Renée Zellweger

Lore & Background

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 The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1995). 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 her portrayal of 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 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) and played Jones again in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy (2025).

Reader's Guide

Zellweger attended Katy High School, where she was a cheerleader and was active in athletics, participating in soccer and powderpuff football. In 1986, her academic paper, 'The Karankawas and Their Roots', won third place in the first-ever Houston Post High School Natural Science Essay Contest. After graduating from high school, she enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in English literature with the intention of pursuing a career in teaching or journalism. While in college, she worked as a cocktail waitress at a strip club in Austin to fund her education. To fulfill a fine arts credit required for her degree, she enrolled in a drama elective, which sparked her interest in acting. She graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts. In her junior year, she began getting small parts as an actor, and earned her Screen Actors Guild card for doing a Coors Light commercial. Also while in college, she did 'a bit part ... as a local hire' in the Austin-filmed horror-comedy film My Boyfriend's Back, playing 'the girl in the beauty shop, maybe two lines. But the beauty shop [scene] got cut.' Her first job after graduation was working in a beef commercial, while simultaneously auditioning for roles around Houston.

Did You Know?

• Her academic paper 'The Karankawas and Their Roots' won third place in the first-ever Houston Post High School Natural Science Essay Contest in 1986.
• She was in the bathroom when Hugh Grant announced her name for her first Golden Globe win; she later protested: 'I had lipstick on my teeth!'

Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)

"As an actress, it’s a dream come true role. You run the gamut of human emotions with each incarnation of the story. She’s an authentic character and I have so much fun playing her." — Renée Zellweger "[1] Zellweger talk about acting in 2016." — Renée Zellweger "I put on a few pounds. I also put on some breasts and a baby bump. Bridget is a perfectly normal weight and I’ve never understood why it matters so much." — Renée Zellweger "I had a lot of promises that I made to myself, years ago, about things that I wanted to learn and try." — Renée Zellweger