Renee Zellweger - Biography

Last Editor: graham				Renee Zellweger Biography -   Name : Renee Zellweger Birth Date : April 25, 1969 Birth place : Katy, Texas Birth Name : Renee Kathleen Zellweger Height : 5' 5 Education : Katy High School ; University of Texas (journalism) Profession : actress Claim to fame : as Dorothy Boyd in 'Jerry Maguire' (1996)

Renee Zellweger Trivia -

Swiss father, Norwegian mother. Chosen by 'People Magazine' as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [2001] She was a part of the Katy High School Bengal Brigade and Cheerleaders. Was in the bathroom when it was announced that she won the Golden Globe for her performance in Nurse Betty (2000). Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001." With no dance or voice training, she learned how to perform for Chicago (2002) by watching co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones. She endured a grueling training regime of vocal coaching and dance training for 10 months to rise to professional standards. Her dog, Dylan, a collie-golden retriever mix, died in November 2003. While her mother is originally from Norway, her Swiss father was raised in Australia. Attended University of Texas at Austin, Graduated 1991, majoring in English. Worked as a cocktail waitress in a strip club while trying to catch her "big break" in acting. Had a non-speaking role in Dazed and Confused (1993). Prior to the filming of Chicago (2002), Renee had only sung previously in public in the last scene of Empire Records (1995) and in the comical karaoke scene in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). However, critics were amazed how good her voice was in the movie. Lived with actor Rory Cochrane for four years. Gained 20 pounds for her role in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). Her Norwegian mother, Kjellfrid Irene Andreassen, is of Sami origin (a minority originating mainly from the northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula often referred to as Lappland). Zellweger herself has many typical Sami features, such as strong cheekbones and slanted eyes. She became the first performer to win 2 individual (excluding best acting ensemble) SAG awards in film catagories. Is accompanied to many award shows and other functions by her long time agent John Carrabino. Her father (Emil Erich Zellweger) and her grandparents (Dorothy and Emil Zellweger) lived in Switzerland, a village called Au in the canton of St. Gallen. They left right after World War II and moved first to Australia and then to the U.S. Emil Erich met Renee's mother on a boat during the crossing to the U.S. Ended her relationship with Jack White (they met during the filming of Cold Mountain (2003)) over the Christmas holidays in 2004. Married country singer Kenny Chesney on the resort island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Her wedding ceremony lasted 15 minutes. Met her future husband Kenny Chesney at a tsunami relief benefit in January 2005. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [May 24, 2005]. In 2004, she accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for "Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role" on behalf of Johnny Depp, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony She wore a gown designed by her favorite designer, Carolina Adriana Herrera, for her wedding to Kenny Chesney. Friend of Reese Witherspoon. Dyed her hair brown for her role in Cinderella Man (2005). Her father's family comes from Au in canton St. Gallen/Switzerland. This is just a few minutes away from Rorschach where Emil Jannings was born, the very first actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor. Fan of Chelsea FC (England soccer club). First on-screen kiss was with Ethan Hawke in Reality Bites (1994). Is one of six actresses to have won the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award and SAG Award for the same performance. The others in chronological order are Julia Roberts for Erin Brockovich (2000), Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line (2005), Helen Mirren for The Queen (2006), Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls (2006) and Kate Winslet for The Reader (2008). Was considered for the role of Jessica Kimble in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday (1993). She visited Argentina, in 1996, to promote, with Vincent D'Onofrio, the film The Whole Wide World (1996) in Mar del Plata Film Festival, where she won the Best Actress Award for this film. Was in a relationship with Dan Abrams (January-June 2009). Honored as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year for 2009 on February 5, 2009. Was the first choice to play the part of Carla Albanese in Nine (2009), but the role was eventually given to Penélope Cruz. Was in consideration for the part of Satine in Moulin Rouge! (2001) but Nicole Kidman, who went on to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead. Began a relationship with Bradley Cooper in July 2009. Born at 2:41 PM (CST).

Renee Zellweger Detailed Biography -

Renee Kathleen Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, a small town outside Houston. The daughter of European parents (her father was Swiss and her mother Norwegian), Renee had an older brother that she greatly admired. After graduating from Katy High School in 1987, where Renee was a cheerleader, gymnast and participated in the drama club, she went off to the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in English. An excellent student (she made the Dean's List several times), Renee took a drama class only because she needed a fine arts credit to complete her degree. Her participation in drama while in college turned out to be much more than a requirement, as it reminded her of how much she loved acting. Not even having planned on becoming an actress earlier, Renee knew by the time that she graduated from college that she wanted to pursue a career in acting. She immediately began auditioning for commercials and films that were being shot in Texas, and it didn't her take long to get her first film role. Although the roles she landed were bit-parts, the films did well and co-starred respectable actors such as Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Matthew McConaughey. Her uncredited role in 1993's Dazed and Confused as a high school senior was her first film role, and was followed up by a role in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (released in 1997). It was on the set of Chainsaw that Renee heard about another film that was in the midst of casting actors, which as luck would have it, Renee auditioned for and got the lead. The film was Love and a .45, a film for which Renee received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance. In the meantime, Renee appeared in other films such as The Low Life, 8 Seconds, Reality Bites, and Empire Records, but it was her starring role in The Whole Wide World which not only won her praise at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, but also led to her breakthrough role in Cameron Crowe's hit Jerry Maguire. Cameron Crowe was so impressed with her work in The Whole Wide World that he knew Renee would be the perfect choice to play the girlfriend of sports agent Tom Cruise, after being dumped by Kelly Preston. She even beat out already known actresses Bridget Fonda, Cameron Diaz and Mira Sorvino for the part. Her role in Jerry Maguire earned her many awards and a lot of recognition, including a Screen Actor's Guild Nomination for Best Supporting Actress, as well as being named Entertainment Weekly's Best New Movie Actress. After Jerry Maguire, Renee starred in the smaller films Deceiver and A Price Above Rubies, in which she played a Hasidic Jew. In 1998, she moved onto a more mainstream film, One True Thing, a tearjerker also starring Oscar winners Meryl Streep and William Hurt. The following year, Renee joined Chris O'Donnell in The Bachelor. Next up for Renee is the summer comedy Me, Myself and Irene, featured in our Top Summer Movie Picks. Renee fell for co-star Jim Carrey while on the set of filming the Farrelly Brothers' film, and the two are still going strong. Renee also landed the title role in the film Bridget Jones' Diary, beating out popular British actresses to play the role of a single British woman in her 30s.