Since her death in 1961, Davies has been portrayed in a variety of media by different actresses. In 1985, Davies was portrayed by 23-year-old Virginia Madsen in the ABC telefilm "The Hearst and Davies Affair" with Robert Mitchum as Hearst. ABC inaccurately marketed the film as "the scandalous love affair between one of the richest and most powerful men in America and the obscure Ziegfeld girl he promoted to stardom." To prepare for the role, Madsen "screened Davies' movies, read books, hunted up a collector of Davies memorabilia and even interviewed the actress' stand-in." In the process, Madsen later became a Davies fan and said that she felt she had inadvertently portrayed her as a stereotype, rather than as a real person. In subsequent decades, Davies was also portrayed by Heather McNair in "Chaplin" (1992) and by Gretchen Mol in "Cradle Will Rock" (1999).