Cate Blanchett
| Cate Blanchett | |
|---|---|
 Blanchett at the 2011 Sydney Film Festival |
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| Born | Catherine Élise Blanchett 14 May 1969 [1] Melbourne, Australia |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Spouse(s) | Andrew Upton (1997–present; 3 children) |
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett (/ˈblɑːntʃ.ət/; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actress, whose work has earned several accolades, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTAs, and an Academy Award.
She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and Golden Globe awards, and earned her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Blanchett appeared as the elf lady Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy from 2001 to 2003. In 2004, Blanchett's portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator brought her numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Blanchett's other films include Babel (2006), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Blanchett collaborated with director Peter Jackson again for what is to be The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014).
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Early life and education [edit]
Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Victoria in the suburb of Ivanhoe.[2] Her mother, June (née Gamble), was an Australian property developer and teacher, and her father, Robert DeWitt Blanchett, Jr., was a Texas native who was a US Navy Petty Officer and later worked as an advertising executive.[3][4] The two met while Blanchett's father's ship, USS Arneb, was in Melbourne. When Blanchett was ten, she lost her father to a heart attack.[5] She has two siblings; her older brother, Bob, is a computer systems engineer, and her younger sister, Genevieve, worked as a theatrical designer and received her Bachelor of Design in Architecture in April 2008.[6]
Blanchett has described herself as being "part extrovert, part wallflower" during childhood.[6] She attended a primary school in Melbourne at Ivanhoe East Primary School. For her secondary education, she attended Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School and then Methodist Ladies' College, from which she graduated, where she explored her passion for acting.[7] She studied economics and fine arts at the University of Melbourne before leaving Australia to travel overseas.
When she was eighteen, Blanchett went on a holiday to Egypt. A fellow guest at a hotel in Cairo asked if she wanted to be an extra in a movie, and the next day she found herself in a crowd scene cheering for an American boxer losing to an Egyptian in the film Kaboria, starring the Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaki. Blanchett returned to Australia and later moved to Sydney, New South Wales to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1992 and beginning her career in the theatre.[5]
Career [edit]
1993–2000 [edit]
Her first major stage role was opposite Geoffrey Rush in the 1992 David Mamet play Oleanna, for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics' Best Newcomer Award.[8] She also appeared as Ophelia in an acclaimed 1994–95 Company B production of Hamlet, directed by Neil Armfield, starring Rush and Richard Roxburgh. Blanchett appeared in the TV miniseries Heartland opposite Ernie Dingo, the miniseries Bordertown, with Hugo Weaving, and in an episode of Police Rescue entitled "The Loaded Boy". She also appeared in the 1994 telemovie Police Rescue as a teacher taken hostage by armed bandits, and in the 50-minute drama Parklands (1996), which received a limited release in Australian cinemas. Also in 1994, she played a non-recurring role in an episode of the long-running Australian TV series GP, as Janie Morris, a woman living with her brother (Daniel Lapaine as Sean Morris) in a consensual incestuous relationship. Their relationship is torn apart when their mother comes to visit, and notices that only one bed appears to be slept in regularly.[9]
Blanchett made her international film debut with a supporting role as an Australian nurse captured by the Japanese Army during World War II, in Bruce Beresford's 1997 film Paradise Road, which co-starred Glenn Close and Frances McDormand.[5] Her first leading role, also in 1997, was as Lucinda Leplastrier, in Gillian Armstrong's production of Oscar and Lucinda, opposite Ralph Fiennes.[5] Blanchett was nominated for her first Australian Film Institute Award as Best Leading Actress for this role, and lost out to Pamela Rabe in The Well. She did, however, win an AFI Award as Supporting Actress in the same year for her role as Lizzie in the romantic-comedy Thank God He Met Lizzie, co-starring Richard Roxburgh and Frances O'Connor. Her first high-profile international role was as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 movie Elizabeth, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.[5] Blanchett lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow for her role in Shakespeare in Love, but won a British Academy Award (BAFTA) and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. The following year, Blanchett was nominated for another BAFTA Award, for her supporting role in The Talented Mr. Ripley.[5]
2000–2011 [edit]
Already an acclaimed actress, Blanchett received a host of new fans when she appeared in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. She played the role of Galadriel in all three films.[5] The trilogy holds the record as the highest grossing film trilogy of all time.[10] In 2005, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. This made Blanchett the first person to garner an Academy Award for playing a previous Oscar-winning actor/actress.[citation needed] That same year, Blanchett won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress for her role as Tracy Heart, a recovering heroin addict in the Australian film Little Fish. Though lesser known globally than some of her other films, Little Fish received tremendous critical acclaim in Blanchett's native Australia.
In 2006, she starred in Babel opposite Brad Pitt, The Good German with George Clooney and Notes on a Scandal opposite Dame Judi Dench. Blanchett received her third Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film.[11]
In 2007, Blanchett was named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World and also one of the most successful actresses by Forbes magazine.[12] In 2007, she won the Volpi Cup Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for portraying one of six incarnations of Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes' feature film I'm Not There and reprised her role as Elizabeth I in the sequel, Elizabeth: The Golden Age.[13] At the 80th Academy Awards Blanchett received two Academy Award nominations; Best Actress for Elizabeth: the Golden Age and Best Supporting Actress for I'm Not There, becoming the eleventh actor to receive two acting nominations in the same year and the first female actor to receive another nomination for the reprisal of a role.[14]
She next starred in Steven Spielberg's, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, as the villainous KGB agent Col. Dr. Irina Spalko, and in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, appearing on screen with Brad Pitt for a second time. On 5 December 2008, Blanchett was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman's Egyptian Theatre.[15]
As of 2011, Blanchett has been featured in seven films that were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: Elizabeth (1998), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002 and 2003), The Aviator (2004), Babel (2006), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). Blanchett provided a voice for the film Ponyo,[16] and appeared opposite Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, released on 14 May 2010. She attended the premiere of her film Hanna directed by Joe Wright at the Sydney Film Festival.[17]
2012–present [edit]
It was announced that Blanchett will reprise her role as Galadriel in Jackson's upcoming films of The Hobbit in 2012 and 2013, filmed in New Zealand.[18] Also in 2012, Blanchett voiced the role of "Penelope" in the Family Guy episode "Mr. and Mrs. Stewie". Blanchett is set to appear in a film directed by Terrence Malick, Knight of Cups. Both are scheduled to be filmed in 2012.[19]
Blanchett will also star in 2013's Blue Jasmine directed by Woody Allen. The film will also star Louis C.K. and will be Allen's first film set in New York City since 2009's Whatever Works.
Blanchett is also set to star in George Clooney's next directorial effort, The Monuments Men. The film will feature an ensemble cast including: Clooney, Daniel Craig, John Goodman, Bill Murray, Hugh Bonneville and Jean Dujardin. The synopsis of the film reads: "In a race against time, a crew of art historians and museum curators unite to recover renown works of art stolen by Nazis before Hitler destroys it." She will play Lady Tremaine, the Wicked Stepmother, in a live-action re-imagining of Cinderella.[20][21][22]
She is also confirmed to star opposite Mia Wasikowska in Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt, directed by Todd Haynes.[23]
Personal life [edit]
Blanchett's husband is playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, whom she met in 1996 on the set of a TV show.[24] They were married on 29 December 1997[25] and have three sons: Dashiell John (born 3 December 2001),[26] Roman Robert (born 23 April 2004),[27] and Ignatius Martin (born 13 April 2008).[28]
After making Brighton, England, their main family home for much of the early 2000s, she and her husband returned to their native Australia. In November 2006, Blanchett stated that this was due to a desire to decide on a permanent home for her children, and to be closer to her family as well as a sense of belonging to the Australian (theatrical) community.[29] She and her family live in Bulwarra, an 1877 sandstone mansion once owned by Halse Rogers Arnott, in the harbourside Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill.[30] It was purchased for A$10.2 million in 2004 and underwent extensive renovations in 2007 to be made more "eco-friendly".[31][32]
In 2006, a portrait of Cate Blanchett and family painted by McLean Edwards was a finalist in the Archibald Prize.[33] Blanchett is a Patron of the Sydney Film Festival.[34] She works as the face of SK-II, the luxury skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble.[35] In 2007, Blanchett became the ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation's online campaign – trying to persuade Australians to express their concerns about climate change.[36] She is also the Patron of the development charity SolarAid.[37] Opening the 2008 9th World Congress of Metropolis in Sydney, Blanchett said: "The one thing that all great cities have in common is that they are all different."[38]
In early 2009, Blanchett appeared in a series of special edition postage stamps called "Australian Legends of the Screen", featuring Australian actors acknowledged for the "outstanding contribution they have made to Australian entertainment and culture".[39] She, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, and Nicole Kidman each appear twice in the series: once as themselves and once in character; Blanchett is depicted in character from Elizabeth: The Golden Age.[39] At the beginning of 2011, Blanchett lent her support for a Carbon Tax.[40] She received some criticism for this, especially from conservatives.[41] Blanchett and her husband are currently artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company.[42][43] She has recently announced the 2013 season at the Sydney Theatre Company will be her final as artistic director.[44]
Filmography [edit]
Theatre credits [edit]
| Year | Production | Location | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| pre-1992 | The Odyssey of Runyon Jones | Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne | Unknown | Adaption of play by Norman Corwin |
| pre-1992 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne | Director | Directed fellow students in a production of an adaptation of the novel by Horace McCoy |
| 1992 | Electra | National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney | Electra | |
| 1992/1993 | Top Girls | Sydney Theatre Company | Unknown | Her first starring role there |
| 1993 | Oleanna | Sydney Theatre Company | Carol | Opposite Geoffrey Rush; won Rosemont Best Actress Award |
| 1994 | Hamlet | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Ophelia | Opposite Geoffrey Rush; Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield |
| 1995 | Sweet Phoebe | Sydney Theatre Company and Warehouse Theatre, Croydon | Helen | World premier of a play written and directed by Michael Gow; transferred to the West End |
| 1995 | The Tempest | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Miranda | A Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield |
| 1995 | The Blind Giant is Dancing | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Rose Draper | With Hugo Weaving; Company B production, directed by Neil Armfield, with music composed by Paul Charlier; play by Stephen Sewell |
| 1997 | The Seagull a.k.a. The Seagull in Harry Hills | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Nina | Directed by Neil Armfield, music composed by Paul Charlier |
| 1999 | Plenty | The Alemida Season at the Albery Theatre, London | Susan Traherne | Directed by Jonathan Kent |
| 1999 | The Vagina Monologues | The Old Vic, London | – | Ensemble including Melanie Griffith |
| 2004 | Hedda Gabler | Sydney Theatre Company | Hedda Gabler | Travelled to Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre; there, she was awarded the Ibsen Centennial Commemoration Award. |
| 2009 | The War of the Roses Cycle | Sydney Theatre Company | Richard II, Lady Anne | part of the Sydney Festival 2009 |
| 2009 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Sydney Theatre Company | Blanche DuBois | With Joel Edgerton; directed by Liv Ullmann; 2009 Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Non-Resident Production, Washington, DC |
| 2010 | Uncle Vanya | Sydney Theatre Company | Yelena | Adaptation by A. Upton; with Richard Roxburgh (Vanya), John Bell (Professor Serebryakov), Hugo Weaving (Astrov) |
| 2011 | Big and Small | Sydney Theatre Company | Lotte | Directed by Benedict Andrews; new translation by Martin Crimp of Botho Strauß's 1978 play Groß und klein; co-commissioned by the Barbican Centre, London 2012 Festival, Théâtre de la Ville, Paris, Vienna Festival and Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen |
| 2013 | The Maids | Sydney Theatre Company | Claire | With Isabelle Huppert as Solange, Elizabeth Debicki as Madame; directed by Benedict Andrews |
References [edit]
- ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly (1207) (Time Inc.). 18 May 2012. p. 29.
- ^ Wilmoth, Peter (2 March 2008). "Can-do Cate". The Age. Retrieved 13 August 2012.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett's biography". Elle. December 2003. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett Biography (1969–)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
- ^ a b c d e f g Stated on Inside the Actors Studio, 2003
- ^ a b "Cate Blanchett's biography". The biography channel. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Famous alumni on Latham's hit list" at Crikey; (accessed: 15 January 2010)
- ^ "Cate Blanchett". biogs.com. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ GP episode "Natural Selection" at the Internet Movie Database
- ^ "Top Trilogies worldwide". Box Office Mojo. 21 September 2004. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Oscars 2007: full list of winners and nominees". The Guardian (London). 26 February 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (3 May 2007). "Cate Blanchett – The TIME 100". Time. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ Goodwin, Christopher (14 October 2007). "Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I is no surprise". The Times (UK). Retrieved 14 October 2007.
- ^ Hellard, Peta (23 January 2008). "Cate's double Oscar nod". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 23 January 2008.
- ^ "Blanchett gets star on Walk of Fame". The Age (Melbourne). 6 December 2008. Retrieved 21 December 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Child, Ben (27 November 2008). "English-language cast announced for Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 30 November 2008.
- ^ Moss, Hilary (8 June 2011). "Cate Blanchett Suits Up For Sydney Film Festival (PHOTOS, POLL)". The Huffington Post.
- ^ "Torn Exclusive: Cate Blanchett, Ken Stott, Sylvester Mccoy, Mikael Persbrandt join cast of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit". TheOneRing.net (Los Angeles, CA). 7 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
- ^ "FilmNation continues relationship with Terrence Malick on two new films". FilmNation Entertainment. 1 November 2011. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
- ^ Cate Blanchett Up For A Wicked Role In Disney's Live Action Cinderella Feature Retrieved 30 April 2013
- ^ 'Downton Abbey' actress Lily James cast as 'Cinderella' opposite Cate Blanchett Retrieved 30 April 2013
- ^ Lily James is Disney's Cinderella Retrieved 30 April 2013
- ^ http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/todd-haynes-to-direct-carol/5056652.article
- ^ "Cate Blanchett: Getting married is insanity". People.com. 12 January 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett's wedding regrets". Celebrity Bride Guide. 10 December 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cat Blanchett and Dashiell hop to it". People.com. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett gives birth to a son". People.com. 26 April 2004. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett welcomes third son, Ignatius Martin". People.com. 13 April 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Michael Specter (November 2006). "Head First". Vogue. Retrieved 17 October 2007.[dead link]
- ^ Discover Hunters Hill Retrieved 31 July 2012
- ^ Hannah Edwards (12 December 2004). "Cate buys mansion for $10m". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ Hannah Edwards (8 July 2007). "Welcome to Cate Blanchett's dream eco-home". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Archibald Prize 06". Art Gallery NSW. Archived from the original on 16 October 2007. Retrieved 26 February 2008.
- ^ "Sydney Film Festival to kick off with Hanna premiere". Sydney Morning Herald. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Kerry Pieri (4 January 2013). "Beauty diary: SK-II face Cate Blanchett". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ Daphne Merkin (15 April 2011). "Vanishing Act". New York Times. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett talks about SolarAid on the BBC". SolarAid.com. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
- ^ "Cities under spotlight at conference". The Age (Australia). AAP. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 23 October 2008.
- ^ a b "Academy winners are stamped as 2009 Legends". Australia Post. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
- ^ Clean Energy Australia
- ^ "Blanchett support for Carbon Tax", The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Marks, Kathy (30 May 2011). "Australia falls out of love with 'Carbon Cate' over starring role in tax advert". The Independent (London). Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ Damien Murphy and Aaron Cook (3 June 2011). "Cate takes stage for all the world". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett's next step". YouTube. 6 September 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Cate Blanchett |
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Cate Blanchett |
- Cate Blanchett at the Internet Movie Database
- Sydney Theatre Company
- Cate Blanchett: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast
- Blanchett, Cate (1969–), National Library of Australia, Trove
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- 20th-century Australian actresses
- 21st-century Australian actresses
- 1969 births
- Actresses from Melbourne
- Australian film actresses
- Australian people of American descent
- Australian people of French descent
- Australian stage actresses
- Australian television actresses
- Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners
- Best Actress BAFTA Award winners
- Best Actress Empire Award winners
- Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
- Helpmann Award winners
- Independent Spirit Award winners
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People educated at the National Institute of Dramatic Art
- Volpi Cup winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
