Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett (born 14 May 1969) is an Academy Award-winning Australian actress and stage director. She has won various other acting awards, most notably two SAGs, two Golden Globe Awards and two BAFTAs, as well as the Volpi Cup at 64th Venice International Film Festival.
Blanchett came to international attention in the 1998 film Elizabeth, directed by Shekhar Kapur, in which she played Elizabeth I of England. She is also well known for her portrayals of the elf queen Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role which brought her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[1][2][3] She and her husband Andrew Upton are currently artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company. They also have a film production company called "Dirty Films."[4]
Contents |
Biography
Early life and education
Blanchett was born in Ivanhoe, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, the daughter of June, an Australian property developer and teacher, and Robert "Bob" Blanchett, a Texas-born U.S. Navy Petty Officer who later worked as an advertising executive.[5][6] The two met while Blanchett's father's ship USS Arneb was in Melbourne. When Blanchett was 10, she lost her father to a heart attack. She has described herself during childhood as "part extrovert, part wallflower".[7] 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.[7]
Blanchett attended primary school in Melbourne at Ivanhoe East Primary School before completing secondary education at Methodist Ladies' College, where she explored her passion for acting. She studied Economics and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne before leaving Australia to travel overseas. When she was 18, Blanchett went on a vacation to Egypt. A fellow guest at a cheap 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 late Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaki. Blanchett returned to Australia and later moved to Sydney to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art; graduating in 1992 and beginning her career in the theatre.
Career
Her first major stage role was opposite Geoffrey Rush in the 1993 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 mini-series Heartland opposite Ernie Dingo, the mini-series Bordertown, with Hugo Weaving, and in an episode of Police Rescue entitled "The Loaded Boy". She also appeared in the 1994 telemovie of 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.
Blanchett made her international film debut with a supporting role as an Australian nurse captured by the Japanese Army during WW2 in Bruce Beresford's 1997 film Paradise Road, which co-starred Glenn Close and Frances McDormand. Her first leading role, also in 1997, was as Lucinda Leplastrier in Gillian Armstrong's production of Oscar and Lucinda opposite Ralph Fiennes. Coincidentally, Peter Carey, the Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Oscar and Lucinda, had known Blanchett's father, Bob, when both worked in the advertising industry in Melbourne. Blanchett was nominated for her first Australian Film Institute Award as Best Leading Actress for this role but 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. Blanchett lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow for her role in Shakespeare in Love but won a British Academy (BAFTA) Award 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.
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 the High Elf Queen Galadriel in all three films, which hold the record as the highest grossing film trilogy of all time.[9]
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 ever to garner an Academy Award for playing a previous Oscar-winning actor/actress.
In 2006, she starred in both Babel opposite Brad Pitt, and Notes on a Scandal playing Sheba Hart opposite Dame Judi Dench. Coincidentally, Dench won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for playing Elizabeth I, the same year Blanchett lost for playing the same historical figure, albeit in a different category. Blanchett received her third Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film (Dench was also Oscar nominated).
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 to Elizabeth entitled Elizabeth: the Golden Age.[10] At the 80th Annual Academy Awards Blanchett received two Academy Award nominations including Best Actress for Elizabeth: the Golden Age and Best Supporting Actress for I'm Not There, becoming only the eleventh actor to ever receive two acting nominations in the same year and the first female actor to receive another nomination for the reprisal of a role.[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. She next starred in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as the psychic KGB agent Col. Dr. Irina Spalko.
Blanchett and her husband commenced three-year contracts as artistic co-directors of the Sydney Theatre Company in January 2008. Their contracts include a clause that will allow either of them to take three months out of each year to pursue other activities.
Blanchett appeared on screen alongside Brad Pitt for the second time in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, at the end of 2008. Blanchett will provide a voice for the upcoming film Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea, slated for an April 9, 2009 release, although the specific role is as yet unknown.[12]
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.[13] The acclaimed director Woody Allen has stated he would like to work with Blanchett.[14]
Personal life
Blanchett's husband is playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, whom she met in 1996 while she was performing in a production of The Seagull. It was not love at first sight, however; "He thought I was aloof and I thought he was arrogant", Blanchett later remarked. "It just shows you how wrong you can be, but once he kissed me that was that." They were married on 29 December 1997, and have three sons, Dashiell John (born 3 December 2001), Roman Robert (born 23 April 2004) and Ignatius Martin (born 13 April 2008).
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.[15] She and her family live in "Bulwarra", an 1877 sandstone mansion in the harbourside Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill. It was purchased for $10.2 million Australian dollars in 2004 and underwent extensive renovations in 2007 in order to be made more "eco-friendly".[16][17]
In 2006, a portrait of Cate Blanchett and family painted by McLean Edwards was a finalist in the Archibald Prize, which is awarded the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics".[18]
Blanchett is a Patron of the Sydney Film Festival. She works as the face of SK-II, the luxury skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. In 2007, Blanchett became the ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation's online campaign www.whoonearthcares.com — trying to persuade Australians to express their concerns about climate change. She is also the Patron of the development charity SolarAid. Opening the 2008 9th World Congress of Metropolis in Sydney, Blanchett was insightful: "The one thing that all great cities have in common is that they are all different."[19]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes and awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Police Rescue: The Movie | Vivian | |
| 1996 | Parklands | Rosie | |
| 1997 | Oscar and Lucinda | Lucinda Leplastrier | Nominated – Australian Film Institute Award, Best Actress |
| Thank God He Met Lizzie | Lizzie | Australian Film Institute Award, Best Supporting Actress | |
| Paradise Road | Susan Macarthy | ||
| 1998 | Elizabeth | Queen Elizabeth I | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama Satellite Award – Best Actress Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress |
| 1999 | Bangers | Julie-Anne | |
| The Talented Mr. Ripley | Meredith Logue | Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role | |
| Pushing Tin | Connie Falzone | ||
| An Ideal Husband | Lady Gertrude Chiltern | Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress | |
| 2000 | The Gift | Annabelle "Annie" Wilson | |
| The Man Who Cried | Lola | ||
| 2001 | The Shipping News | Petal Quoyle | |
| Charlotte Gray | Charlotte Gray | Nominated – Satellite Award – Best Actress | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Galadriel | BFCA Award - Best Cast Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award – Best Cast |
|
| Bandits | Kate Wheeler | Nominated – Golden Globe Award – Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Galadriel | Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award – Best Cast |
| Heaven | Philippa | ||
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Galadriel | Screen Actors Guild Award – Best Cast |
| The Missing | Magdalena 'Maggie' Gilkeson | ||
| Coffee and Cigarettes | Herself & Shelly | ||
| Veronica Guerin | Veronica Guerin | Nominated – Golden Globe for Best Actress – Drama | |
| 2004 | The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou | Jane Winslett-Richardson | Nominated – BFCA Award – Best Cast |
| The Aviator | Katharine Hepburn | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award – Best Supporting Actress Screen Actors Guild Award - Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild - Best Cast Nominated – BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| 2005 | Little Fish | Tracy Heart | Australian Film Institute Award for Best Lead Actress |
| 2006 | Babel | Susan Jones | Nominated – Screen Actors Guild - Best Cast |
| The Good German | Lena Brandt | ||
| Notes on a Scandal | Sheba Hart | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | Janine | Uncredited Cameo |
| Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Queen Elizabeth I | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated – Golden Globe for Best Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress Nominated – BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Award - Best Supporting Actress |
|
| I'm Not There | Jude Quinn (Bob Dylan) | Chicago Film Critics Award – Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress Volpi Cup for Best Actress Nominated – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award – Best Supporting Actress Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated – BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress |
|
| 2008 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull | Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko | |
| The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | Daisy | Nominated – BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award – Best Cast |
|
| 2009 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Mrs. Fox (voice) | post-production |
| Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea | Unknown (voice) | awaiting release |
Theatre credits and awards
| Year | Play | Location | Role | Notes and Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 her fellow students in a production of the novel by Horace McCoy. |
| 1992 | Electra | National Institute of Dramatic Art, Melbourne | Electra | She played the lead in this play by Sophocles. |
| 1992/1993 | Top Girls | Sydney Theatre Company | Unknown | This play by Caryl Churchill was her first starring role there. |
| 1993 | Oleanna | Sydney Theatre Company | Carol | Played lead opposite Geoffrey Rush in David Mamet's play about a university professor who is accused of sexual harassment by a student. Won Rosemont Best Actress Award. |
| 1994 | Hamlet | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Ophelia | Played opposite Geoffrey Rush. It was a Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield. |
| 1995 | Sweet Phoebe | Sydney Theatre Company and the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon. | Helen | Played lead in the Belvoir Street Theatre/Playbox Theatre co-production, written and directed by Michael Gow. The Sydney production was the first ever, then transferred to the West End. |
| 1995 | The Tempest | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Miranda | A Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield. Played alongside Duxton Chevalier. |
| 1995 | The Blind Giant is Dancing | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Rose Draper | Played alongside Hugo Weaving. A Stephen Sewell play. It opened on 15 August 1995, and closed on 10 September 1995. It was a Company B production, directed by Neil Armfield, with music composed by Paul Charlier. |
| 1997 | The Seagull, a.k.a. The Seagull in Harry Hills | Belvoir Street Theatre Company | Nina | Lead in the Anton Checkov play. It opened on March the 4th, 1997, and closed on April the 13th. It was a Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield, music composed by Ian McDonald. |
| 1999 | Plenty | The Alemida Season at the Albery Theatre, London | Susan Traherne | Lead in play by David Hare, directed by Jonathan Kent. It opened on 27 April 1999, and closed on July the 27th. |
| 1999 | The Vagina Monologues | Old Vic Theatre, London | Unknown | Took part in the show in February 1999, alongside other actors including Melanie Griffith. |
| 2004 | Hedda Gabler | Sydney Theatre Company | Hedda Gabler | Opened on 22 July 2004, and closed on 26 September 2004. She reprised her performance as Hedda in New York in March 2006, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre. |
| 2008 | The War of the Roses | Sydney Theatre Company | ||
| 2009 | A Streetcar Named Desire | Sydney Theatre Company | Blanche DuBois | The play will be directed by actress Liv Ullman and costar Joel Edgerton. |
References
- ^ "Audrey Hepburn 'most beautiful woman of all time' – Entertainment – www.smh.com.au". Smh.com.au. Retrieved on 21 October 2008.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett : People.com". People.com. Retrieved on 21 October 2008.
- ^ "The most beautiful women? – Times Online". Timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved on 21 October 2008.
- ^ http://www.rgm.com.au/aup_lit.html
- ^ "Cate Blanchett's biography_ Elle December 2003". Elle. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett's biography". filmreference.com. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ a b "Cate Blanchett's biography". The biography channel. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett". biogs.com. Retrieved on 23 February 2008.
- ^ "Top Trilogies worldwide". Box Office Mojo (21 September 2004). Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Cate Blanchett as Elizabeth I is no surprise". Retrieved on 14 October 2007.
- ^ "Cate's double Oscar nod". Retrieved on 23 January 2008.
- ^ "English-language cast announced for Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff". guardian.co.uk (27 November 2008). Retrieved on 30 November 2008.
- ^ "Blanchett gets star on Walk of Fame". The Age (6 December 2008). Retrieved on 21 December 2008.
- ^ Josh Horowitz (2008-17-01). "Woody Allen Explains His Love For Scarlett Johansson, Why He Doesn't Do Broadway". Mtv.com. Retrieved on 21 December 2008.
- ^ Michael Specter (November 2006). "Head First". Vogue. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ Hannah Edwards (12 December 2004). "Cate buys mansion for $10m". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ Hannah Edwards (8 July 2007). "Welcome to Cate Blanchett's dream eco-home". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Archibald Prize 06". Art Gallery NSW. Retrieved on 26 February 2008.
- ^ AAP (23 October 2008). "Cities under spotlight at conference". The Age. Retrieved on 23 October 2008.
External links
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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 – The Sydney Theatre Company
- Cate Blanchett – Australian Film Commission
- Cate Blanchett: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast
- Interview: Recent article about Cate's environmental renovation to her Australian home
- Cate Blanchett online theatrical performance "The Crossing"
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Academy Award | ||
| Preceded by Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain |
Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator 2004 |
Succeeded by Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener |
| BAFTA Award | ||
| Preceded by Judi Dench for Mrs. Brown |
Best Actress for Elizabeth 1998 |
Succeeded by Annette Bening for American Beauty |
| Preceded by Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain |
Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator 2005 |
Succeeded by Thandie Newton for Crash |
| Golden Globe Award | ||
| Preceded by Judi Dench for Mrs. Brown |
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for Elizabeth 1999 |
Succeeded by Hilary Swank for Boys Don't Cry |
| Preceded by Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls |
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for I'm Not There 2008 |
Succeeded by TBD |
| Screen Actors Guild Award | ||
| Preceded by Renée Zellweger for Cold Mountain |
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture 2004 for The Aviator |
Succeeded by Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardener |
| Venice Film Festival | ||
| Preceded by Helen Mirren for The Queen |
Best Actress for I'm Not There 2007 |
Succeeded by Dominique Blanc for L' Autre |
|
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Blanchett, Cate |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Blanchett, Catherine Élise |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 14 May 1969 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne, Australia |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
The Late Show - Letterman - 2006-12-22 - Cate Blanchett Interview
David Letterman interviews Cate Blanchett on The Late Show about her film, Notes on a Scandal. 22nd of December, 2006.
Author: MistytheCat123456
Keywords: David Letterman Cate Blanchett interview The Late Show Notes on a Scandal
Added: January 6, 2009
Oprah's Pre-Oscar interview with Cate Blanchett
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Author: MistytheCat123456
Keywords: Oprah Winfrey Oscars Academy Award Awards Cate Blanchett Interview The Aviator Pre-oscar
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http://www.somabeauty.tv Cate Blanchett's shares her secret to timeless beauty and grace.
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http://www.somabeauty.tv Cate Blanchett and Jessica Simpson show you how vibrant pinks, oranges and corals can transform your look from drab to fab.
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In a conversation, Charlie Rose talks with Brad Pitt and David Fincher on their new movie Benjamin Button.
Author: CharlieRose
Keywords: "Charlie Rose" "Brad Pitt" "Benjamin Button" "David Fincher" movie "kate blanchett"
Added: January 6, 2009