NAOMI WATTS (Rachel Keller) earned an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actress for her work in Alejandro González Iñárritu’s drama “21 Grams,” opposite Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro. Watts’ heart-wrenching performance as a grieving mother and widow also brought her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award, BAFTA and Critics Choice Award nominations. In addition, she won Best Actress Awards from a number of critics groups, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. She also won the Audience Award for Best Actress at the 2003 Venice Film Festival and was honored by the Palm Springs Film Festival for her work in “21 Grams.”
More recently, Watts starred in three very different independent films: David O. Russell’s “I (Heart) Huckabee’s,” opposite Jude Law and Dustin Hoffman; “We Don’t Live Here Anymore,” with Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Mark Ruffalo; and “The Assassination of Richard Nixon,” with Sean Penn and Don Cheadle.
Watts will next appear in Marc Forster’s dramatic thriller “Stay,” in which she stars with Ewan McGregor. She is currently on location in New Zealand, where she is filming a remake of the classic “King Kong,” under the direction of Peter Jackson. Watts stars as Ann Darrow, opposite Adrien Brody and Jack Black.
Watts first gained international acclaim for her work in David Lynch’s controversial drama “Mulholland Drive,” which premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Her portrayal of an aspiring young actress brought her Best Actress Awards from several critics’ organizations, including the National Society of Film Critics. She also received the National Board of Review’s award for Best Breakthrough Performance by an Actress, as well as the Breakthrough Acting Award at the 2002 Hollywood Film Festival. In addition, she was named the Female Star of Tomorrow at the 2002 ShoWest Convention.
She went on to star in Gore Verbinski’s horror hit “The Ring”; the Merchant-Ivory production “Le Divorce,” as part of an ensemble cast that also included Kate Hudson, Glenn Close and Stockard Channing; and “Ned Kelly,” with Heath Ledger and Rachel Griffiths.
Born in England, Watts moved to Australia at the age of 14 and began studying acting. Her first major film role came in John Duigan’s “Flirting,” with Nicole Kidman. She also produced and starred in the short film “Ellie Parker,” which screened in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival and for which she received the Best Actress in a Short Film Award from the Method Fest.
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