A blonde, bee-stung-lipped female lead who often projects a wholesome, girl-next-door quality not unlike Doris Day, Renee Zellweger has gone from playing roles in Gen-X indies and low-budget fare to a major Hollywood player. Raised in the rural Texas, she made her first professional appearance before the cameras as one of the victims in the ABC miniseries "Murder in the Heartland" (1993), based on the real-life killing spree of teen killer Charlie Starkweather. Zellweger made her feature acting debut alongside numerous other rising talents in the ensemble of Richard Linklater's "Dazed and Confused" (1993), a sort of "American Graffiti" for the 90s. She and fellow "Dazed" co-star Matthew McConaughey undertook the leads in the low-budget sequel "The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1994), which quickly disappeared from view until 1997 (under the title "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation") when it was re-released to capitalize on the stars' rising profiles.
After a small part in "Reality Bites", she landed her first leading role as the trailer trash gun moll Starlene in "Love and a .45" (both 1994), a low rent if clever variation of "Bonnie and Clyde". Zellweger continued to impress critics (and the limited audience who attended her films) in the ensemble of "Empire Records" (1995) and more so as the prim Texas schoolteacher who falls in love with pulp fiction author Robert E Howard (well-played by Vincent D'Onofrio) in the biopic "The Whole Wide World" (1996) which screened at Sundance. Later that same year, the actress triumphed over such heavy competition as Winona Ryder, Bridget Fonda, Mira Sorvino and Marisa Tomei to land the coveted role of single mother Dorothy Boyd, the love interest to Tom Cruise's "Jerry Maguire" in Cameron Crowe's delightful romantic comedy.
Having finally had a hit film in which she truly sparkled, Zellweger found she had her pick of Hollywood projects. Instead of taking the easy route and playing variations on her nice girl screen persona, the actress made efforts to stretch her talents. If some of the results were questionable, she nonetheless consistently delivered strong, fascinating performances as in her starring role as a unhappily married Hasidic wife in Boaz Yakin's "A Price Above Rubies" (1998). (The latter courted controversy from some religious groups who objected to the casting of the decidedly non-Jewish Zellweger.) She more than held her own against Meryl Streep (as her terminally ill mother) and William Hurt (as her remote but adored father) playing a strong-willed journalist forced to cope with familial duties in the tearjerker "One True Thing" (also 1998). Although she was more or less reduced to window dressing in "The Bachelor" (1999) and was overshadowed by Jim Carrey's manic antics in "Me, Myself & Irene" (2000), Zellweger truly came into her own as a star in the title role of "Nurse Betty" (also 2000). First screened at Cannes (where it picked up the award for screenplay), "Nurse Betty" cast the actress as a sweet-natured Kansas waitress who enters a fugue state after witnessing a crime and takes off to California to be with the man of her dreams, a soap opera character. Zellweger ably captured the character's naivete without condescending to her and she also managed to avoid making cloying or off-putting. In another controversial casting decision, she won the coveted role of Bridget Jones, a character who was seen as representative of a segment of British society, in the film adaptation of "Bridget Jones's Diary" (2001). Although there was an initial brouhaha, her impeccable accent and strong interpretation of the role silenced those opposed to her casting and was enough to impress the Academy voters who included her as one of their choices as Best Actress for 2001.
Faced with topping this career high, Zellweger first opted to essay a supporting role as a foster mother in the film adaptation of the bestseller "White Oleander," then tackled an even greater challenge, singing and dancing in the film musical "Chicago" (2002), adapted from the hit Broadway show. Cast as Roxie Hart, a woman who murders her lover and then dreams of a career as a vaudeville headliner, the actress again proved her detractors wrong, offering a surprising, razor-sharp performance and demonstrating a breathy, but pleasant singing voice, once again snaring a wealth of awards buzz, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Her next role was as a modern Doris Day opposite Ewan McGregor in the romantic comedy "Down With Love" (2003)--which despite many plaudits did not attract much of an audience--followed by a serious turn alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in "Cold Mountain" for director Anthony Minghella. Although some critics and audience members rolled their eyes at her blaringly folksy and cornpone character Ruby (a performance that multiple critics would compare to Day's hyperbolic turn in "Calamity Jane"), who teaches Ada (Nicole Kidman) to stand on her own two feet, Zellweger's performance won over many others, earning her a pole position in that year's awards races--she received her first Academy Award as Best Supporting Actress (her third Oscar nom in as many years) and took home a Golden Globe as Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture as well as a Screen Actrors Guild award (Zellweger also met a new paramour, rocker Jack White of the White Stripes, on the film). Next she was off to a more fun-filled project, providing a voice of Angie, the fish who quietly pines for sassy Oscar, in DreamWorks' CGI-animated underwater underworld opus "Shark Tale" (2004).
After demonstrating her diversity, she was ready to return to familiar territory, reprising her role as Bridget Jones for the less-successful sequel "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason." Zellweger surprised her fans and the media by marrying country star Kenny Chesney in the U.S. Virgin Islands after a whirlwind--but discreet--four-month courtship in 2005; after only four months of marriage, however, Zellweger sought to annul the union, with the unusual citation of "fraud." Her next film effort, director Ron Howard's Depression-era boxing drama "Cinderella Man" (2005) debuted at the box office; while the film received generally good notices, Zellweger's mannered performance as Mae Braddock, the devoted wife of unlikely prizefighting champ Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) was perhaps the most criticized element. Next the actress was set to star in the biopic "Miss Potter" (2006), exploring the life of writer Beatrix Potter, author of such beloved children's books as The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
Copyright © Baseline 2006.