

Hating Breitbart poster
5.8

One man with a website who forever changed the media paradigm, upending the traditional press and changing the ground rules of political journalism.

Hating Breitbart

2012

Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins poster
7.5

Molly Ivins was six feet of flame-haired Texas trouble. She was a prescient political journalist, best-selling author, and Bill of Rights warrior. She took no prisoners, leaving both sides of the aisle laughing and craving more of her razor-sharp wit. It's time to raise hell like Molly!

Raise Hell: The Life & Times of Molly Ivins

2019

Man on the Run poster
6.7

The true story of Jho Low, a mysterious businessman, and playboy, as he masterminds a scheme to exploit a sovereign wealth fund in Malaysia, 1MDB. With the collaboration of Prime Minister Najib Razak, Low funnels billions into global bank accounts to fuel his extravagant lifestyle, including Hollywood parties and even financing "The Wolf of Wall Street."

Man on the Run

2023

The McVeigh Tapes: Confessions of an American Terrorist poster
7.0

Rachel Maddow takes a special look at the Oklahoma City bombing by offering a first look at a taped confession by Timothy McVeigh that was made shortly before his execution.

The McVeigh Tapes: Confessions of an American Terrorist

2010

No artwork available
NR

America's response to the attacks on 9/11, and how the country was forever changed

Day of Destruction, Decade of War

2011

Behind the camera