Andrea Bowen (born March 4, 1990) is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Broadway musicals such as Les Misérables and The Sound of Music. In 2004, she began playing the role of Julie Mayer on the ABC comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives, a role she played on a regular basis until 2008. She later appeared on a recurring basis until the show ended in 2012. Bowen later went on to star in a number of Lifetime television films.
Life and career Early life Bowen was born on March 4, 1990. Bowen is of Welsh, English, and German descent. She is the younger sister of Graham Bowen, Alex Bowen, Cameron Bowen, Jessica Bowen, and Jillian Bowen (who are also actors). Bowen briefly attended the Professional Performing Arts School in New York alongside best friend Sarah Hyland.
She made her Broadway debut in 1996 as Young Cosette/Young Éponine in Les Misérables. At six, she was the youngest actress ever to play the role. From 1996 to 2001 Bowen was a consistent presence on Broadway. She appeared in the original company of the 1998 revival of The Sound of Music as Marta von Trapp, and created the role of Adèle in the musical version of Jane Eyre in 2000. She returned to The Sound of Music in 2006 for the Hollywood Bowl production, this time playing Liesl. Bowen was also a member of The Broadway Kids concert group. Several of Bowen's siblings have also been heavily involved in musical theatre, performing roles in various other Broadway shows.
Bowen has also had recurring or guest starring roles on such shows as One Tree Hill (with friend Sophia Bush), Boston Public and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
Desperate Housewives From 2004 to 2012, Bowen portrayed Julie Mayer on Desperate Housewives.Andrea Bowen- Biography Prior to being cast in the role, Bowen did not think she would get it, explaining "they were looking for a 12-year-old brunette ... and I was a 13-year-old blonde."Touchstone Television, p. 71. As a result, Bowen was asked to dye her hair for the role. Bowen was initially attracted to the series because of the amount of attention paid to the younger characters. She stated, "If you watch a lot of other television shows, the kids don't have that much [of a] part in it. On this show, the writers give us each our own individual storylines that have a lot of layers to them." For season three, the character's storylines began revolving around themes of teenage rebellion and angst. Bowen commented: "She's going to have, you know, primarily one love interest, and he's a bit of a bad boy. We're going to see if she has a positive effect on him, or if he has a negative effect on her. I'm definitely very excited about it ... because you kind of get to see a different side to her.". The Star Scoop. October 15, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2011. Her character was written off the series after season four. Teri Hatcher expressed disappointment in the decision, but series creator Marc Cherry promised that Bowen would return to the series.De Leon, Kris (May 29, 2008). "'Desperate Housewives' Star Devastated Over Her On-screen Daughter's Storyline" . BuddyTV. Retrieved June 10, 2011. Bowen returned to the series for one episode during season five and rejoined the main cast as a series regular for season six.Ausillo, Michael (July 7, 2009). "'Housewives' scoop: Julie's coming home". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 10, 2011. She appeared once in season seven and returned for a string of episodes in the final season.Ausiello, Michael (November 23, 2011). "[Desperate Housewives Exclusive: Dana Delany, Kyle MacLachlan Book Final Season Comebacks". TVLine. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
In the 2006 film Red Riding Hood, she appears as one of "The Three Ashleys". Also that year, she played the role of Candace in the esoteric adventure film Eye of the Dolphin. She also starred in the Lifetime Original film Girl, Positive, an experience that allowed her to help spread the message among youth that "HIV is something you can protect yourself from."A&U: America's AIDS Magazine
Later years After leaving Desperate Housewives, Bowen guest starred on The Closer, Ghost Whisperer, Hawaii Five-0 and Scandal. She found work playing leading roles in a number of television films for Lifetime and Hallmark. Her films include After the Fall (2010), The Preacher's Daughter (2013), Zoe Gone (2014), Under Fire (2016), Pretty Little Addict (2016) and A Family for the Holidays (2017). In 2013, she went to star in a teen comedy film G.B.F..
As of August 29, 2024, Bowen is married to her Desperate Housewives co-star Josh Zuckerman.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1996 New York Crossing Child Television film 1997 Highball Witch, Fairy 2004 Luckey's Quarter Patsy Short film 2004 Party Wagon Billie Bartley, Manifest Destiny (voice) Television film A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 2006 Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Moogle Girl (voice) English version 2006 Bambi II Faline (voice) Direct-to-video 2006 Red Riding Hood Ashley #2 2006 Eye of the Dolphin Candace 2007 Girl, Positive Rachel Sandler Television film 2010 After the Fall Jenna Danville Television film 2012 Twinkle Toes Pretty Tall (voice) Direct-to-video 2012 Divorce Invitation Melanie 2013 The Preacher's Daughter Hannah White Television film 2013 G.B.F. 'Shley 2013Percy Jackson: Sea of MonstersVoice artist2013StokerVoice artist 2014 Zoe Gone Tammy Roberts 2016 Who Killed My Husband? Sophie Howell Television film 2016 Pretty Little Addict Jennifer Philips Television film 2017 Jonny's Sweet Revenge Nikki 2017 A Winter Wedding Hailey Reynolds 2020Psycho Sister-In-LawHaley DownesTelevision film2022Half Pass NightmareCarrie PalmerTelevision film
Television Year Title Role Notes 1996–1997 Law & Order Rankin Toddler, Bess 2 episodes 2001 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Sophie Douglas Episode: "Countdown" 2001 Third Watch Rachel Episode: "Adam 55-3" 2002 Arliss Ginny Episode: "In with the News" 2002 That Was Then Zooey Glass 7 episodes 2003 Boston Public Riley Ellis 3 episodes 2003 One Tree Hill Stella Episode: "With Arms Outstretched" (deleted scenes only) 2003 Strong Medicine Sara Buck Episode: "Seize the Day" 2004–2012 Desperate Housewives Julie Mayer Series Regular (season 1–4, 6)Guest Role (season 5, 7)Recurring Role (season 8) 95 episodes 2006–2007, 2009 King of the Hill Sandy, Teen Girl (voice) 3 episodes 2005 Without a Trace Becky Grolnick Episode: "A Day in the Life" 2008 The Closer Michelle Clark Episode: "Cherry Bomb" 2009 Ghost Whisperer Rebecca Kelly Episode: "Greek Tragedy" 2010 Batman: The Brave and the Bold Talia al Ghul (voice) Episode: "Sidekicks Assemble!" 2011 Hawaii Five-0 Amy / Pauline Lucero Episode: "Ho'ohuli Na'au" 2012 The Secret Life of the American Teenager Jackie Episode: "Allies" 2013 Scandal Maybell Doyle Episode: "Snake in the Garden"2021Station 19AmyEpisode: "All I Want for Christmas Is You"
Video games Year Title Role Notes Source 2000 The Longest Journey Young April Ryan, Alatien Child English version 2003 The Cat in the Hat Sally 2008 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Aerith Gainsborough English version 2011 Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy English version 2016 Final Fantasy Explorers English version; archival audio 2019 Mobius Final Fantasy English version 2020 Kingdom Hearts III Re Mind English version
Discography The Night of the Hunter, concept album The Sound of Music original Broadway revival cast recording, 1998 Jane Eyre original Broadway cast recording, 2001 Sugar Beats The Broadway Kids Preachers Daughter (2011)
Awards
Bowen has 3 wins and 4 nominations
2005 Screen Actors Guild Award for * Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (won) 2005 Young Artist Award for Best Leading Young Actress (nominated) 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (won) 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated) 2008 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated) 2008 Prism Award for Best TV Actress (won) 2009 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (nominated)
References
External links
Broadway biography at Playbill.com
Interviews
Andrea Bowen Interview on Sidewalks Entertainment