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Renée Zellweger

Renée ZellwegerAKA Renée Kathleen Zellweger

Born: 25-Apr-1969
Birthplace: Katy, TX

Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Bridget Jones' Diary

Renée Zellweger attended the University of Texas at Austin, where her classmates included Rory Cochrane and Matthew McConaughey. She majored in English, and thought she might be a school teacher. The degree required a fine arts class. She elected to take drama, and loved it. She started auditioning for commercials, tiny TV parts, and movies being filmed around Austin. She was an extra in the high school comedy Dazed and Confused and the zombie comedy My Boyfriend's Back (both with McConaughey). Her first speaking part came in 1994's Reality Bites, and she starred in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

When Olivia d'Abo got pregnant and backed out of The Whole Wide World in 1996, Zellweger stepped into the role opposite Vincent D'Onofrio, and while very few people saw that low-budget film, one of the few was writer-director Cameron Crowe. Crowe was finishing his screenplay for Jerry McGuire, and needed an appealing but affordable actress to fall for Tom Cruise; thus Zellweger was cast. Zellweger was nominated for an Oscar for Bridget Jones' Diary in 2001, and for the musical Chicago in 2002. She won Best Supporting Actress for the civil war drama Cold Mountain in 2003.

Father: Emil Zellweger (oil refinery engineer, Swiss)
Mother: Kjellfrid Irene Andreassen (midwife, Norwegian)
Brother: Andrew Zellweger (marketing executive, b. 15-Feb-1967)
Boyfriend: Sims Ellison (bass player, Pariah, dated in early 1990s, d. 1995 suicide)
Boyfriend: Rory Cochrane (actor, cohabited four years in mid-1990s)
Boyfriend: Josh Pate (director, dated 1996-97)
Boyfriend: Jim Carrey (actor, broken engagement 2000)
Boyfriend: George Clooney (actor, dated in 2001)
Boyfriend: Matthew Perry (actor, reportedly dated in 2002)
Boyfriend: Michael Edwards-Hammond (host of UK reality Playboy Pool Party, dated 2002)
Boyfriend: Jack White (musician, The White Stripes, dated 2002-03)
Boyfriend: Damien Rice (Irish musician, dated 2004)
Husband: Kenny Chesney (country musician, m. 9-May-2005, annulled 22-Dec-2005)
Boyfriend: Bradley Cooper (actor, together 2009-11)
Boyfriend: Doyle Bramhall II (together 2012-present)

    High School: Katy High School (1987)
    University: BA English, University of Texas at Austin (1991)

    Hillary Clinton for President
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7000 Hollywood Blvd
    Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 2004 for Cold Mountain
    Golden Globe 2001 for Nurse Betty
    Golden Globe 2003 for Chicago
    Golden Globe 2004 for Cold Mountain
    Swiss Ancestry Paternal
    Norwegian Ancestry Maternal

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Bridget Jones's Baby (14-Sep-2016)
    The Whole Truth (25-Mar-2016)
    My Own Love Song (7-Apr-2010) · Jane
    Case 39 (13-Aug-2009) · Emily Jenkins
    Monsters vs Aliens (19-Mar-2009) [VOICE]
    My One and Only (12-Feb-2009) · Anne Deveraux
    New in Town (29-Jan-2009) · Lucy Hill
    Appaloosa (5-Sep-2008)
    Leatherheads (24-Mar-2008)
    Bee Movie (28-Oct-2007) [VOICE]
    Show Business: The Road to Broadway (19-Apr-2007) · Herself
    Miss Potter (3-Dec-2006)
    Cinderella Man (3-Jun-2005)
    Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (8-Nov-2004) · Bridget
    Shark Tale (10-Sep-2004) · Angie [VOICE]
    Cold Mountain (25-Dec-2003)
    Down with Love (9-May-2003) · Barbara Novak
    Chicago (10-Dec-2002) · Roxie Hart
    White Oleander (6-Sep-2002)
    Bridget Jones's Diary (4-Apr-2001)
    Me, Myself & Irene (15-Jun-2000)
    Nurse Betty (11-May-2000) · Betty
    The Bachelor (3-Nov-1999)
    One True Thing (18-Sep-1998)
    A Price Above Rubies (22-Jan-1998) · Sonia
    Deceiver (31-Aug-1997) · Elizabeth
    Jerry Maguire (13-Dec-1996) · Dorothy Boyd
    The Whole Wide World (Jan-1996)
    The Low Life (Nov-1995)
    Empire Records (22-Sep-1995) · Gina
    The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (7-Oct-1994)
    Love and a .45 (10-Sep-1994) · Starlene Cheatham
    8 Seconds (25-Feb-1994) · Prescott Motel Buckle Bunny
    Reality Bites (18-Feb-1994) · Tami
    Shake, Rattle and Rock! (1994) · Susan


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