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Julie Bowen shares her reaction to that shocking 'Happy Gilmore 2' death

By Sophia Soto | Last updated Jul 27, 2025 4:53 PM ET

Viewers might be pretty shocked when, four minutes into Happy Gilmore 2, Julie Bowen's Virginia Venit is killed after being hit in the head by one of Happy's, played by Adam Sandler, golf balls.

"When I found out that I was killed on page 12, I started laughing," the actress expressed to PEOPLE. "I was on vacation with my family, and I had no wifi. I could barely read this thing. I only had my phone, and I was like, 'Am I seeing this right'? Trying to blow it up."

She continued to share, "And I was like, 'Oh, yeah, I'm dead. And he kills me.' Then I just started laughing. I just started laughing and laughing, and Adam was trying to get through to me. I was on island with no wifi and barely any cell, and we finally connected."

However, she was okay with it: "I go, 'I don't care. It's great. Happy can't be happy,'" adding that "it's just fun to be part of the whole thing. Of course, why would I not want to be part of Happy Gilmore, whether I'm a big part, a little part."

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Despite being killed off, it's not the last we see of the character. "His love for me drives the story," she explained. "I was delighted to find out that Adam felt that Happy and Virginia had stayed together. That's cool."

The cast included new and returning actors because "It was really important to him [Sandler] to have as many of the original cast members there."

Those stars include Chris McDonald, Benny Safdie, Ben Stiller, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, John Daly, Haley Joel Osment, Jackie Sandler, Sadie Sandler, Sunny Sandler, Maxwell Jacob Friedman, Philip Schneider, Ethan Cutkosky, Conor Sherry, Kevin Nealon, Lavell Crawford, Kym Whitley, John Farley, Eric André, Martin Herlihy, Margaret Qualley, Keegan Bradley, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau, Rickie Fowler, Brooks Koepka, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, Jack Nicklaus, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Bubba Watson, Will Zalatoris, Verne Lundquist, Austin Post, Marcello Hernandez, Travis Kelce, Eminem, Blake Clark, Oliver Hudson, Reggie Bush, Nikki Garcia, Becky Lynch, Tim Herlihy, Nelly Korda, Nancy Lopez, Boban Mfarjanovic, Paige Spiranac, Dan Patrick, Stephen A. Smith, Ken Jennings, Cam’ron, and Scott Mescudi.

Happy Gilmore 2 is streaming on Netflix.

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto is a writer and interviewer with a passion for all things entertainment. She is a Senior Reporter at The Nerds of Color and contributes to Yardbarker, Screensphere, Den of Geek, What to Watch, Nerdtropolis, and Temple of Geek. You can see her past work on Remezcla, Young Hollywood, Looper, Paste Magazine, Primetimer, Soundsphere, and Starry Constellation Magazine

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