Portrait of Michael Madsen

Birthday profile

Michael Madsen

Michael Madsen, American actor and producer (died 2025)

Born
September 25, 1957
Died
July 3, 2025
Zodiac sign
Libra
Birth year
1957

About Michael Madsen

Michael Søren Madsen (September 25, 1957 – July 3, 2025) was an American actor. He was widely known for starring in Quentin Tarantino's films such as Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and The Hateful Eight (2015). His other film roles included WarGames (1983), The Natural (1984), The Doors (1991), Thelma & Louise (1991), Free Willy (1993), Species (1995), Donnie Brasco (1997), Die Another Day (2002), Sin City (2005), and Scary Movie 4 (2006). Madsen also voiced characters in video games such as Grand Theft Auto III (2001), Narc (2005), the Dishonored series (2012–2017), The Walking Dead: Season Two (2014), and Crime Boss: Rockay City (2023). Madsen had six children, including actor Christian Madsen. == Early life == Michael Søren Madsen was born in Chicago on September 25, 1957, the son of Elaine (née Melson), a filmmaker and author, and Calvin Christian Madsen, a World War II Navy veteran and firefighter with the Chicago Fire Department. His mother had Irish and Native American ancestry, while his paternal grandparents were Danish immigrants. He had two sisters: actress Virginia and entrepreneur Cheryl. His parents divorced in the 1960s; his mother, having been encouraged by film critic Roger Ebert, left the financial world to pursue a career in the arts. Madsen attended Evanston Township High School in Evanston, Illinois.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

The world when Michael Madsen was born

Michael Madsen was born in 1957. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1957

  • #1 song"All Shook Up" – Elvis Presley
  • Top movieThe Bridge on the River Kwai
  • Top TV showGunsmoke
  • Best-selling bookOn the Road – Jack Kerouac

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentMilwaukee Braves win the World Series
  • Top headlineSoviet Union launches Sputnik — Space Race begins
  • Technology milestoneSputnik 1 becomes first artificial satellite in orbit
  • Defining fadHula hoops (early buzz)
  • Notable inventionFrisbee
  • World population2.87 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championMilwaukee Braves (World Series)
  • Also wonBoston Celtics (NBA)
  • U.S. population171.2M

1957 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Michael Madsen's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19572026
Gas$0.31$3.45/gal
Average home$12,200$435,000
Average income$6,700$67,500
Minimum wage$1.00$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.51$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population171.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.