RENÉE'S LUCKY ESCAPE

THE STAR REVEALS HER SCARY PARALLELS WITH JUDY GARLAND

For 23 years Renée Zellweger has been the toast of la-la land, dating rock gods and movie stars, winning awards and glittering like a polished jewel on the red carpet. It’s the kind of fame that makes fortunes but also destroys lives – and for Renée it almost did both.

Thanks to a therapist, she’s managed to keep both her fortune and her sanity, but not all who’ve walked the same path have been so lucky.

In 1969, iconic actress Judy Garland became a casualty of the same Hollywood machine that almost broke Renée − and now, 50 years later, the Bridget Jones actress is bringing her back to life on the big screen.

The irony of playing a star who cracked under the pressure of fame is not lost on Renée, but when she was offered the lead role in the biopic Judy − which opens in New Zealand cinemas on October 17 − there was only one possible answer. Yes!

“It seemed to me to be a no brainer,” the 50-year-old star admits. “To be able to spend time exploring her, her life and her talent? What’s not to love about a project like that?”

It’s this attitude that many say is a sign the actress, who shot to fame in 1996 starring opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, is well and truly back after a long career break some feared may be permanent.

Despite having three Oscar nominations and one win to her name, Renée walked away from her glitzy life nearly a decade ago with the words of a former colleague, a director, ringing in her ears. He had taken her aside as her star was on the rise and warned that her life was about to change forever.