RENEE ZELLWEGER's powerhouse performance opposite Tom Cruise in "Jerry Maguire" left the critics raving and the box-office soaring. Plucked from the independent film world by writer/director Cameron Crowe to play—as he describes her—"the soul of the movie," Zellweger was named Best Breakthrough Performer of 1996 by The National Board of Review, received a Blockbuster Award for Best Supporting actress in a Comedy and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Zellweger recently starred in Neil Labute's dark comedy "Nurse Betty" with Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman—a performance which earned her a Golden Globe Award. Prior to "Nurse Betty," Zellweger starred in 20th Century Fox's comedy "Me, Myself and Irene" directed by the Farrelly brothers and opposite Jim Carrey.
Considering she took her first acting class to ensure graduating from the University of Texas with a literature degree, Zellweger's rise to leading lady status has been as rapid as it's been unexpected. According to director Cameron Crowe, " Renée's appeal is just Renée, quirky and heartfelt. When I told her, 'You got the part' [in "Jerry Maguire"], there was a silence.
"Then she said, 'What makes you think I'll take it?'"
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