RENÉE ZELLWEGER (Angie) won an Academy Award® for Best Supporting Actress this year for her performance in Anthony Minghella’s Civil War drama “Cold Mountain.” In addition, Zellweger swept the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), Critics Choice and BAFTA Awards for her portrayal of the strong-willed and independent Ruby Thewes.
The Oscar® win for “Cold Mountain” also marked Zellweger’s third consecutive Academy Award® nomination. In 2002, she earned a Best Actress nod for her work in the title role of “Bridget Jones’s Diary,” for which she also garnered Golden Globe, SAG, Critics Choice and BAFTA Awards nominations. The following year, she earned her second Academy Award® nomination for her portrayal of the murderous Roxie Hart in Rob Marshall’s screen adaptation of Bob Fosse’s smash hit musical “Chicago.” Her acting/singing/dancing performance in that movie also brought Zellweger Golden Globe and SAG Awards for Best Actress. In addition, she shared in SAG and Critics Choice Awards won for Best Ensemble Cast, which included Richard Gere, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah.
Zellweger next reprises the role of Bridget Jones in the sequel “Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason,” being released on November 19, 2004. She recently completed production on “Cinderella Man,” in which she stars opposite Russell Crowe under the direction of Ron Howard.
Hailing from Texas, Zellweger graduated from the University of Texas before landing her first acting roles in the television projects “A Taste for Killing” and “Murder in the Heartland.” While still living in Texas, she made her feature film debut in Richard Linklater’s coming-of-age film “Dazed and Confused,” followed by supporting roles in Ben Stiller’s “Reality Bites” and John G. Avildsen’s “8 Seconds.”
Zellweger’s first starring role came in 1994’s “Love and a .45,” for which she earned her first Independent Spirit Award nomination. She went on to star in “The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” “Empire Records” and “The Whole Wide World,” for which she gained another Independent Spirit Award nomination.
However, it was her performance opposite Tom Cruise in Cameron Crowe’s “Jerry Maguire” that catapulted Zellweger to international stardom. Her portrayal of single mother Dorothy Boyd, who risks everything for love, brought Zellweger Critics Choice and National Board of Review Awards for Breakthrough Performer of the Year, as well as a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Zellweger won her first Golden Globe Award in 2001 for her performance as a deluded soap opera fan in Neil LaBute’s dark comedy “Nurse Betty,” with Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock. Her other film credits include starring roles in “One True Thing,” with Meryl Streep and William Hurt; the romantic comedy “The Bachelor,” with Chris O’Donnell; the Farrelly brothers’ “Me, Myself & Irene,” opposite Jim Carrey; the drama “White Oleander,” with Michelle Pfeiffer and Robin Wright-Penn; and the romantic comedy “Down With Love,” opposite Ewan McGregor.
Movie Database
In Theaters
(37 votes)
(99 votes)
(161 votes)
(123 votes)
(146 votes)
(28 votes)