Renée Zellweger: Difference between revisions
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==Early life== |
==Early life== |
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Zellweger was born in [[Katy, Texas]]. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is from [[Au, St. Gallen|Au]] in the [[cantons of Switzerland|canton]] of [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreporter.de/stars/feature/1302;Renee-Zellweger-hats-geschafft |title=(german) |publisher=Filmreporter.de |date=2006-05-09 |accessdate=2010-03-31}}</ref> Switzerland, and is a mechanical and electrical engineer who worked in the oil refining business. <ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/1/Renee-Zellweger.html "Renee Zellweger Biography (1969-)."] Film Reference.com.</ref> Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (née Andreassen), a native of [[Norway]], has Norwegian and [[Kven people|Kven]] (Finnish) ancestry; Kjellfrid grew up in [[Kirkenes]] and [[Ekkerøy]],<ref>[http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentatorer/dragnes/article3827442.ece#.T25b_WKP24Y "Biskopen, stjernen og minoritetene"]. [[Aftenposten.no]]. 2010-09-26.</ref> and is a nurse and midwife who moved to the United States to work as a governess for a Norwegian family in Texas.<ref name="actors"/><ref>Agelorius, Monica. [http://www.scene-magazine.com/archive/filmarchive.php?filmarcid=8 "Bridget Jones's Diary LA junket"]. scene-magazine.com 2001-03-17.</ref><ref name="tiscali">[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/renee_zellweger_biog.html "Renee Zellweger Biography"]. [[Tiscali.co.uk]]. 2008-02-06.</ref> Zellweger has described herself as being raised in a family of "lazy [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] and [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]]".<ref name="tiscali"/> |
Zellweger was born in [[Katy, Texas]]. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is from the city of [[Au, St. Gallen|Au]] in the [[cantons of Switzerland|canton]] of [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreporter.de/stars/feature/1302;Renee-Zellweger-hats-geschafft |title=(german) |publisher=Filmreporter.de |date=2006-05-09 |accessdate=2010-03-31}}</ref> Switzerland, and is a mechanical and electrical engineer who worked in the oil refining business. <ref>[http://www.filmreference.com/film/1/Renee-Zellweger.html "Renee Zellweger Biography (1969-)."] Film Reference.com.</ref> Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (née Andreassen), a native of [[Norway]], has Norwegian and [[Kven people|Kven]] (Finnish) ancestry; Kjellfrid grew up in [[Kirkenes]] and [[Ekkerøy]],<ref>[http://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kommentatorer/dragnes/article3827442.ece#.T25b_WKP24Y "Biskopen, stjernen og minoritetene"]. [[Aftenposten.no]]. 2010-09-26.</ref> and is a nurse and midwife who moved to the United States to work as a governess for a Norwegian family in Texas.<ref name="actors"/><ref>Agelorius, Monica. [http://www.scene-magazine.com/archive/filmarchive.php?filmarcid=8 "Bridget Jones's Diary LA junket"]. scene-magazine.com 2001-03-17.</ref><ref name="tiscali">[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/entertainment/film/biographies/renee_zellweger_biog.html "Renee Zellweger Biography"]. [[Tiscali.co.uk]]. 2008-02-06.</ref> Zellweger has described herself as being raised in a family of "lazy [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] and [[Episcopal Church in the United States of America|Episcopalians]]".<ref name="tiscali"/> |
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While in junior high school, Zellweger actively took part in several sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and football.<ref name="tiscali"/> She attended [[Katy High School]], where she was a cheerleader, a gymnast, a member of speech team,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nflonline.org/Alumni.Alumni |title=National Forensic League, Speech & Debate Honor Society - alumni |publisher=Nflonline.org |date= |accessdate=2010-03-31}}</ref> and a drama club member. After high school, she went to the [[University of Texas at Austin]] to major in English language.<ref name="askmen"> |
While in junior high school, Zellweger actively took part in several sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and football.<ref name="tiscali"/> She attended [[Katy High School]], where she was a cheerleader, a gymnast, a member of speech team,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nflonline.org/Alumni.Alumni |title=National Forensic League, Speech & Debate Honor Society - alumni |publisher=Nflonline.org |date= |accessdate=2010-03-31}}</ref> and a drama club member. After high school, she went to the [[University of Texas at Austin]] to major in English language.<ref name="askmen"> |
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Revision as of 21:54, 10 November 2012
Renée Zellweger | |
|---|---|
 Zellweger at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2010 | |
| Born | Renée Kathleen Zellweger April 25, 1969 Katy, Texas, U.S |
| Alma mater | University of Texas at Austin (B.A.) |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, producer, voice actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Notable work | Jerry Maguire, Nurse Betty, Bridget Jones's Diary, Chicago, Cold Mountain |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Kenny Chesney (May–September, 2005; annulled) |
Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress and producer. Zellweger first gained widespread attention for her role in the film Jerry Maguire (1996), and subsequently received two nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her roles as Bridget Jones in the comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and its sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Cold Mountain (2003).
She has won an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards and a BAFTA Award, was named Hasty Pudding's Woman of the Year in 2009,[2] and established herself as one of the highest-paid Hollywood actresses as of 2007.[3]
Early life
Zellweger was born in Katy, Texas. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is from the city of Au in the canton of St. Gallen,[4] Switzerland, and is a mechanical and electrical engineer who worked in the oil refining business. [5] Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (née Andreassen), a native of Norway, has Norwegian and Kven (Finnish) ancestry; Kjellfrid grew up in Kirkenes and Ekkerøy,[6] and is a nurse and midwife who moved to the United States to work as a governess for a Norwegian family in Texas.[7][8][9] Zellweger has described herself as being raised in a family of "lazy Catholics and Episcopalians".[9]
While in junior high school, Zellweger actively took part in several sports, including soccer, basketball, baseball and football.[9] She attended Katy High School, where she was a cheerleader, a gymnast, a member of speech team,[10] and a drama club member. After high school, she went to the University of Texas at Austin to major in English language.[11] At the beginning, she took a drama class because she needed a fine arts credit to complete her degree, but the experience made her appreciate how much she loved acting.[7] During this time, she supported herself by taking jobs as a waitress in Austin, Texas.[7][12] She said that she earned her Screen Actors Guild card doing a Coors Light beer commercial while in college.[13] Also while in college, she did "a bit part ... as a local hire" in the Austin-filmed horror-comedy My Boyfriend's Back, playing "the girl in the beauty shop, maybe two lines. But the beauty shop [scene] got cut."[13]
Zellweger graduated from college with a BA degree in English in 1991. Her first job after graduation was working in a beef commercial, while simultaneously starting to audition for roles around Houston.[7]
Career
Early work
While still in Texas, Zellweger appeared in several films. One was A Taste for Killing (1992),[11] followed by a role in the ABC miniseries Murder in the Heartland (1993).[11] The following year, she appeared in Reality Bites (1994),[14] the directorial debut of Ben Stiller,[15] and in the biographical film 8 Seconds, directed by John G. Avildsen.[16]
Zellweger's first main part in a movie came with the 1994 horror story Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, alongside Matthew McConaughey. She played Jenny, a teenager who leaves a prom early with three friends and ended up getting into a car accident, which leads to their meeting a murderous family, led by the iconic Leatherface.[7] Her next movie was Love and a .45 (1994), in which she played the role of Starlene Cheatham, a woman who plans a robbery with her boyfriend. The performance earned her an Independent Spirit Award for Best Debut Performance. She subsequently moved to Los Angeles, winning roles in the films Empire Records (1995) and The Whole Wide World (1996).[7] Zellweger first became widely known to audiences around the world with Jerry Maguire (1996), in which she played the romantic interest of Tom Cruise's character.[7]
Zellweger later won acclaim in One True Thing (1998) opposite William Hurt and Meryl Streep, and in Neil LaBute's Nurse Betty opposite Morgan Freeman.[7] The role garnered the actress her first of three Golden Globe Awards, but she was in the bathroom when future co-star Hugh Grant announced her name.[7] Zellweger later protested: "I had lipstick on my teeth!"[17]
Critical success
In 2001, Zellweger gained the prized lead role as Bridget Jones, playing alongside Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, in the British romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary, based on the 1996 novel Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding. The choice came amid much controversy since she was neither British nor overweight.[7] During casting, Zellweger was told she was too skinny to play the chubby Bridget, so she quickly embarked on gaining the required weight (20 pounds) and learning an English accent.[18] Her performance as Bridget received praise from critics with Stephen Holden of The New York Times commenting, "Ms. Zellweger accomplishes the small miracle of making Bridget both entirely endearing and utterly real."[18] This role won her first Best Actress Academy Award nomination.[7] Along with receiving voice coaching to fine-tune her English accent, part of Zellweger's preparations involved spending three weeks working undercover in a "work experience placement" for British publishing firm Picador in Victoria, London.[7][19] In 2002, she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander. The same year, she appeared as Roxie Hart in the critically acclaimed musical film Chicago, directed by Rob Marshall, co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, and John C. Reilly. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Zellweger received positive reviews. The San Francisco Chronicle's web site SFGate commented, "Zellweger is a joy to watch, with marvelous comic timing and, in her stage numbers, a commanding presence."[20] The Washington Post noted that even though Zellweger couldn't dance well in real life, the audience "wouldn't know it from this movie, in which she dances up a storm."[21] She earned her second Academy Award nomination as Best Actress, as well as the Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe Award.[7]
2003–present
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In 2004, Zellweger received her first Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress in Anthony Minghella's Cold Mountain opposite Jude Law and Nicole Kidman. Zellweger has since starred in the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, lent her voice to the DreamWorks animated features Shark Tale and Bee Movie, and starred in the 2005 Ron Howard film Cinderella Man opposite Russell Crowe and Paul Giamatti. On May 24, 2005, Zellweger received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She produced and appeared in Miss Potter, based on the life story of acclaimed author Beatrix Potter, with Emily Watson and Ewan McGregor, released in December 2006.
Zellweger was awarded the Women in Film Crystal award in 2007.[22] In 2008, she starred in the western Appaloosa with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen and the period comedy Leatherheads with George Clooney.
In 2008, she produced a film, Living Proof, starring Harry Connick Jr., about the true story of Dr. Denny Slamon. The film, produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, premiered in October 2008 on Lifetime Television.[23]
In 2009, she starred alongside Chris Noth and Kevin Bacon in the feature film My One and Only,[24] as well as in the film New in Town, and a cameo role in the animated film Monsters vs. Aliens.
Personal life
Zellweger dated The White Stripes singer Jack White for two years from 2002 to 2004.[25]
On May 9, 2005, Zellweger married singer Kenny Chesney in a ceremony at the island of St. John.[26] On September 15, 2005, they announced their plans for an annulment. Zellweger cited "fraud" as the reason in the related papers.[27] After media scrutiny of her use of the word "fraud", she qualified the use of the term, stating it was "simply legal language and not a reflection of Kenny's character."[27]
In September 2010, it was reported that Zellweger and actor Bradley Cooper had been in a relationship for over a year.[28] On March 18, 2011, People Magazine announced that the two had broken off their relationship.[29]
Activism
Zellweger took part in the 2005 HIV prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department.[30]
Zellweger is one of the patrons for gender equality foundation, The GREAT Initiative and visited Liberia in 2011 with the charity.[31][32]
Filmography
References
- ^ "How tall is Renee Zellweger ?". celebheights.com. Retrieved September 2 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ Hasty Pudding Theatricals, Harvard University
- ^ "Witherspoon Tops Rich List". San Francisco Chronicle. 2007-11-30.
- ^ "(german)". Filmreporter.de. 2006-05-09. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ "Renee Zellweger Biography (1969-)." Film Reference.com.
- ^ "Biskopen, stjernen og minoritetene". Aftenposten.no. 2010-09-26.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Inside the Actors Studio". Bravotv.com. Season 9, Episode 912. 9 May 2003.
- ^ Agelorius, Monica. "Bridget Jones's Diary LA junket". scene-magazine.com 2001-03-17.
- ^ a b c "Renee Zellweger Biography". Tiscali.co.uk. 2008-02-06.
- ^ "National Forensic League, Speech & Debate Honor Society - alumni". Nflonline.org. Retrieved 2010-03-31.
- ^ a b c "Actress of the Week: Renee Zellweger". Askmen.com. 2008-02-06. Cite error: The named reference "askmen" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
- ^ "Renee Zellweger". Yahoo! Movies. 2008-02-06.
- ^ a b Lovece, Frank. "Renee Zellweger talks about 'My One and Only'", Newsday, August 26, 2009. WebCitation archive: "I got my SAG card on my Coors Light commercial. Yeah! Coors Light paid for college!"
- ^ "'Reality Bites': Where Are They Now?". nydailynews.com. July 11 2011. Retrieved September 2 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ Piazza, Jo (January 23 2012). "Sundance 2012: Ben Stiller Revisits Reality Bites". huffingtonpost. Retrieved September 2 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Renee Zellweger". blockbuster.com. Retrieved September 2 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help) - ^ "Zellweger's flush of success". BBC News. 2008-02-07.
- ^ a b "'Bridget Jones's Diary': 120 Pounds and 1,000,000 Cigarettes Later"
- ^ "Overweight and over here. Texan Renee Zellweger plays a modern British everywoman". iofilm.co.uk.
- ^ "That's showbiz / 'Chicago' sparkles with sexy women, jazz energy and spectacular numbers", 2002-12-27.
- ^ "Pure Razzmatazz" (washingtonpost.com).
- ^ "Renée, 'Grey's' light up Crystal/Lucy Awards" June 16, 2007, USA Today
- ^ "Harry Connick Jr. to star in New Orleans-shot movie for Lifetime", The Times Picayune, 2008-05-02.
- ^ Press notes, "Herrick Entertainment Presents 'My One and Only', A Film by Richard Loncraine"
- ^ "Jack White - White Calls Off Relationship with Zellweger". Contact Music.com. 2004-12-19.
- ^ "Top 10 Short-Lived Celebrity Marriages - Renée Zellweger and Kenny Chesney" Time Magazine Special
- ^ a b Thomas, Karen. "Renee Zellweger cites 'fraud' in split to Kenny Chesney". USA Today. 2005-09-15.
- ^ "Bradley Cooper on Renee Zellweger: "I Just Love Her"". September 29, 2010. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
- ^ "Bradley Cooper & Renée Zellweger Split", Julie Jordan, March 18, 2011, People
- ^ "Swiss Government AIDs campaign" (Flash: click "Campaign", then choose "2005")
- ^ "AFRICA: Renée and I are Shouting Loudly for the Rights of Women in War". Evening Standard. May 18 2011. Retrieved October 16 2012.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "The Great Initiative". May 19 2011. Retrieved October 16 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - ^ "Zellweger 'agrees to Bridget Jones 3' " March 1, 2011, Zakia Uddin, Bollywood Reporter
External links
- Renée Zellweger at IMDb
- Renée Zellweger on Charlie Rose
- Template:Worldcat id
- Renée Zellweger collected news and commentary at The New York Times
- Template:Nndb
- Interview with Zellweger about her role in "Miss Potter"
- Renée Zellweger interview for "Bridget Jones's Diary", 2004
- Renée Zellweger Interview with Beliefnet about "New in Town", 2009
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
| Other | |
- American film actors
- American voice actors
- Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
- Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Austin, Texas
- People from Katy, Texas
- Actors from Houston, Texas
- University of Texas at Austin alumni
- 1969 births
- Living people
- American people of Norwegian descent
- American people of Swiss descent