Renee Zellweger won the Academy Award as best supporting actress for her role as plucky Ruby Thewes in the 2003 Civil War drama Cold Mountain. Zellweger is an athletic Texas native whose early roles were in youth-oriented movies like Dazed and Confused (1993) and Reality Bites (1994). Her career took a great leap forward when she co-starred with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, one of the top-grossing films of 1996. In the year 2000 she was romantically linked with Jim Carrey, her co-star in the film Me, Myself and Irene, but the two ended their much-discussed romance that December. In 2001 Zellweger had the title role in Bridget Jones' Diary, the film of the popular Helen Fielding novel, and she received rave reviews and an Oscar nomination for her performance as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002, with Richard Gere). Her other films include Nurse Betty (2000, with Greg Kinnear), Down With Love (2003, co-starring Ewan McGregor), and Cinderella Man (2005, with Russell Crowe).
The role of Roxie Hart was originated on Broadway by Gwen Verdon... Zellweger married country music star Kenny Chesney in May of 2005, but four months later announced that the marriage would be annulled... According to a 2005 story in The Times of London, "Her father Emil is a Swiss engineer who worked for the Houston Light and Power company, her mother is a Norwegian nurse called Kjellfrid."
Career Highlights: Jerry Maguire, The Whole Wide World, Nurse Betty
First Major Screen Credit: Love and a .45 (1994)
Biography
Up until she appeared opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire (1996), Renee Zellweger's name was almost unknown outside of Hollywood and the independent film circuit. The beauty and natural ability that Zellweger exhibited as Cruise's love interest caught the attention of critics and audiences alike. Though she was passed by at that year's Oscars, she won several other awards for her work, including the title of Best Breakthrough Performer by the National Board of Review.
Of Swiss and Norwegian parentage, the willowy, strawberry blonde actress was born in Katy, TX, a small town located near Houston. The town was so small that it possessed neither cable television nor a movie theater. As a result, Zellweger reportedly did not see her first art film until she was a student at the University of Texas in Austin. Her career at U.T. was an exceptional one; a regular on the dean's list, she graduated a year early with a B.A. in Radio, Film, and Television. While in college, Zellweger took an acting class and discovered a knack for performing; following graduation, she made her feature-film debut with a bit part in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused (1993). She had her first real role playing a whacked-out waitress in Love and a .45 (1994), for which she won her first Independent Spirit Award nomination; she won a second nomination for The Whole Wide World (1996), earning additional acclaim at various film festivals.
Following the tremendous success of Jerry Maguire, Zellweger went on to prove herself as a versatile actress able to play roles ranging from an ambitious journalist (who temporarily shelves her career to care for her mother) in One True Thing (1998) to a rebellious Hassidic Jew in Boaz Yakin's A Price Above Rubies (1998). She then exhibited a capacity for romantic comedy in The Bachelor (1999), starring as the long-suffering girlfriend of a serial commitment-phobic Chris O'Donnell. Zellweger's second role as a whacked-out waitress in Nurse Betty won her the Best Actress in a Comedy Award at the 2000 Golden Globes. Nominated for yet another Golden Globe the following year for her memorable performance in Bridget Jones' Diary, that same role also earned Zellweger her maiden Oscar nod. The following few years found Zellweger's leading lady status growing and numerous lucrative film offers flowing in, and the release of White Oleander (2002) the starlet recieved numerous positive reviews despite the films lackluster performance. Later that same year, Zellweger was on top of the world when she recieved rave reviews for her role in Chicago. Based on the popular Broadway musical of the same name, director Rob Marshall's flashy cinematic extravaganza received nearly unanimous praise accompanied by multiple Academy Award nominations, including a second Best Actress in a Leading Role nod to Ms. Zellweger for her lively performance.
Though Zelleger would ultimately be beaten out for the Oscar by Nicole Kidman, there evidently weren't any hard feelings as the two starred together in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain. The performance netted Zellweger her third Oscar nomination in as many years, and on February 29, 2004, her losing streak ended as she took home the award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Attempting to keep up the momentum, Zellweger returned to the character that earned her her first Academy Award nomination, starring in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. After a limited release in December 2004, the film is slated to open wide in early 2005. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an
Academy Award-winning Americanfilmactress. One of Hollywood's highest paid actresses, she commands between
$12-$15 million per film.
Biography
Early life
Zellweger was born in Baytown, Texas[1] and moved to Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, at the age of nine with her family. Her mother,
Kjellfried Irene (née Andreassen), is a Norwegian-born nurse and midwife who moved to the United States in order to
work as a governess for a Norwegian family in Texas.[2] Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is a Swiss-born mechanical and electrical engineer who worked in the
oil refining business.[3][4][5][6]
Zellweger was raised in a family of "lazy Catholics and Episcopalians".[7] In high school, she was a cheerleader and gymnast, and participated in the drama club. She graduated from Katy High School in 1987. After high school, she went to the
University of Texas at Austin to major in English. Though she took a drama class only because she needed a fine
arts credit to complete her degree, it made her appreciate how much she loved acting.[2] During this time, she supported herself by taking a series of jobs in
Austin, Texas, including working as a waitress at a
topless bar, an experience that she has said taught her as much as university
did.[2][8]
In 2001, Zellweger gained the prized lead role in the film Bridget Jones's
Diary, amid much controversy since she was neither British nor
overweight.[2] During casting Zellweger was
told she was too skinny to play the chubby Bridget, so she very quickly embarked on gaining the required weight. Her dramatically
personal yo-yoing weight has been the subject of much media interest. As well as receiving voice coaching to fine-tune her
English accent, part of Zellweger's preparations involved spending three weeks working undercover in a "job experience placement"
for British publishing firm Picador in Victoria,
London.[9][2] As a result of her considerable efforts to effect author Helen Fielding's character, Zellweger caught the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and received her first
Best Actress Academy Award nomination.[2]
Zellweger and Marc Forster, took part in the 2005 HIV
prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department.[10] Zellweger was the subject of an Israeli pop song Renée by
Ariel Horowitz, where Horowitz describes his love to Zellweger, and says that he would
like to marry her and bring her back to Israel with him.
Personal life
Zellweger dated Sims Ellison while studying at the University of Texas, but the couple broke up after graduation.[11] She also dated Josh Pate, whom
she began seeing in November 1996 after the filming of "Deceiver". She also was rumoured to have
dated George Clooney.[12] Her first high-profile romance was with actor/comedianJim Carrey. The relationship ended in a broken engagement in
December 2000. Zellweger notably poked fun at the prior relationship when she ended her
opening monologue on Saturday Night Live by reading an entry from her own "diary",
marked "Dear Diary, I can't believe I am dating Jim Carrey".[13]
For two years, Zellweger dated The White Stripes singer Jack White, who is six years her junior. However, it was felt that White didn't want to settle down, and they
broke up.[14][15]
On May 9, 2005, Zellweger married singer Kenny Chesney in a ceremony at the island of St.
John. They had met in January at a tsunami reliefbenefit concert. Zellweger missed out on the engagement ring
since the wedding was planned over a short span of time.[16] On September 15, 2005, after only four months of marriage, they announced their plans for an annulment. Zellweger cited fraud as the reason in the related papers.[17] After media scrutiny of her use of the word "fraud", she released the following
statement: "(The term is) simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character. I would personally be very grateful
for your support in refraining from drawing derogatory, hurtful, sensationalized or untrue conclusions. We hope to experience
this transition as privately as possible." The annulment was finalized in late December 2005. When
interviewed on Late Show with David Letterman in December
2006, she was still reluctant to answer questions over the relationship.[18] Since her marriage annulment, she has been linked to various personalities,
including actor Luke Perry of Beverly Hills,
90210 fame.[19]
Zellweger sold her home in the Hollywood Hills,[20] and after renting for a while she now again owns a home in Bel Air. She admits that she gets scared at home alone, and has considered buying a
gun for reasons of personal security.[21]
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