Overview (4)

Born April 25, 1969 in Katy, Texas, USA Birth Name Renée Kathleen Zellweger Nickname Zelly Height 5' 3" (1.6 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (1)

Trivia (42)

Renée's parents met on a boat when her father was crossing to the U.S. Renée's father, Emil Erich Zellweger, was born in Switzerland, and lived in a village called Au, in the canton of St. Gallen. Right after World War II, he and his parents moved to Australia and then to the U.S. Renée's mother, Kjellfrid Irene (Andreassen), was born in Norway, to Ove Magnar Ingolf Andreassen and Bjørga Johanna Hildonen, and has Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, and possible Sami ancestry. The Sami are a minority originating mainly from the northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula often referred to as Lappland.



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 this was announced that she won the Golden Globe for her role 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.



Attended and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin (1991), majored in English.



Worked as a cocktail waitress in a strip club while trying to catch her "big break" in acting.



She became the first performer to win two individual (excluding best acting ensemble) SAG Awards in film categories.





Is accompanied to many award shows and other functions by her long time agent John Carrabino



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.

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on 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 was not present at the awards ceremony.



She wore a gown designed by her favorite designer, Carolina Adriana Herrera , for her wedding to Kenny Chesney



Dyed her hair brown for her role in Das Comeback (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.

Is a huge fan of Chelsea FC (England soccer club).





She visited Argentina in 1996 to promote the film Alle Liebe dieser Welt (1996) with Vincent D'Onofrio at the Mar del Plata Film Festival, where she won the Best Actress Award for this film.

Honored as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year for 2009 on February 5, 2009.





Was originally chosen to portray Carla in Nine (2009) but Penélope Cruz , who went on to receive a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for her performance, was cast instead.



Was considered for the role 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.



Was engaged to Jim Carrey (July-December 2000).



Purchased a four bedroom house in the Pacific Palisades community in California at $4 million with boyfriend Bradley Cooper . [December 2009]

Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 10, 2011 in Austin, Texas.





She had "a couple of lines" as a beauty shop customer in Mein Freund, der Zombie (1993) but the scene was cut.

Was voted 'Dream Date' of her class before she graduated from high school in 1987.



December 4, 1993 is a date Renée remembers clearly as the day she moved to Hollywood at age 24.



Becomes the 7th actress to win both leading and supporting actress Oscars. The other 6 are: Helen Hayes, Cate Blanchett, Maggie Smith, Ingrid Bergman, Jessica Lange and Meryl Streep.



Personal Quotes (19)

[on Los Angeles] It opens your eyes in this town, it's amazing. It's taught me who I don't want to be.



Regarding the lifestyle of the people of Romania, she says, "I learned how little in the way of material goods we really need, and how beautiful a simple life can be. In Romania people work with their hands every day, and you'll see an 80-year-old woman still chopping wood because she's been looking after herself all her life, and she still has the strength to do it."





[on the weight she lost after Bridget Jones - Schokolade zum Frühstück (2001)] It saddens me every day when people come up and say, "Okay, how did you lose that weight?". I can't speak about it because I am not an authority on weight loss. I am just not. I am not challenged with a medical situation that's weight-related and that I need to pay attention to.

It was very exciting for me to fill out Bridget's dresses. It felt really great. I didn't feel any different. I didn't feel uncomfortable, and I didn't feel as if it changed my life. I got such positive responses from the fellows in my life while I looked like Bridget Jones. I had a lot of friends who said I should think about keeping some of the weight on. I have to say I agreed, because there were certain things about it I liked very much. But of course, I'm a girl, and I thought, "Ugh, no." Like anybody, I want to look my best.





I see the Oscar [for Best Supporting Actress in Unterwegs nach Cold Mountain (2003)] in my bedroom, and it's like I bought it in a souvenir shop on Hollywood Boulevard.

My life has far exceeded what I might ever have dreamed of because I would never have been so bold as to dream that these things might happen to me.





I wanted to be self-sufficient, I wanted to take care of myself, and I wanted to learn. I wanted to travel, I wanted to see the world and have my eyes opened. I wanted to be consistently challenged, and I knew I needed to be creative in some way. When I got my job in a bar and I could pay for my tuition and go on auditions and sometimes get jobs that I loved and pay my rent, I knew that I would be all right. That's when my dreams came true, long before the telephone rang and someone said, "Come and meet Tom Cruise ".

[on dying her hair brown] It's great to be a brunet. I can sneak around downtown Los Angeles and nobody knows it's me. I went to Starbucks to get my coffee in the morning, and they said, "What's your name?". I said, "Oh, Renée". Nobody even looked at me twice. My friends even walk past me. It's fantastic because I feel so free again. That's why I think the old adage that blonds have more fun is a presumption!



I think we can all relate to Bridget standing in a hallway wanting to know, "Do you love me or not?". She just blurts it out and maybe that makes her seem like she's not strong. I think she's very brave because she's speaking her mind. Ultimately, she knows that even if she doesn't get the right answer from this man, she will still get up and move forward. That's strength to me.



What I admire most about Bridget is her ever-present optimism in the face of adversity. I love how she has romantic troubles, but she gets back up and even laughs at herself. Me? I do my best. I keep on trying, anyway.





[on her weight gain in Bridget Jones - Am Rande des Wahnsinns (2004)] Emotionally, gaining the weight didn't affect me. In fact, I was afraid that I didn't gain enough weight. We were working six days a week, so my fear was that I'd lose a few pounds from the work, and the fluctuations in my weight would show on the screen. But they weren't noticeable.

People did suggest to me, "Oh, it might not be necessary to gain that much weight or as much as you did last time." I thought the weight was essential in repeating the journey. If you're not going to be who she is, then what is the point?



I am very proud to be Norwegian. [1996 interview]





[on her friendship with George Clooney , her co-star in Ein verlockendes Spiel (2008)] We have a lovely relationship. I write him six-page emails about my political rage and he writes back.



[on landing Jerry Maguire: Spiel des Lebens (1996)] I remember driving to the audition, and I remember being very calm because I was thinking, "This is never going to happen".

I'm not single, I'm busy. That's my line.





[on why she was in the bathroom when she won the Golden Globe for Nurse Betty (2000)] I had lipstick on my teeth!

[advice to anyone looking for fame, fortune, health and well-being] If you can adopt some dogs. Because you will be there to walk them.



[advice to anyone looking for fame, fortune, health and well-being] If you can, adopt some dogs. Because you will be there to walk them.



Salary (7)