rene-zellweger

  

            















                                                                   rene-zellweger

Renee Kathleen Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, a small town outside Houston. Renee is the daughter of a Swiss father and a Norwegian mother, and she has an older brother, Andrew, whom she attributes to getting her started in acting. Andrew was involved in the drama club at Katy High School and Renee later joined the club.

After graduating from Katy High School in 1987, where she was a cheerleader, gymnast and member of the drama club, Renee 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. The class made her recall how much she loved acting, and it was during this time that Renee realized she would like to pursue an acting career.

Her uncredited role in 1993's Dazed and Confused was Renee's first film role, and was followed up by a role alongside Matthew McConaughey in Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. It was on the set of Chainsaw that Renee heard about another project that was in the midst of casting. Renee auditioned for and got the lead in the film was Love and a .45, and it earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance. Another ISA nomination (and subsequent award) followed for Renee's work in The Whole Wide World (1996), a film which caught the eye of director Cameron Crowe and prompted him to cast Renee in what would be her big break, Jerry Maguire.

Renee's role opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire wasn't a smalltime role. She beat out the likes of Bridget Fonda, Cameron DiazandMira Sorvinoto land the job, and it instantly earned her recognition and accolades. She was awarded with a Screen Actor's Guild Nomination for Best Supporting Actress, the NBR Award for Best Breakthrough Performer, an MTV Movie Award, and the title of Entertainment Weekly's Best New Movie Actress.

While she continued to take on some lesser-known roles, Renee's career skyrocketed after Jerry Maguire. Nurse Betty and Me, Myself and Irene were both runaway hits, with the former leading Renee to a Golden Globe and the latter to an engagement to comedian Jim Carrey (the couple separated before marriage plans were finalized).

The opening years of the new millennium witnessed two Oscar nominations for Renee, for her roles in Bridget Jones's Diary and Chicago. During this time, audiences were also able to see Renee along with Michelle Pfeiffer in White Oleander in 2002 and Ewan McGregor in Down with Love in 2003. In 2004 a nomination finally turned into an award, as Renee took home the Oscar for her supporting role in 2003's Cold Mountain.