Annette Bening facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Annette Bening
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Bening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
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Annette Carol Bening
May 29, 1958 Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1980–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 4, including Ella |
| Awards | Full list |
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is a talented American actress. She has been acting for over 40 years, famous for her many different roles in movies and plays. Annette Bening has won many awards, like two Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA Award. She has also been nominated for five Academy Awards and two Tony Awards.
She studied acting at San Francisco State University and the American Conservatory Theater. She began acting on stage in 1980, even playing Lady Macbeth in a famous play called Macbeth. Her first big role on Broadway was in the play Coastal Disturbances (1987), which earned her a Tony Award nomination.
She started in movies in 1988. She became well-known for her role in The Grifters (1990), which led to her first Academy Award nomination. She continued to impress audiences in the 1990s and 2000s. Her roles in American Beauty (1999) and Being Julia (2004) earned her a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for Best Actress.
More recently, Bening received two more Oscar nominations. These were for her roles in The Kids Are All Right (2010) and as swimmer Diana Nyad in the Netflix film Nyad (2023). She also returned to Broadway in 2019 in All My Sons, earning another Tony nomination.
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Early Life and Education
Annette Carol Bening was born on May 29, 1958, in Topeka, Kansas. Her mother, Shirley Katherine, was a church singer. Her father, Arnett Grant Bening, worked in sales. Her parents were from Iowa and were very traditional. Annette is mostly of German and English background.
She is the youngest of four children. She has an older sister, Jane, and two older brothers, Bradley and Byron. Her family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. When Annette was in elementary school, her family moved again to San Diego, California. She grew up there.
Annette started acting in junior high school. She played the main character in The Sound of Music. She graduated from Patrick Henry High School in San Diego in 1975, where she focused on drama. After high school, she worked as a cook on a boat that took people fishing. She also enjoyed scuba diving. Bening later studied Theatre Arts at San Diego Mesa College and San Francisco State University.
Acting Career Highlights
Early Roles and Big Break
Annette Bening started her acting career on stage in 1980 with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. She also performed in plays at the San Diego Repertory Theatre. She joined the acting group at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. There, she played important roles like Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
She also acted in plays like Pygmalion and The Cherry Orchard in Denver in 1985–86. Her first appearance on Broadway was in 1987. She earned a Tony Award nomination for her role as Holly Dancer in Coastal Disturbances. She also received a Theatre World Award for this performance.
Bening made her movie debut in The Great Outdoors (1988). This film starred Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Her next movie role was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989), alongside Colin Firth.
She became widely recognized for her role as Myra Langtry in the crime thriller The Grifters (1990). For this role, she received her first nominations for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. In 1991, she played Virginia Hill in the movie Bugsy, with Warren Beatty. This role earned her a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.
Bening also starred with Harrison Ford in Regarding Henry. In 1994, Bening and Beatty acted together again in Love Affair. In 1995, Bening played a main role as an environmental supporter in The American President with Michael Douglas. She then appeared in Tim Burton's sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! (1996) and the thriller The Siege (1998).
Acclaim and Major Awards
Bening received great praise for her starring role in American Beauty (1999). She acted opposite Kevin Spacey in this dark comedy-drama. The movie was about a man having a mid-life crisis in the 1990s. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. For her role as Carolyn Burnham, Bening won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role. She also received her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 1999, Bening returned to the stage after 10 years. She played the main role in Hedda Gabler in Los Angeles. Critics praised her performance, noting her strong voice and how well she played the complex character.
Bening starred in other films like In Dreams (1999) and What Planet Are You From? (2000). She played Sue Barlow in Open Range (2003). She earned critical acclaim for playing the main character in the comedy-drama Being Julia (2004). Her performance in this film won her her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. She also received her second nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role as Jean Harris in the HBO film Mrs. Harris (2005). She then starred in Running with Scissors (2006), earning another Golden Globe nomination. Bening also appeared in The Women (2008). In 2009, Bening starred in a new version of the classic play Medea. She also received positive reviews for her role in the independent film Mother and Child (2009).
In 2010, Bening received high praise for her performance in The Kids Are All Right. Many reviewers said she deserved an Oscar for her "sublime" acting. For this role, Bening won her second Golden Globe Award. She also received nominations for the BAFTA Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and her third Academy Award for Best Actress.
In 2012, Bening recorded the audiobook of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway. In 2014, she starred in Shakespeare's King Lear in Central Park, New York. This was her first New York stage appearance in 20 years. Bening also starred in the 2015 comedy-drama Danny Collins with Al Pacino.
Recent Work
In 2016, Bening starred in the comedy-drama 20th Century Women. She played a chain-smoking feminist raising her teenage son. Critics called it one of her best performances. She was nominated for several awards, including another Golden Globe.
The next year, she played Gloria Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017). A critic from The Guardian praised her acting, calling her "excellent." She received her third BAFTA Award nomination for this film. In 2018, she starred in The Seagull and Life Itself.
In 2019, Bening returned to Broadway after 32 years. She starred in All My Sons with Tracy Letts. She was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role. The following year, she played Senator Dianne Feinstein in the film The Report (2019). This earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Bening joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe playing Dr. Wendy Lawson in Captain Marvel (2019). This movie was a big success at the box office. In 2022, she acted in Death on the Nile and the comedy Jerry & Marge Go Large with Bryan Cranston. That same year, she filmed Nyad with Jodie Foster. In Nyad, Bening played the famous long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. The film was released by Netflix in 2023. Her performance received high praise and earned her a fourth Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
In 2023, Bening was chosen to lead the Board of Trustees for the Entertainment Community Fund. She recently starred in Apples Never Fall, a limited series based on a popular book. The series, also starring Sam Neill, premiered on Peacock on March 15, 2024.
Personal Life
While studying at the American Conservatory Theater, Annette Bening met actor J. Steven White. They married in 1984. They moved to Colorado, where White worked at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. They divorced in 1989.
She has been married to actor Warren Beatty since March 3, 1992. They have four children together, including actress Ella Beatty.
Awards and Nominations
Annette Bening has received many awards throughout her career. These include a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has also been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards.
She has also received five Academy Award nominations for her acting:
- 63rd Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress nomination for The Grifters (1990)
- 72nd Academy Awards: Best Actress nomination for American Beauty (1999)
- 77th Academy Awards: Best Actress nomination for Being Julia (2004)
- 83rd Academy Awards: Best Actress nomination for The Kids Are All Right (2010)
- 96th Academy Awards: Best Actress nomination for Nyad (2023)
See also
In Spanish: Annette Bening para niños
- List of American film actresses
- List of American television actresses
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with more than one Academy Award nomination in the acting categories
- List of Golden Globe winners
