Renee Zellweger

Born: Renee Kathleen Zellweger,
April 25, 1969,
Katy, Texas, USA

Nickname: Zelly

Currently resides: Hollywood Hills

Father: Emil, Swiss-born engineer

Mother: Kjellfrid, Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife

Brother: Drew, two years older, marketing executive.

Former beaux: George Clooney, Jim Carry, Josh Pate

Pet: Dylan, aka Woof, her dog, a 12-year-old collie-retriever who goes almost everywhere with her.

Education: University of Texas at Austin, Graduated 1991, RTF (Radio-Television-Film) Major.

     Raised in Katy, a small town outside Houston, Texas, Zellweger took up acting in college. She appeared in bit parts in mainstream movies like Dazed and Confused (1993) and Reality Bites (1994) before earning praise for her leading roles in the independent films Love and a .45 (1994) and The Whole Wide World (1996), co-starring Vincent D’Onofrio. Director Cameron Crowe surprised many when he cast the relatively unknown actress as the single mother who is swept off her feet by Tom Cruise’s soul-searching sports agent in Jerry Maguire (1996). The film’s critical and commercial success made Zellweger one of Hollywood’s hottest new commodities.
     In 2000, Zellweger made headlines because of her romance with comic star Jim Carrey, and because of her performance with him in Me, Myself and Irene. That same year, she won a Golden Globe for her performance in the black comedy, Nurse Betty.
     In 2001, Zellweger starred as the neurotic British title character in the film adaptation of Helen Fielding's bestselling novel, Bridget Jones's Diary. (The sequel, The Edge of Reason, is slated for a mid-2004 release) In 2003, she earned her second Golden Globe for her performance in Chicago and will star in the retro-romantic comedy Down With Love opposite Ewan McGregor.