Renée Zellweger

Renée Zellweger, born on April 25, 1969, is the daughter of immigrant parents, with her father hailing from Switzerland and her mother from Norway. She pursued an English major at the University of Texas at Austin, where an elective drama class sparked her interest in acting. After appearing in several small and independent films, Zellweger achieved her Hollywood breakthrough in 1996 as the romantic lead in "Jerry Maguire," starring Tom Cruise. Her career subsequently flourished with critically acclaimed roles, earning an Academy Award nomination for her portrayal of Bridget Jones in "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001) and another for her role in the musical adaptation "Chicago" (2002). She received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Ruby Thewes in "Cold Mountain" (2003) and later reprised her iconic role in two successful "Bridget Jones" sequels (2004, 2016). Other notable roles during this period included the wife of boxer James J. Braddock in "Cinderella Man" (2005) and author Beatrix Potter in "Miss Potter" (2006).Following appearances in films such as "Appaloosa" (2008), "My One and Only" (2009), and "Case 39" (2009), Zellweger took a six-year hiatus from acting. She returned to the screen in 2019, starring in the Netflix thriller anthology series "What/If" and garnering widespread critical acclaim for her transformative portrayal of Judy Garland in the biopic "Judy," for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress in 2020. In her personal life, Zellweger was engaged to Jim Carrey from 1999 to 2000. She married Kenny Chesney in May 2005, though the marriage was annulled in December of the same year. She later had relationships with Bradley Cooper from 2009 to 2011 and musician Doyle Bramhall II from 2012 to 2019.