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by Lameez Abrahams

Willowy strawberry blonde actress Renée Zellweger was born on 25 April 1969 in Houston to a Swiss father and Norwegian mother who had recently moved to the States. She attended Katy High School in Katy, Texas where she was a cheerleader, gymnast and actress. She went on to the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a Bachelor of Arts in English.

Zellweger's first role - although a non-speaking one - came in Richard Linklater's “Dazed and Confused”. She then auditioned for “The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre” against the advice of a friend. After that she starred in a few local commercials and had small parts in films such as “Reality Bites,” starring Wynona Ryder and Ethan Hawk, and “8 Seconds” alongside Kevin Costner. She also starred in the independent film “Love and a .45” and it was then that she started making inroads into Hollywood.

In 1994, she moved to Beverly Hills, where she still lives with her dog, Dylan. For several years Renée had a boyfriend - an actor she declines to name - but their relationship ended about two years ago. She has also been linked to Josh Pate and funny man Jim Carrey.

Renée starred in “Empire Records” and was chosen to star in “The Whole Wide World". This role opened the door for her role in “Jerry Maguire”, a film which passed over Winona Ryder, Mira Sorvino, Marisa Tomei and Bridget Fonda for the then-unknown Renée. Her performance as Dorothy Boyd won her unanimous critical praise and introduced her to a legion of adoring fans. The beauty and natural ability that Renée exhibited as Tom Cruise's love interest caught the attention of critics and audiences alike. She has been honoured with an SAG nomination for “Jerry Maguire”, and Independent Spirit Award nomination for “The Whole Wide World”, but was sadly denied an Academy Award nomination for either film.

Zellweger went on to prove herself as a versatile actress able to play roles ranging from an ambitious journalist who temporarily shelves her career to care for her mother in “One True Thing” in 1998 to a rebellious Hassidic Jew in Boaz Yakin’s “A Price Above Rubies” in 1998. She then exhibited a capacity for romantic comedy in “The Bachelor” in 1999, starring as the long-suffering girlfriend of a serial commitment phobic Chris O'Donnell. She also starred alongside her former love interest Jim Carrey in the comedy “Me, Myself and Irene”.