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). 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. 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." As a result, Bowen was asked to dye her hair for the role. 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. Bowen returned to the series for one episode during season five and rejoined the main cast as a series regular for season six. She appeared once in season seven and returned for a string of episodes in the final season. 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."
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==