People

Renée Zellweger

Acting · follow into films and chains

Biography

Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007. Born and raised in Texas, Zellweger studied English literature at the University of Texas at Austin. Initially aspiring for a career in journalism, she was drawn to acting following her brief work on stage while in college. Following minor roles in Dazed and Confused (1993) and Reality Bites (1994), her first starring role came with the slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). She rose to prominence with starring roles in the romantic comedy Jerry Maguire (1996), the drama One True Thing (1998), and the black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), winning a Golden Globe Award for the last of these. For portraying Bridget Jones in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002), Zellweger gained consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a loquacious farmer in the war film Cold Mountain (2003). She reprised her role as Jones in the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and, following a career downturn and hiatus, in Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). In 2019, Zellweger starred in her first major television role in the Netflix series What/If, and portrayed Judy Garland in the biopic Judy, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since starred as Pam Hupp in the NBC crime miniseries The Thing About Pam (2022).

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

Shark Tale

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Bridget Jones's Diary

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Cold Mountain

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Monsters vs Aliens

As Katie (voice)

Jerry Maguire

As Dorothy Boyd

Down with Love

As Barbara Novak

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

As Bridget

Case 39

As Emily Jenkins

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

The Epic Journey: An Odyssey Narrative Chain

Homer's Odyssey is the foundational blueprint for the homebound journey, tracking a weary warrior's attempt to return to his family. This six-film narrative cha...

6 films

The Vincent Pastore Top Five

A tribute to Vincent Pastore, whose death today invites us to trace Pastore's arc from background wiseguy to recognisable character actor, without leaning on Th...

5 films

25 Years of Flailing: How Bridget Jones Perfected the Best Worst Fight Scene Ever

From Bridget Jones's iconic street brawl to a Greek restaurant showdown, trace the lineage of cinema's most gloriously awkward fights.

5 films

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