One of six children, McGowan was a citizen of the world at an early age. Raised in Italy, she spent her childhood traveling throughout Europe. She returned to the United States to attend high school in Seattle, Washington. A chance trip to Los Angeles resulted in her being cast in the film The Doom Generation. Her performance in Gregg Araki's dark and stylish road movie earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 1996 Independent Spirit Awards. Also in 1996, Rose appeared in Wes Craven's smash hit Scream as Sydney's (Neve Campbell) doomed best friend who met with an unseemly death under a garage door.

Since this auspicious debut, McGowan has worked non-stop. In 1997, she had the distinction of starring in four films appearing at the Sundance Film Festival: Going All the Way, Louis & Clark & George, Nowhere and the short film Seed. In 1998, Rose starred with Ben Affleck and Peter O'Toole in the feature thriller Phantoms and in the independent film Southie, which won Best Picture at the 2000 Seattle Film Festival.

Recent starring roles include the 1999 dark comedy Jawbreaker, about three high school girls who conspire to cover up the accidental murder of their friend. In addition to her roles in Scream and The Doom Generation, McGowan was also seen in Monkeybone, co-starring Brendan Fraser. She will next star in the independent film Vacuum, which was co-written and will be directed by Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, the duo that created the Broadway hit Stomp.