Rachel Weisz
Encyclopedia
Rachel Hannah Weisz
is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues. The group was awarded the Student Drama Award for the improvised piece Slight Possession during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by The Guardian
.
Weisz started working in television, appearing in Inspector Morse
, the British mini-series The Scarlet and the Black
, and the television movie Advocates II. She made her film début in the 1994
film Death Machine
, but her breakthrough role came in the 1996
movie Chain Reaction
, leading to a high-profile role as Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell in the films The Mummy
, in 1999, and The Mummy Returns
in 2001. Other notable films featuring Weisz are Enemy at the Gates
, About a Boy
, Constantine
, The Fountain
and The Constant Gardener
, for which she received an Academy Award
, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for her supporting role as Tessa Quayle.
Weisz also works in theatre. Her stage breakthrough was the 1994 revival of Noel Coward
's play Design for Living
, which earned her the 'London Critics' Circle Award for the most promising newcomer. Weisz's performances also include the 1999 Donmar Warehouse
production of Tennessee Williams
' Suddenly Last Summer, and their 2009 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire
. Her portrayal of Blanche DuBois
in the latter play earned her the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress of 2009.
. Her mother, Edith Ruth (née
Teich), is a teacher turned psychotherapist who was born in Vienna
, Austria. Her father, George Weisz, was a Hungarian-born inventor and engineer. Her parents fled to England during the Holocaust and Second World War. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of Jewish, "Catholic Viennese", and Italian descent. Her maternal grandfather, Alexander Teich, was a secretary of the World Union of Jewish Students
; whilst one of her maternal great-grandmothers was from Italy. She has a sister, Minnie
, who is a photographer and curator.
Weisz's parents valued the arts, and encouraged her and her sister to form opinions of their own by introducing them to family debates. Her parents later divorced. Weisz left North London Collegiate School and attended Benenden
for one year completing A' levels at St Paul's Girls School. Weisz claimed that she was a bad student until an English Literature teacher inspired her at the age of sixteen.
Weisz started modeling when she was fourteen. In 1984, she gained public attention when she turned down an offer to star in King David
, along with Richard Gere
.
After school, she entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge
, where she graduated with a 2:1
in English. During her university years, she appeared in various student productions, co-founding a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues. It won a Guardian Student Drama Award at the 1991 Edinburgh Fringe Festival for an improvised piece called Slight Possession, directed by David Farr
. The group existed until 1993.
episode "Twilight of the Gods
", and Scarlet and Black alongside Ewan McGregor
.
Weisz started her film career with a minor role in the 1994 film Death Machine
, but her first major role came in the 1996
film Chain Reaction
, which also starred Keanu Reeves
and Morgan Freeman
. She next appeared as Miranda Fox in Stealing Beauty
, directed by the Italian Academy Award-winner Bernardo Bertolucci
.
Following this, Weisz found roles in the 1997
American drama Swept from the Sea
, the 1998
television comedy-drama My Summer with Des
, the Michael Winterbottom
's crime movie I Want You
, and David Leland
's The Land Girls
, based on Angela Huth
's book of the same name.
Weisz played Greta in the historical film Sunshine
. The same year, her international breakthrough came with the 1999
adventure movie The Mummy
, in which she played the female lead opposite Brendan Fraser
. Her character was the English Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan, who undertook an expedition to the fictional ancient Egyptian city of Hamunaptra
to discover an ancient book. Variety criticized the direction of the movie, writing: "(the actors) have been directed to broad, undisciplined performances [...] Buffoonery hardly seems like Weisz's natural domain, as the actress strains for comic effects that she can't achieve". She followed this up with the sequel The Mummy Returns
in 2001
, which grossed an estimated $433 million worldwide, (equivalent to $ million in dollars ) higher than the original's $260 million (equal to $ million in dollars ). In 2000
she portrayed Petula in the film Beautiful Creatures
, following this up with 2001
's Enemy at the Gates
, and the 2002
comedy-drama About a Boy
, with Hugh Grant
, based on Nick Hornby
's 1998
novel
. In 2003
she played Marlee in the adaptation
of John Grisham
's legal thriller novel The Runaway Jury
, along with Dustin Hoffman
, John Cusack
and Gene Hackman
; as well as starring in the film adaptation of the romantic comedy-drama play The Shape of Things
.
, Weisz appeared in the comedy Envy, opposite Ben Stiller
, Jack Black
and Christopher Walken
. The movie failed at the box office. Variety
magazine opined that Weisz and co-star Amy Poehler
"get fewer choice moments than they deserve." Her next role was alongside Keanu Reeves
in Constantine
, based on the comic book Hellblazer
. Film Threat
called her portrayal "effective at projecting scepticism and, eventually, dawning horror".
Her next appearance, in 2005, was in Fernando Meirelles
's The Constant Gardener
, a film adaptation of a John le Carré
thriller
set in the slums of Kibera
and Loiyangalani
, Kenya
. Weisz played an activist, Tessa Quayle, married to a British embassy official. The movie was critically acclaimed, earning Weisz the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. UK newspaper The Guardian
noted that the film "established her in the front rank of British actors", while BBC wrote: "Weisz is exceptional: film star charisma coupled with raw emotion in a performance to fall in love with".
In 2006, she starred in Darren Aronofsky
's romantic drama The Fountain. The San Francisco Chronicle
found her portrayal of Queen Isabel "less convincing" than other roles. That same year, she provided the voice for Saphira in the fantasy film Eragon
; and rejected an offer to star in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
due to script issues.
The part eventually went to Maria Bello
. Her subsequent films include the 2007
Wong Kar-wai
drama My Blueberry Nights
, and Rian Johnson
's 2008
caper film The Brothers Bloom
, alongside Adrien Brody
and Mark Ruffalo
. In 2009
she played the lead role of Hypatia of Alexandria
in the historical drama film Agora
, a Spanish production directed by Alejandro Amenábar
. The New York Times called her portrayal "adept", noting that she imparted "a sympathetic presence".
, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2010. The film was based on the true story of human trafficking by employees of contractor DynCorp. During its première, the intense depiction of the treatment meted out to victims by the kidnappers made a woman in the audience faint. Variety magazine wrote "Weisz's performance holds the viewer every step of the way.".
That same year, she guest-starred in the animated series The Simpsons, in the 22nd season
episode "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?
".
Weisz's 2011 roles included an adaptation of Terence Rattigan
's play The Deep Blue Sea and the thriller film Dream House
, alongside Daniel Craig
. She will star in an upcoming romantic drama written and directed by Terrence Malick
, which would see her starring alongside Ben Affleck
, Olga Kurylenko
, Javier Bardem
and Rachel McAdams
. , other upcoming movies include BBC's espionage thriller Page 8, and Fernando Meirelles
' psychosexual
drama 360.
She is in talks with Walt Disney Pictures
to play Evanora in Oz: The Great and Powerful.
's 1994 revival of Noel Coward
's Design for Living
at the Gielgud Theatre
, for which she received the London Critics' Circle Award for the most promising newcomer. Her portrayal was described as "wonderful" by a contemporary review.
In 1999, she played the role of Catherine in the Donmar Warehouse
production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer, What's on Stage called her "captivating", stating that she brought "a degree of credibility to a difficult part". The same year, Weisz appeared in Neil LaBute
's The Shape of Things at the Almeida Theatre
, then temporarily located in London's Kings Cross
. CurtainUp called her "a sophisticated, independent artist" with "great stage presence". In 2009, she appeared Blanche DuBois
, in Rob Ashford
's revival of the play A Streetcar Named Desire
. Her performance in the play was praised by the critics, The Daily Telegraph noted that she "rises to the challenge magnificently".
, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award
for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. She was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Furthermore, the role also led to her receiving the London Critics Circle Film Award
for British Actress of the Year, the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, she was nominated for the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2006, Weisz was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
, and was also honored at the Los Angeles BAFTA ceremony with the Britannia Award for Artist of the Year.
In January 2010, the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in London named her Best Actress of 2009, for her performance as Blanche Dubois in the Donmar revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. She also won the coveted 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actress
for the same role.
in the summer of 2001. They met backstage at London's Almeida Theatre
, where she was starring in The Shape of Things. Weisz moved to New York City with Aronofsky the following year; in 2005, they were engaged. Their son, Henry Chance, was born on 31 May 2006 in New York City. The couple resided in the East Village
in Manhattan. In November 2010, Weisz and Aronofsky announced that they had been apart for months, but remain close friends and are committed to raising their son together in New York.
Weisz began dating actor Daniel Craig
in December 2010 and they married on 22 June 2011 in a private New York ceremony, with only four guests in attendance, including Weisz's son and Craig's daughter.
In 2009, Weisz expressed her views on Botox to Harper's Bazaar - "It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen. Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?"
Weisz is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
In 2001, she was involved in a traffic accident, while traveling in a cab that was hit by a truck, Weisz was unharmed. .
On 7 July 2007, she presented at the American leg
of Live Earth
, along with Alec Baldwin
and Kevin Bacon
.
During her career, she has been featured on the covers of magazines such as Vogue and Esquire
. She serves as a muse
to fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez
, and was named L’Oréal's global ambassador in 2010.
Weisz, a British citizen by birth, became a naturalized American citizen in 2011.
is an English-American film and theatre actress and former fashion model. She started her acting career at Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, where she co-founded the theatrical group Cambridge Talking Tongues. The group was awarded the Student Drama Award for the improvised piece Slight Possession during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe by The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Weisz started working in television, appearing in Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation of the same name, in which the character was portrayed by John Thaw. Morse is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley...
, the British mini-series The Scarlet and the Black
Scarlet and Black (TV series)
This article is about the 1993 BBC TV miniseries and should not be confused with the 1983 film The Scarlet and the Black starring Christopher Plummer. For the novel by Stendhal see The Red and the Black....
, and the television movie Advocates II. She made her film début in the 1994
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
film Death Machine
Death Machine
Death Machine is a 1994 science-fiction action horror film written and directed by Stephen Norrington.-Plot:The film opens in a demolished roadside diner, everyone inside has been slaughtered by a malfunctioning secret project codenamed Hardman. It was manufactured by Chaank, a megacorporation that...
, but her breakthrough role came in the 1996
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
movie Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (film)
Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this...
, leading to a high-profile role as Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell in the films The Mummy
The Mummy (1999 film)
The Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken...
, in 1999, and The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...
in 2001. Other notable films featuring Weisz are Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 war film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris set during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II....
, About a Boy
About a Boy (film)
About a Boy is a 2002 comedy-drama film directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, based on the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant as Will, Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette as Fiona, and Academy Award winner Rachel...
, Constantine
Constantine (film)
Constantine is a 2005 American action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Djimon Hounsou...
, The Fountain
The Fountain
The Fountain is a 2006 American romantic drama film, which blends elements of fantasy, history, religion, and science fiction. It was directed by Darren Aronofsky, and starred Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz...
and The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener (film)
The Constant Gardener is a 2005 drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles. The screenplay by Jeffrey Caine is based on the John le Carré novel of the same name. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a man who seeks to find the motivating forces behind his wife's murder.The film stars Ralph Fiennes,...
, for which she received an Academy Award
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild award for her supporting role as Tessa Quayle.
Weisz also works in theatre. Her stage breakthrough was the 1994 revival of Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's play Design for Living
Design for Living
Design for Living is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Coward, it was premiered on Broadway, partly because its risqué...
, which earned her the 'London Critics' Circle Award for the most promising newcomer. Weisz's performances also include the 1999 Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' Suddenly Last Summer, and their 2009 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
. Her portrayal of Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
in the latter play earned her the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Best Actress of 2009.
Early life and background
Weisz was born in Westminster, London, England, and grew up in Hampstead Garden SuburbHampstead Garden Suburb
-Notable Residents :*Theo Adams*Martin Bell*Sir Victor Blank*Katie Boyle*Constantine, the last King of Greece*Greg Davies*Richard & Judy Finnigan*David Matthews*Michael Ridpath*Claudia Roden*Jonathan Ross*Sir Donald Sinden*Marc Sinden...
. Her mother, Edith Ruth (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Teich), is a teacher turned psychotherapist who was born in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria. Her father, George Weisz, was a Hungarian-born inventor and engineer. Her parents fled to England during the Holocaust and Second World War. Her father is Jewish and her mother is of Jewish, "Catholic Viennese", and Italian descent. Her maternal grandfather, Alexander Teich, was a secretary of the World Union of Jewish Students
World Union of Jewish Students
The World Union of Jewish Students is the international, pluralistic, non-partisan umbrella organisation of 48 national independent Jewish Student Unions from all over the world, founded in 1924, with Albert Einstein as its first President...
; whilst one of her maternal great-grandmothers was from Italy. She has a sister, Minnie
Minnie Weisz
Minnie Weisz is a photographer and curator, having studied at the Royal College of Art and the London College of Printing,and freelance editor for Rizzoli International Publications -Nature of activities:...
, who is a photographer and curator.
Weisz's parents valued the arts, and encouraged her and her sister to form opinions of their own by introducing them to family debates. Her parents later divorced. Weisz left North London Collegiate School and attended Benenden
Benenden
Benenden is a village and civil parish in the Tunbridge Wells District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Weald six miles to the west of Tenterden...
for one year completing A' levels at St Paul's Girls School. Weisz claimed that she was a bad student until an English Literature teacher inspired her at the age of sixteen.
Weisz started modeling when she was fourteen. In 1984, she gained public attention when she turned down an offer to star in King David
King David (film)
King David is a 1985 film about the second king of Israel, David. It was filmed in 1984 in Matera and Craco, Italy. It was directed by Bruce Beresford and starred Richard Gere in the title role.-Cast:*Richard Gere as "David"*Edward Woodward as "Saul"...
, along with Richard Gere
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began acting in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and a starring role in Days of Heaven. He came to prominence in 1980 for his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol...
.
After school, she entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
Trinity Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. It is the fifth-oldest college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by William Bateman, Bishop of Norwich.- Foundation :...
, where she graduated with a 2:1
British undergraduate degree classification
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading scheme for undergraduate degrees in the United Kingdom...
in English. During her university years, she appeared in various student productions, co-founding a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues. It won a Guardian Student Drama Award at the 1991 Edinburgh Fringe Festival for an improvised piece called Slight Possession, directed by David Farr
David Farr (theatre director)
David Farr is a writer, theatrical director and Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company.-Background:Farr was brought up in Surrey and educated in Guildford and the University of Cambridge .- Career :...
. The group existed until 1993.
Career
Once Weisz finished her university education, she was offered a place at drama school, but she chose to look for work. In those years, she started taking small television roles. Despite her rising career, she felt deeply unhappy at times, having days in which she could not drag herself out of bed because of her unhappiness. This situation led to her undergoing therapy three times a week for five years.1992–1998
She appeared on the 1992 television movie Advocates II, followed by roles in the Inspector MorseInspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
episode "Twilight of the Gods
Twilight of the Gods (Inspector Morse)
"Twilight of the Gods" is an episode of the British television detective mystery show Inspector Morse dramatized on ITV. It was first broadcast in 1993.-Set-Up:Neville Grimshaw, an investigative journalist, is found shot dead...
", and Scarlet and Black alongside Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
.
Weisz started her film career with a minor role in the 1994 film Death Machine
Death Machine
Death Machine is a 1994 science-fiction action horror film written and directed by Stephen Norrington.-Plot:The film opens in a demolished roadside diner, everyone inside has been slaughtered by a malfunctioning secret project codenamed Hardman. It was manufactured by Chaank, a megacorporation that...
, but her first major role came in the 1996
1996 in film
Major releases this year included Scream, Independence Day, Fargo, Trainspotting, The English Patient, Twister, Mars Attacks!, Jerry Maguire and a version of Evita starring Madonna.-Events:...
film Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (film)
Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this...
, which also starred Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
and Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
. She next appeared as Miranda Fox in Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty
Stealing Beauty is a 1996 drama film directed by Academy Award-winning Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and written by Bertolucci and Susan Minot. It stars Liv Tyler, D.W. Moffett, Jeremy Irons, and Rachel Weisz...
, directed by the Italian Academy Award-winner Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci is an Italian film director and screenwriter, whose films include The Conformist, Last Tango in Paris, 1900, The Last Emperor and The Dreamers...
.
Following this, Weisz found roles in the 1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
American drama Swept from the Sea
Swept from the Sea
Swept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron....
, the 1998
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
television comedy-drama My Summer with Des
My Summer with Des
My Summer with Des is a 1998 TV movie comedy drama created by English writer Arthur Smith. Shown to coincide with the beginning of World Cup 1998, the story is set during the European football championships in 1996, where football fan Martin finds his life is going from bad to worse after losing...
, the Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom
Michael Winterbottom is a prolific English filmmaker who has directed seventeen feature films in the past fifteen years. He began his career working in British television before moving into features...
's crime movie I Want You
I Want You (1998 film)
I Want You is an 1998 English crime film directed by Michael Winterbottom.-Plot:Martin is an ex-convict who returns home and finds that Helen , his former girlfriend is involved with someone else...
, and David Leland
David Leland
David Leland is a director, screenwriter and actor who came to international fame with his directorial debut Wish You Were Here in 1987.-Life:...
's The Land Girls
The Land Girls (film)
The Land Girls is a 1998 movie directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. It is based on the book Land Girls by Angela Huth.-Synopsis:...
, based on Angela Huth
Angela Huth
Angela Huth is an English novelist and journalist.-Personal life and career:Huth is the daughter of the actor Harold Huth. She left school at age 16 in order to paint and to study art in both France and Italy. At 18 she travelled, mostly alone, across the United States before returning to England...
's book of the same name.
1999–2003
In 19991999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
Weisz played Greta in the historical film Sunshine
Sunshine (1999 film)
Sunshine is a 1999 historical film written by Israel Horovitz and István Szabó, directed and produced by István Szabó. It follows three generations of a Jewish family during the changes in Hungary from the beginning of the 20th century to the...
. The same year, her international breakthrough came with the 1999
1999 in film
The year 1999 in film involved several noteworthy events and has been called "The Year That Changed Movies". Several significant feature films, including Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut, Pedro Almodóvar's first Oscar-winning film All About My Mother, science fiction The Matrix, Deep...
adventure movie The Mummy
The Mummy (1999 film)
The Mummy is a 1999 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers and starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah and Kevin J. O'Connor, with Arnold Vosloo in the title role as the reanimated mummy. The film features substantial dialogue in ancient Egyptian language, spoken...
, in which she played the female lead opposite Brendan Fraser
Brendan Fraser
Brendan James Fraser is a Canadian-American film and stage actor. Fraser portrayed Rick O'Connell in the three-part Mummy film series , and is known for his comedic and fantasy film leading roles in major Hollywood films, including Encino Man , George of the Jungle , Dudley Do-Right , Monkeybone ,...
. Her character was the English Egyptologist Evelyn Carnahan, who undertook an expedition to the fictional ancient Egyptian city of Hamunaptra
Hamunaptra
Hamunaptra is the name of a fictional city in the 1999 horror/action film, The Mummy, as well as a real city in India.-Hamunaptra:In the 1999 film, The Mummy, Hamunaptra is an ancient Egyptian city hidden deep in the desert some distance from Thebes and is the primary setting for the story...
to discover an ancient book. Variety criticized the direction of the movie, writing: "(the actors) have been directed to broad, undisciplined performances [...] Buffoonery hardly seems like Weisz's natural domain, as the actress strains for comic effects that she can't achieve". She followed this up with the sequel The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns
The Mummy Returns is a 2001 American adventure film written and directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo, Oded Fehr, Patricia Velásquez and Freddie Boath. The film is a sequel to the 1999 film The Mummy...
in 2001
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
, which grossed an estimated $433 million worldwide, (equivalent to $ million in dollars ) higher than the original's $260 million (equal to $ million in dollars ). In 2000
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
she portrayed Petula in the film Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures
Beautiful Creatures is a 2000 British crime film film directed by Bill Eagles and starring Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz. Lynch received a British Independent Film Award nomination for her role.-Cast:* Susan Lynch as Dorothy* Iain Glen as Tony...
, following this up with 2001
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
's Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates
Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 war film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris set during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II....
, and the 2002
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
comedy-drama About a Boy
About a Boy (film)
About a Boy is a 2002 comedy-drama film directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, based on the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant as Will, Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette as Fiona, and Academy Award winner Rachel...
, with Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, based on Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby
Nick Hornby is an English novelist, essayist and screenwriter. He is best known for the novels High Fidelity, About a Boy, and for the football memoir Fever Pitch. His work frequently touches upon music, sport, and the aimless and obsessive natures of his protagonists.-Life and career:Hornby was...
's 1998
1998 in literature
The year 1998 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*March 5 - Tennessee Williams' 1938 play, Not About Nightingales, receives its stage première....
novel
About a Boy
About a Boy is a 1998 novel by British writer Nick Hornby. It was adapted into a film of the same name in 2002.-Plot summary:The novel is about Will Freeman, a 36-year-old bachelor, and Marcus, an introverted, bullied 12-year-old who lives alone with his suicidal mother, Fiona...
. In 2003
2003 in film
The year 2003 in film involved some significant events. Releases of sequels took place with movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, Pokémon Heroes, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,...
she played Marlee in the adaptation
Runaway Jury
Runaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz...
of John Grisham
John Grisham
John Ray Grisham, Jr. is an American lawyer and author, best known for his popular legal thrillers.John Grisham graduated from Mississippi State University before attending the University of Mississippi School of Law in 1981 and practiced criminal law for about a decade...
's legal thriller novel The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury
The Runaway Jury is a legal thriller novel written by American author John Grisham. The hardcover first edition was published by Doubleday Books in 1996 . Pearson Longman released the graded reader edition in 2001 . The novel was published again in 2003 to coincide with the release of Runaway...
, along with Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
, John Cusack
John Cusack
John Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
and Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
; as well as starring in the film adaptation of the romantic comedy-drama play The Shape of Things
The Shape of Things
The Shape of Things is a 2001 play by American author and film director Neil LaBute and a 2003 American romantic comedy-drama film. It premièred at the Almeida Theatre, London in 2001 with Paul Rudd as Adam, Rachel Weisz as Evelyn, Gretchen Mol as Jenny, and Fred Weller as Phillip. The play was...
.
2004–2009
In 20042004 in film
The year 2004 in film involved some significant events. Major releases of sequels took place. It included blockbuster films like Shrek 2, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, The Passion of the Christ, Meet the Fockers, Blade: Trinity, Spider-Man 2, Alien vs. Predator, Kill Bill Vol...
, Weisz appeared in the comedy Envy, opposite Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
, Jack Black
Jack Black
Jack Black , is an American actor and musician, notably of Tenacious D.Jack Black may also refer to:* Jack Black , late 19th - early 20th Century author and hobo* Jack Black , drummer for 1970s UK punk band The Boys...
and Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken is an American stage and screen actor. He has appeared in more than 100 movies and television shows, including Joe Dirt, Annie Hall, The Deer Hunter, The Prophecy trilogy, The Dogs of War, Sleepy Hollow, Brainstorm, The Dead Zone, A View to a Kill, At Close Range, King of New...
. The movie failed at the box office. Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine opined that Weisz and co-star Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
"get fewer choice moments than they deserve." Her next role was alongside Keanu Reeves
Keanu Reeves
Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor. Reeves is perhaps best known for his roles in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Speed, Point Break and the science fiction-action trilogy The Matrix...
in Constantine
Constantine (film)
Constantine is a 2005 American action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Djimon Hounsou...
, based on the comic book Hellblazer
Hellblazer
Hellblazer is a contemporary horror comic book series, originally published by DC Comics, and subsequently by the Vertigo imprint since March 1993, the month the imprint was introduced, where it remains to this day...
. Film Threat
Film Threat
Film Threat is a former print magazine and, now, webzine which focuses primarily on independent film, although it also reviews DVDs of mainstream films and Hollywood movies in theaters. It first appeared as a photocopied zine in 1985, created by Wayne State University students Chris Gore and André...
called her portrayal "effective at projecting scepticism and, eventually, dawning horror".
Her next appearance, in 2005, was in Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter.He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2004 for his work in the Brazilian film City of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films...
's The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener (film)
The Constant Gardener is a 2005 drama film directed by Fernando Meirelles. The screenplay by Jeffrey Caine is based on the John le Carré novel of the same name. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a man who seeks to find the motivating forces behind his wife's murder.The film stars Ralph Fiennes,...
, a film adaptation of a John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
thriller
The Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener is a 2001 novel by John le Carré. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered...
set in the slums of Kibera
Kibera
Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, located from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa...
and Loiyangalani
Loiyangalani
Loiyangalani is a small town located on the southeastern coast of Lake Turkana in Kenya. The town has 1000 inhabitants . Loiyangalani means "a place of many trees" in the native Samburu tongue. It is home to Turkana people and was founded near a freshwater spring in the 1960s where the El Molo...
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Weisz played an activist, Tessa Quayle, married to a British embassy official. The movie was critically acclaimed, earning Weisz the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. UK newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted that the film "established her in the front rank of British actors", while BBC wrote: "Weisz is exceptional: film star charisma coupled with raw emotion in a performance to fall in love with".
Darren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
's romantic drama The Fountain. The San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
found her portrayal of Queen Isabel "less convincing" than other roles. That same year, she provided the voice for Saphira in the fantasy film Eragon
Eragon (film)
Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice...
; and rejected an offer to star in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor is a 2008 American action adventure film and sequel to The Mummy and The Mummy Returns . The film stars Brendan Fraser, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Luke Ford, and Jet Li, and was released on August 1, 2008 in the United States...
due to script issues.
The part eventually went to Maria Bello
Maria Bello
Maria Elena Bello is an American actress and singer known for her appearances in the movies Coyote Ugly, The Jane Austen Book Club, Permanent Midnight, Thank You for Smoking, A History of Violence, Payback, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. For television she is known for her role as Dr...
. Her subsequent films include the 2007
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai BBS is a Hong Kong Second Wave filmmaker, internationally renowned as an auteur for his visually unique, highly stylized, emotionally resonant work, including Days of Being Wild , Ashes of Time , Chungking Express , Fallen Angels , Happy Together and 2046...
drama My Blueberry Nights
My Blueberry Nights
My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and directed by Wong...
, and Rian Johnson
Rian Johnson
Rian Craig Johnson is an American writer and director, who won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with his debut feature, Brick.-Background:...
's 2008
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
caper film The Brothers Bloom
The Brothers Bloom
The Brothers Bloom is a 2008 American postmodern caper film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Ricky Jay, Rinko Kikuchi, and Robbie Coltrane...
, alongside Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
and Mark Ruffalo
Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, You Can Count on Me and The Kids Are All Right for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best...
. In 2009
2009 in film
The year 2009 saw the release of many films. Seven made the top 50 list of highest-grossing films, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that as of this year, their Best Picture category would consist of ten nominees, rather than five .- Highest-grossing films :Please note...
she played the lead role of Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia of Alexandria
Hypatia was an Egyptian Neoplatonist philosopher who was the first notable woman in mathematics. As head of the Platonist school at Alexandria, she also taught philosophy and astronomy...
in the historical drama film Agora
Agora (film)
Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system...
, a Spanish production directed by Alejandro Amenábar
Alejandro Amenábar
Alejandro Fernando Amenábar Cantos is a Spanish- Chilean film director. Amenábar was born in Santiago, Chile to a Spanish mother and Chilean father, but the family moved to Spain just one year after his birth...
. The New York Times called her portrayal "adept", noting that she imparted "a sympathetic presence".
2010–present
Weisz's latest film, The WhistleblowerThe Whistleblower
The Whistleblower is a 2010 thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki, written by Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan, starring Rachel Weisz. Inspired by actual events, the film tells the story of Kathryn Bolkovac, and premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival...
, debuted at the Toronto Film Festival in 2010. The film was based on the true story of human trafficking by employees of contractor DynCorp. During its première, the intense depiction of the treatment meted out to victims by the kidnappers made a woman in the audience faint. Variety magazine wrote "Weisz's performance holds the viewer every step of the way.".
That same year, she guest-starred in the animated series The Simpsons, in the 22nd season
The Simpsons (season 22)
The Simpsons twenty-second season began airing on Fox on September 26, 2010 and ended on May 22, 2011. The Simpsons was renewed for at least two additional seasons during the twentieth season leading up to this season. The cast is currently signed through the 25th season. On November 11, 2010, the...
episode "How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?
How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?
"How Munched is That Birdie in the Window?" is the seventh episode of The Simpsons twenty-second season and aired November 28, 2010.The title of the episode is a reference to the 1952 song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window".-Plot:...
".
Weisz's 2011 roles included an adaptation of Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
's play The Deep Blue Sea and the thriller film Dream House
Dream House (film)
Dream House is a 2011 American thriller film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas...
, alongside Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
. She will star in an upcoming romantic drama written and directed by Terrence Malick
Terrence Malick
Terrence Frederick Malick is a U.S. film director, screenwriter, and producer. In a career spanning almost four decades, Malick has directed five feature films....
, which would see her starring alongside Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
, Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kurylenko
Olha Kostyantynivna Kurylenko , better known as Olga Kurylenko, is a French actress and model. She is perhaps best known as the Bond girl, Camille Montes, in the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. She also portrayed Nika Boronina in the movie adaptation of the video game Hitman...
, Javier Bardem
Javier Bardem
Javier Ángel Encinas Bardem is a Spanish actor. In 2007 he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as sociopathic assassin Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, and has also garnered critical acclaim for roles in films such as Jamón, jamón, Carne trémula, Boca a boca, Los...
and Rachel McAdams
Rachel McAdams
Rachel Anne McAdams is a Canadian actress. After graduating from a theatre program at York University, Toronto in 2001, she worked steadily as an actress until finding fame in 2004 with starring roles in teen comedy Mean Girls and romantic drama The Notebook...
. , other upcoming movies include BBC's espionage thriller Page 8, and Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Meirelles
Fernando Ferreira Meirelles is a Brazilian film director, producer and screenwriter.He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director in 2004 for his work in the Brazilian film City of God, released in 2002 in Brazil and in 2003 in the U.S. by Miramax Films...
' psychosexual
Psychosexual disorder
Psychosexual disorder is a term which may simply refer to a sexual problem that is psychological, rather than physiological, in origin.Psychosexual disorder was a term used in Freudian psychology....
drama 360.
She is in talks with Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
to play Evanora in Oz: The Great and Powerful.
Theatre
On stage, Weisz's breakthrough role was that of Gilda in Sean MathiasSean Mathias
Sean Gerard Mathias is a British theatre director, film director, writer and actor.Mathias was born in Swansea, south Wales. He is known for directing the film, Bent, and for directing highly acclaimed theatre productions in London, New York, Cape Town, Los Angeles and Sydney...
's 1994 revival of Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
's Design for Living
Design for Living
Design for Living is a comedy play written by Noël Coward in 1932. It concerns a trio of artistic characters, Gilda, Otto and Leo, and their complicated three-way relationship. Originally written to star Lynn Fontanne, Alfred Lunt and Coward, it was premiered on Broadway, partly because its risqué...
at the Gielgud Theatre
Gielgud Theatre
The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, London, at the corner of Rupert Street. The house currently has 889 seats on three levels.-History:...
, for which she received the London Critics' Circle Award for the most promising newcomer. Her portrayal was described as "wonderful" by a contemporary review.
In 1999, she played the role of Catherine in the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer, What's on Stage called her "captivating", stating that she brought "a degree of credibility to a difficult part". The same year, Weisz appeared in Neil LaBute
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute is an American film director, screenwriter and playwright.-Early life:LaBute was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Marian, a hospital receptionist, and Richard LaBute, a long-haul truck driver. LaBute is of French Canadian, English and Irish ancestry, and was raised in Spokane,...
's The Shape of Things at the Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
, then temporarily located in London's Kings Cross
Kings Cross, London
King's Cross is an area of London partly in the London Borough of Camden and partly in the London Borough of Islington. It is an inner-city district located 2.5 miles north of Charing Cross. The area formerly had a reputation for being a red light district and run-down. However, rapid regeneration...
. CurtainUp called her "a sophisticated, independent artist" with "great stage presence". In 2009, she appeared Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois
Blanche DuBois is a fictional character in Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play A Streetcar Named Desire...
, in Rob Ashford
Rob Ashford
Rob Ashford is an American choreographer and director. He is a seven-time Tony Award nominee , five-time Olivier Award nominee, Emmy Award winner, Drama Desk winner, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.-Biography:...
's revival of the play A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
. Her performance in the play was praised by the critics, The Daily Telegraph noted that she "rises to the challenge magnificently".
Film
Weisz gained honours for her work in The Constant GardenerThe Constant Gardener
The Constant Gardener is a 2001 novel by John le Carré. It tells the story of Justin Quayle, a British diplomat whose activist wife is murdered...
, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. She was also nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Furthermore, the role also led to her receiving the London Critics Circle Film Award
London Film Critics Circle Awards 2005
The 26th Critics' Circle Awards, given by the London Film Critics Circle on February 8, 2006, honored the best in film for 2005.-Actor of the Year: Bruno Ganz - Downfall *Heath Ledger - Brokeback Mountain...
for British Actress of the Year, the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. Additionally, she was nominated for the Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 2006, Weisz was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
, and was also honored at the Los Angeles BAFTA ceremony with the Britannia Award for Artist of the Year.
Theatre
In 1991 Weisz received the Student Drama Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, for her part in the play Slight Possession. In 1994 she was awarded with the London Critics' Circle Award for Most Promising Newcomer, for the play Design for Living.In January 2010, the Critics' Circle Theatre Awards in London named her Best Actress of 2009, for her performance as Blanche Dubois in the Donmar revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. She also won the coveted 2010 Olivier Award for Best Actress
Olivier Award for Best Actress
See Olivier Awards for more information about the awards and a full list of categories and winners.The Laurence Olivier Awards are a series of awards presented annually by The Society of London Theatre. They are presented in recognition of achievements in commercial British theatre, most notably...
for the same role.
Personal life
Weisz began dating American filmmaker and producer Darren AronofskyDarren Aronofsky
Darren Aronofsky is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University to study film theory and the American Film Institute to study both live-action and animation filmmaking...
in the summer of 2001. They met backstage at London's Almeida Theatre
Almeida Theatre
The Almeida Theatre, opened in 1980, is a 325 seat studio theatre with an international reputation which takes its name from the street in which it is located, off Upper Street, in the London Borough of Islington. The theatre produces a diverse range of drama and holds an annual summer festival of...
, where she was starring in The Shape of Things. Weisz moved to New York City with Aronofsky the following year; in 2005, they were engaged. Their son, Henry Chance, was born on 31 May 2006 in New York City. The couple resided in the East Village
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, lying east of Greenwich Village, south of Gramercy and Stuyvesant Town, and north of the Lower East Side...
in Manhattan. In November 2010, Weisz and Aronofsky announced that they had been apart for months, but remain close friends and are committed to raising their son together in New York.
Weisz began dating actor Daniel Craig
Daniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
in December 2010 and they married on 22 June 2011 in a private New York ceremony, with only four guests in attendance, including Weisz's son and Craig's daughter.
In 2009, Weisz expressed her views on Botox to Harper's Bazaar - "It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen. Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?"
Weisz is represented by Creative Artists Agency.
In 2001, she was involved in a traffic accident, while traveling in a cab that was hit by a truck, Weisz was unharmed. .
On 7 July 2007, she presented at the American leg
Live Earth concert, New York City
The Live Earth concert for North America was held at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA on July 7, 2007.-Running order:In order of appearance:*Kenna - "Out Of Control", "Face The Gun", "Sun Red Sky Blue"...
of Live Earth
Live Earth
-Background:Founded by Emmy-winning producer Kevin Wall, in partnership with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, Live Earth was built upon the belief that entertainment has the power to transcend social and cultural barriers to move the world community to action...
, along with Alec Baldwin
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae "Alec" Baldwin III is an American actor who has appeared on film, stage, and television.Baldwin first gained recognition through television for his work in the soap opera Knots Landing in the role of Joshua Rush. He was a cast member for two seasons before his character was killed off...
and Kevin Bacon
Kevin Bacon
Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....
.
During her career, she has been featured on the covers of magazines such as Vogue and Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
. She serves as a muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
to fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez
Narciso Rodriguez III is an American fashion designer.Rodriguez is the first child and only son of Cuban parents Narciso Rodríguez II, a longshoreman, and Rawedia María Rodríguez who are of Canarian descent. He grew up in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were against Narciso entering fashion: "They...
, and was named L’Oréal's global ambassador in 2010.
Weisz, a British citizen by birth, became a naturalized American citizen in 2011.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Death Machine Death Machine Death Machine is a 1994 science-fiction action horror film written and directed by Stephen Norrington.-Plot:The film opens in a demolished roadside diner, everyone inside has been slaughtered by a malfunctioning secret project codenamed Hardman. It was manufactured by Chaank, a megacorporation that... |
Junior Executive | |
| 1996 | Chain Reaction Chain Reaction (film) Chain Reaction is a 1996 American film starring Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman, Rachel Weisz, Brian Cox, Kevin Dunn and Fred Ward. It presents a fictional account of the invention of bubble fusion using sonoluminescence and the attempts by the United States Government to prevent the spreading of this... |
Dr. Lily Sinclair | |
| 1996 | Stealing Beauty Stealing Beauty Stealing Beauty is a 1996 drama film directed by Academy Award-winning Italian filmmaker Bernardo Bertolucci and written by Bertolucci and Susan Minot. It stars Liv Tyler, D.W. Moffett, Jeremy Irons, and Rachel Weisz... |
Miranda Fox | |
| 1997 | Bent Bent (film) Bent is a 1997 British/Japanese drama film directed by Sean Mathias, based on the 1979 play of the same name by Martin Sherman, who also wrote the screenplay. It revolves around the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany after the murder of Sturmabteilung leader Ernst Röhm on the Night of the... |
Prostitute | |
| 1997 | Going All the Way Going All the Way Going All the Way is a 1997 film directed by Mark Pellington. The film was written by Dan Wakefield, based on his 1970 novel. It won an award at the Sundance Film Festival.-Plot:... |
Marty Pilcher | |
| 1997 | Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea Swept from the Sea is a 1997 American drama film based on a 1903 short story, "Amy Foster" by Joseph Conrad. It stars Vincent Perez, Rachel Weisz, Ian McKellen, Joss Ackland, Kathy Bates, Zoë Wanamaker and Tom Bell and was directed by Beeban Kidron.... |
Amy Foster | |
| 1997 | I Want You I Want You (1998 film) I Want You is an 1998 English crime film directed by Michael Winterbottom.-Plot:Martin is an ex-convict who returns home and finds that Helen , his former girlfriend is involved with someone else... |
Helen | |
| 1998 | My Summer with Des My Summer with Des My Summer with Des is a 1998 TV movie comedy drama created by English writer Arthur Smith. Shown to coincide with the beginning of World Cup 1998, the story is set during the European football championships in 1996, where football fan Martin finds his life is going from bad to worse after losing... |
Rosie | |
| 1998 | Ag (Agapanthus) | ||
| 1999 | Evelyn "Evie" Carnahan | ||
| 1999 | Sunshine Sunshine (1999 film) Sunshine is a 1999 historical film written by Israel Horovitz and István Szabó, directed and produced by István Szabó. It follows three generations of a Jewish family during the changes in Hungary from the beginning of the 20th century to the... |
Greta | Nominated — Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role |
| 1999 | Tube Tales Tube Tales Tube Tales is a collection of nine short films based on the true-life experiences of London Underground passengers as submitted to Time Out magazine. The stories were scripted and filmed independently of each other... |
Angela | |
| 2000 | Beautiful Creatures Beautiful Creatures Beautiful Creatures is a 2000 British crime film film directed by Bill Eagles and starring Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz. Lynch received a British Independent Film Award nomination for her role.-Cast:* Susan Lynch as Dorothy* Iain Glen as Tony... |
Petula | |
| 2000 | This Is Not an Exit: The Fictional World of Bret Easton Ellis | Lauren Hynde | |
| 2001 | Enemy at the Gates Enemy at the Gates Enemy at the Gates is a 2001 war film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, starring Joseph Fiennes, Jude Law, Rachel Weisz, Bob Hoskins and Ed Harris set during the Battle of Stalingrad in World War II.... |
Tania Chernova | Nominated – European Film Award for Best Actress |
| 2001 | Evelyn Carnahan-O'Connell Princess Nefertiri |
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| 2002 | About a Boy About a Boy (film) About a Boy is a 2002 comedy-drama film directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz, based on the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars Golden Globe winner Hugh Grant as Will, Nicholas Hoult as Marcus, Academy Award nominee Toni Collette as Fiona, and Academy Award winner Rachel... |
Rachel | |
| 2003 | Confidence | Lily | |
| 2003 | Evelyn Ann Thompson | Also Producer | |
| 2003 | Runaway Jury Runaway Jury Runaway Jury is a 2003 American drama/thriller film directed by Gary Fleder and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz... |
Marlee | |
| 2004 | Envy | Debbie Dingman | |
| 2005 | Constantine Constantine (film) Constantine is a 2005 American action horror film directed by Francis Lawrence as his directorial debut, starring Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, with Rachel Weisz, Shia LaBeouf, Tilda Swinton, and Djimon Hounsou... |
Angela Dodson/Isabel Dodson | Nominated — Teen Choice Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with... : Movie Scream Scene |
| 2005 | Tessa Quayle | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... British Independent Film Award for Best Actress British Independent Film Awards The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British... Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year.... Iowa Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Iowa Film Critics Awards 2005 The 3rd Iowa Film Critics Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were held on 11 January 2006.-Winners:*Best Actor:**Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote*Best Actress:**Joan Allen - The Upside of Anger*Best Director:... London Film Critic's Circle Award for British Actress of the Year San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress The San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award given by the San Diego Film Critics Society to honor the finest female acting achievementes in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest acting achievements:Note:... St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the annual awards given by the St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association.-2000s:-2010s:... Utah Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Utah Film Critics Association The Utah Film Critics Association is an organization of cinema journalists affiliated with publications, broadcasting stations and online media based in Utah... Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :... Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:... Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best supporting actress of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:... |
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| 2006 | Izzi/Isabella I of Castile Isabella I of Castile Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor... |
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| 2006 | Eragon Eragon (film) Eragon is a 2006 fantasy-adventure film based on the novel of the same name by author Christopher Paolini. The cast includes Edward Speleers in the title role, Jeremy Irons, Garrett Hedlund, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Djimon Hounsou, Alun Armstrong, Joss Stone, and the voice... |
Saphira | |
| 2007 | Fred Claus Fred Claus Fred Claus is a 2007 Christmas family-comedy film produced and directed by David Dobkin, written by Dan Fogelman and Jessie Nelson, and starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti.-Plot:... |
Wanda | |
| 2007 | My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights My Blueberry Nights is a 2007 romance/drama/road film directed by Wong Kar Wai, his first feature in English. The screenplay by Wong and Lawrence Block is based on a short Chinese-language film written and directed by Wong... |
Sue Lynn | |
| 2008 | Definitely, Maybe Definitely, Maybe Definitely, Maybe is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Adam Brooks, and starring Ryan Reynolds, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Elizabeth Banks, Abigail Breslin and Kevin Kline.-Plot:... |
Summer Hartley | |
| 2009 | Penelope | ||
| 2009 | Abigail Salmon | ||
| 2009 | Agora Agora (film) Agora is a 2009 Spanish historical drama film directed by Alejandro Amenábar and written by Amenábar and Mateo Gil. The biopic stars Rachel Weisz as Hypatia, a female mathematician, philosopher and astronomer in 4th century Roman Egypt who investigates the flaws of the geocentric Ptolemaic system... |
Hypatia | Nominated — Goya Award for Best Actress Goya Award for Best Actress The Goya Award for Best Actress is one of the Goya Awards, Spain's principal national film awards.... |
| 2010 | Kathryn Bolkovac Kathryn Bolkovac Kathryn Bolkovac is an American former police investigator from Nebraska. She worked as a U.N. International Police Force monitor.Originally hired by the U.S... |
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| 2011 | Page Eight Page Eight Page Eight is a 2011 film written and directed for the BBC by the British writer David Hare, his first film as director since the 1989 film Strapless. The cast includes Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Tom Hughes, Ralph Fiennes, and Judy Davis. The film had its world premiere on 18 June... |
Nancy Pierpan | |
| 2011 | Dream House Dream House (film) Dream House is a 2011 American thriller film directed by Jim Sheridan and starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas... |
Libby Attenton | |
| 2011 | Hester Collyer | Post-production | |
| 2012 | Untitled Terrence Malick project | Dinah | Post-production |
| 2012 | 360 | Rose | Post-production |
| 2013 | Oz: The Great and Powerful | Evanora | Filming |
External links
- Gentlemen Prefer Rachel slideshow The First PostThe First PostThe First Post is a British daily online news magazine based in London. It was launched in August 2005. It publishes news, current affairs, lifestyle, opinion, arts and sports pages, and it features an online games arcade and a cinema featuring short films, virals, trailers and eyewitness news...
- Comprehensive biography (with advertisments)