renee zellweger

Renee became interested in acting in high school, after joining the drama club, and continued by taking classes at the University of Texas. After graduation, rather than head straight for Hollywood and, she probably thought, certain failure, she decided to stay in Texas to hone her skills first. Her first big break came when she landed a bit part in the 1994 hit "Reality Bites" with Winona Ryder and Ethan Hawke, and soon after a much larger role as Gina in "Empire Records." While working with Matthew McConaughey on the low budget horror "Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre," she auditioned for a part in another movie he was working on at the time, "Love and a .45." Her role in this film brought her such critical praise that she finally decided to move to L.A.

It was soon after this that Cameron Crowe cast her in "Jerry Maguire" with Tom Cruise (beating out Cameron Diaz, Bridget Fonda, Winona Ryder, and Marisa Tomei), which would prove to be the big break of her career. But still she wanted to continue to perfect her craft, and after appearing in several independent films, the critical acclaim she recieved gave her the confidence to re-enter the world of big budget moviemaking. She starred alongside Meryl Streep in "One True Thing" in 1998, and then a role in "Me, Myself and Irene" with Jim Carrey in 2000. That same year, she won acclaim - and a Golden Globe for Best Actress - for her title role in "Nurse Betty" with Greg Kinnear, Chris Rock and Morgan Freeman. In 2001 she cemented her star status when she appeared in "Bridget Jones' Diary."

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