Renée Zellweger

Renée Kathleen Zellweger is an American actress born on April 25, 1969. Recognized for her versatile acting career, she has received numerous major honors, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards.

Zellweger was raised in Katy, Texas, by her father, an engineer in the oil-refining business, and her mother, a nurse and midwife. During her youth, she attended Katy High School, where she participated in athletics and cheerleading. She later enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin to major in English literature. While taking a drama elective to fulfill a fine arts degree requirement, she discovered a passion for acting. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992.

While attending college and immediately after graduating, Zellweger began appearing in commercial work and securing minor film roles. Her early screen appearances included parts in Dazed and Confused, Reality Bites, and 8 Seconds. She obtained her first lead film role in the horror feature The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, followed by a performance in the crime comedy Love and a .45. She subsequently relocated to Los Angeles to advance her acting career and appeared in the coming-of-age drama Empire Records.

Zellweger achieved wider public recognition with her breakout role in the 1996 romantic comedy Jerry Maguire. Following this success, she starred in the dramas A Price Above Rubies and One True Thing, as well as the comedies The Bachelor and Me, Myself & Irene. In 2000, she won her first Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of a Kansas waitress in the black comedy Nurse Betty.

In 2001, Zellweger gained global acclaim for starring as the title character in Bridget Jones's Diary, earning her first Academy Award nomination. She followed this with performances in White Oleander and the musical Chicago, receiving a second Academy Award nomination for the latter. In 2003, she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a loquacious farmer in the war drama Cold Mountain. Her work during this period also included voice roles in Shark Tale and Bee Movie, as well as starring roles in Down with Love, Cinderella Man, and Miss Potter.

Following a career hiatus, Zellweger returned to her signature role in Bridget Jones's Baby in 2016. She expanded into television with the Netflix series What/If in 2019 and portrayed Judy Garland in the biographical drama Judy, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her subsequent projects include playing Pam Hupp in the crime miniseries The Thing About Pam and reprising her famous role in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.