1-MINUTE RESUME FOR CATE BLANCHETT
After graduating from Sydney's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts, Blanchett appeared in a number of stage plays; her first big role was in David Mamet's
Oleanna, starring opposite Geoffrey Rush. Her first feature film was with Meryl Streep and Frances McDormand in 1997's
Paradise Road. That same year, while co-starring with Ralph Fiennes in
Oscar and Lucinda, her performance caught the attention of director Shekhar Kapur, who immediately cast Blanchett as the Queen in
Elizabeth. She made a lasting impression as the elf, Galadriel, in
The Lord of the Rings trilogy. And her role in Martin Scorsese's
The Aviator as Katharine Hepburn earned her an Academy Award.
5 Things:
1. At age 10, she and her siblings were pulled out of a movie theater and were told that their father had died of a heart attack.
2. Before acting school, she studied fine arts and economics at the University of Melbourne; she later quit school to travel.
3. She discovered acting after her visa expired in England, and she moved to Egypt; there, she was asked to appear as an extra in a boxing movie.
4. She named her first-born son after her favorite author, Dashiell Hammett.
5. She saved and bronzed her ear prosthetics from The Lord of the Rings.
Quote:
"I think the camera can only look at somebody's face for so long. I guess you have to accept the roles you think are right at the time. You can build a career, but these days there doesn't seem to be that much interest in people being actors … I sometimes think the whole thing is like one big commercial."
—
Interview, Jan. 1998
Family:
Husband: Andrew Upton, screenwriter and film editor, married Dec. 29, 1997
Son: Roman Robert, born Apr. 23, 2004
Son: Dashiell John, born Dec. 3, 2001
Awards:
2007: Academy Award nomination: Best Supporting Actress,
Notes on a Scandal; Golden Globe nomination: Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture,
Notes on a Scandal
2005: Academy Award: Best Supporting Actress,
The Aviator; Golden Globe nomination: Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture,
The Aviator
2004: Golden Globe nomination: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama),
Veronica Guerin
2002: Golden Globe nomination: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Comedy),
Bandits
1999: Academy Award nomination: Best Actress,
Elizabeth; Golden Globe: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama),
Elizabeth
