Renée Zellweger Reveals Why She Quit Hollywood For Six Years

Renée Zellweger has spoken about why she decided to take an extended hiatus from Hollywood.

The ‘Bridget Jones’ star has not been seen on screen since 2010’s 'My Own Love Song’, a mostly under-the-radar road movie which saw her starring alongside Forest Whitaker and Nick Nolte.

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Speaking to Vogue, she said: “As a creative person, saying no to that wonderful once-in-a-lifetime project is hard. But I was fatigued and wasn’t taking the time I needed to recover between projects, and it caught up with me.

“I got sick of the sound of my own voice: it was time to go away and grow up a bit.”

Following her breakthrough in 'Jerry Maguire’, with Tom Cruise, Zellweger was rarely off screens through the late 90s and early 2000s, starring in 20 movies between 2000 and 2010.

Starring in movies like 'Cold Mountain’, 'Me, Myself and Irene’ and 'Chicago’, she’s most fondly remembered for playing the neurotic singleton Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ and sequel ‘Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason’ , a role she’s reprising in 'Bridget Jones’s Baby’.

She’s also spoken about the onus that was put on her gaining weight for the role.

“I put on a few pounds,” she said.

“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.

“No male actor would get such scrutiny if he did the same thing for a role.”

'Bridget Jones’s Baby’, also starring Patrick Dempsey and Colin Firth, is due out on September 16.

Image credits: Variety/Rex Features