Rachel Weisz Biography

Birthdate: March 7, 1971

Birthplace: London, England, UK

Sign: Pisces

Rachel Weisz was born a blend of Jewish, Hungarian, Austrian, and Italian descent. She was born into an intellectual family of an inventor and a psychoanalyst on March 7, 1971 in London, England. She is the first child of George Weisz and Edith Ruth whose relationship was strained throughout Rachel's early life.

Weisz, who was frequently rebellious, passed through a series of schools as a consequence. Despite her attempts to gain her parents' attention, her parents separated when she turned 15. By the time she finished her high school career at St. Paul's Girl's School in 1989, Rachel had her mind set on becoming an actress, a profession Edith encouraged after she began modeling at the age of 14. Rachel became an English Literature major at Cambridge University and became involved in various stage productions at the school. She founded a theater group called Talking Tongues, with her college friends. Through this drama troupe, the hazel-eyed beauty received her first accolade when she unexpectedly won a Guardian Student Drama Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1991.

Rachel then headed to London to perform at the National Theatre where she managed to draw the attention of a stage director named Sean Mathias, who happened to attend their show. He cast her alongside Rupert Everett in his 1994 West End revival of Noel Coward's "Design for Living" at the Gielgud Theatre. Her portrayal of Gilda in this acclaimed play led to her being honored with the title of Most Promising Newcomer at Critics' Choice Circle Awards that same year.

Rachel smoothly crossed over to big screen productions, quickly becoming included in two movie projects of "Stealing Beauty" and "Chain Reaction." Both of these movies were released in 1996. Although "Reaction" enjoyed a fair amount of commercial success worldwide, it was "Beauty" that brought her to the world stage and earned her international notice. Her excellent work earned huge praise from critics and audiences and provided her greater access to enter the Hollywood film industry. She got enough buzz to earn her a female leading role in "Swept from the Sea" in 1997, which also starred Ian McKellen and Kathy Bates.

Her next picture, "The Mummy" in 1999, truly propelled her to the bigger recognition and to the forefront of the Hollywood scene. This film raked in more than $415 million worldwide. Rachel chose to return to the theater and acted in the adaptations of Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer" and Neil LaBute's "The Shape of Things" before reuniting with the cast of "Mummy" to film its sequel, "The Mummy Returns" in 2001.

Weisz quickly emerged as one of the most sought female stars by the turn of the millennium. She later found herself involved in a series of high-profile film features including, "Enemy of the Gates" in 2001, "About a Boy" in 2002, and "Runaway Jury" in 2003. Rachel appeared opposite Keanu Reeves in "Constantine" and delivered a compelling performance as Ralph Fiennes' murdered wife in "The Constant Gardner." Rachel earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture and a 2006 SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Rachel had the highlight of her career when AMPAS granted her an Academy Award for Best performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2006 ceremony. She continued her extraordinary acting skills in "The Fountain" alongside High Jackman and Ellen Burstyn. She also gave voice to fantasy tale, "Eragon." She quickly followed that performance with a role in the holiday comedy, "Fred Claus" in 2007.

Rachel has signed on to several high-profile big screen features for the next two years. among the films are "My Blueberry Nights" in 2008, "The Brothers Bloom" in 2008, "The Lovely Bones" in 2009, and "Dirt Music" in 2009.

Although Rachel continues to be in demand as an A-list actress, she makes time to have a private life. Rachel first dated actor Ben Miller for two years. That relationship ended in 1993. She had a brief relationship in the mid-90s with Alessandro Nivola and then Neil Morrissey by 1998. Weisz has also been linked with celebrated film director Sam Mendes and eventually engaged to filmmaker, Darren Aronofsky. Weisz and Aronofsky welcomed the arrival of their first child, Henry Chance on May 31, 2006 in New York City.
source:icelebz