Madsen gets expressive when she promotes benefits of Botox

When redoubtable Virginia Madsen can be seen doing TV spots for Botox Cosmetic, it begs the question: What has happened to this Oscar nominee's career?

"Nothing's happened to it. It's going very, very well," said the "Sideways" and "A Prairie Home Companion" star.

We talked on the phone last week in advance of "Freedom of Expression," her unusual private event today for Twin Cities salon owners that involves two of her passions: Botox and the work of the League of Women Voters. As we get closer to the election, expect to see a public service announcement from Madsen encouraging women to vote.

Now back to Botox, which is considered by some a leading cause of a freedom from facial expressions. Madsen would say they need a better doctor.

"Around the 'Sideways' time there was a big beauty piece done on me with lots of pictures. The journalist was saying, Oh, you're so natural, not all Botoxed like those other actresses, and he named somebody that I really love. I think, almost in defense of her, I know how hard it is to work in this town. I said, 'Well, I use it, too.' Almost everybody I know was using it, so I didn't consider it taboo to talk about it."

Botox was one of the choices "I made to look on the outside the way I feel in the inside," said Madsen, whose disclosure "kind of took on a life of its own." One important element was usually missing from reports about Madsen's Botox usage: her doctor.

"I use Botox and I love it," Madsen said. "I wanted people to know that I only use this with my doctor, in my doctor's office. I don't go to Botox parties; I don't go get it in another country. It's important for people to know this is a prescription medication, an injectable and it's not stuff you inject in your lips. It's only FDA-approved for injection on the 'eleven' between your eyebrows. So I knew a lot about this because I did a lot of research before I used it. I didn't want to have the frozen face."

"It's definitely a personal choice, a choice you have to make with your doctor," she said. "Some people like that look; I don't, expressing myself as an actress, mother, friend. Beyond the career, I didn't want to look different to my son, because he was still really little. So I discussed not only what I wanted from this treatment but also what I didn't want."

Either too many women aren't having that conversation, or their doctors are not listening. Madsen knows. When her first doctor didn't want to listen, she moved on and found a physician who didn't laugh at any of her questions. "If a doctor laughs at your questions, not a good sign," she said.

Because Madsen has been so open about Botox, she said, "I probably would" disclose having plastic surgery. "I may have set myself up here," she said, laughing. "I'm not there yet. One of the ways I keep away from plastic surgery is that I take care of myself. I had to put down the pizza, put down the pan of mashed potatoes, put down the cigarettes, put away the aspirin and, like, go to the gym. It's like no wonder you get headaches all the time [when] you're not taking care of yourself."

Madsen has nothing but fond memories from shooting "A Prairie Home Companion" in St. Paul, "because I just loved making that movie so much. I'm going to get all emotional," she said, her voice breaking.

Maybe her people should call Ethan and Joel Coen's people to get her a role in the movie they are shooting here. "Oh, they know. They know I'm obsessed with them ... going all the way back to 'Blood Simple.' I had never experienced anything like that in a movie theater. There's a restraining order," she said, laughing again.

Heading to Texas Terri Gruca is leaving WCCO-TV to fill an anchor spot in Austin, Texas, that was vacated by Christine Haas.

Remember Haas, the former KARE11 anchor? Haas left Austin, a garden spot, for Houston, which is not.

You'll want to see Haas' "Dancing with the Stars -- Austin" turn on YouTube.com -- or not. She doesn't fall and the judges loved her, but I think she's much less stiff behind an anchor desk.