Welcome to the RENEESSANCE

She had us at 'hello'. From single mother Dorothy Boyd to the murderous Roxie Hart, Renée Zellweger was Hollywood's darling... until she disappeared. Now she's back, second Oscar in hand, and putting herself first.

- CHARIS TORRANCE

Born on 25 April 1969 in Katy, Texas, to Kjellfrid Irene Andreassen, a Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife, and Emil Erich Zellweger, a Swissborn engineer, Renée grew up wanting to be a writer. In fact, she went to study English at the University of Texas, which is where, instead, she ‘fell’ into acting. Bit parts in ’90s hits Dazed and Confused (1993) and Reality Bites (1994) paved the way for bigger roles in Love and a .45, The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (co-starring fellow Texan and then unknown Matthew McConaughey) and Empire Records (1995).

‘Rather than continuing with my journalism degree, I finished up quickly with my lit degree so that I could just see where [acting] would go,’ she says. ‘I figured I could always go back and get a master’s, and finally submit something to The Daily Texan!’

Then, to everyone’s surprise, she was cast as Tom Cruise’s love interest in Jerry Maguire and overnight Renée was a star.

Next came the franchise that would make her a global name: Bridget Jones’s Diary. Her casting was met with massive controversy: how could she possibly play Helen Fielding’s iconic chainsmoking Brit? She was too pretty, too skinny and too Texan – co-star Hugh Grant called her casting ‘a stretch’. But audiences and critics alike loved her portrayal, which earned her an Oscar, a Bafta and a Golden Globe nomination.