Renee Kathleen Zellweger

Renee Kathleen Zellweger was born on the 25th of April 1969, in Katy, Texas, Her mother, Kjellfrid Irene (Andreassen) is a Norwegian-born former nurse and midwife. She is of Norwegian, Kven (Finnish), and Swedish descent. Her father, Emil Erich Zellweger, is an engineer from Switzerland. The couple got married in the year 1963. Drew Zellweger is Renee's brother and was born February 15, 1967. While working in the drama club, Renee became interested in acting. She also took an acting class at the University of Texas (Austin) which was the first time she looked to pursue a career in acting. She was keen to pursue acting following graduation. However, Hollywood can be difficult to get into which is why Renee determined to stay in Texas and apply for roles in Houston. In Houston, she got roles in films such as Reality Bites (1994), and Empire Records (1995). Matthew McConaughey (another Hollywood rising star) was her friend while she was working on the set of Texas Chainsaw Massacre II: The Next Generation (1994). McConaughey was working on a project at the time that Renee was interested in, she auditioned, and was awarded the part in the movie Love and a .45 (1994), which received her enough praise from critics that she decided to move to Los Angeles. Her breakthrough came from another role in The Whole Wide World (1996). Cameron Crowe was busy casting Jerry Maguire (1996) with Tom Cruise. Crowe was watching actresses such as Bridget Fonda and Marisa Tomei when he saw Zellweger's performance on The Whole Wide World (1996). The audition was conducted by Zellweger to ensure that the actress was in fact his Dorothy Boyd. Renee was able to follow her massive success with a handful of small independent films and after receiving further critical praise she was confident enough to return to the world of big-budget Hollywood films. She was a co-star with Meryl Streep in the tear-jerker One True Thing (1998). She also appeared in Me, Myself & Irene (2000) with Jim Carrey and shortly after began dating Carrey. Bridget Jones's Diary (2001).