Catherine Zeta-Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Catherine Zeta-Jones
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Zeta-Jones at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival
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Catherine Zeta Jones
25 September 1969 Swansea, Wales
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
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Roles and awards |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
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Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September 1969) is a talented actress from Wales. She is known for playing many different types of characters. She has won several important awards, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was honored with the title of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her work in films and her help with charities.
Catherine Zeta-Jones grew up in Swansea, Wales, and always dreamed of becoming an actress. As a child, she performed in popular musicals like Annie and Bugsy Malone in London's West End. She studied musical theatre and got her big break in the play 42nd Street in 1987. Her first movie was 1001 Nights (1990). She became very well-known for her role in the British TV series The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993).
Later, Zeta-Jones moved to Los Angeles to find new acting opportunities. She became famous in Hollywood with roles in movies like the action film The Mask of Zorro (1998) and the adventure film Entrapment (1999). She earned great praise for her roles in Traffic (2000) and as Velma Kelly in the musical Chicago (2002). For Chicago, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
She starred in many big movies throughout the 2000s, such as Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Ocean's Twelve (2004), The Terminal (2004), and No Reservations (2007). She also returned to the stage, playing an older actress in a Broadway show called A Little Night Music (2009), which earned her a Tony Award. In recent years, she has appeared in films like Side Effects (2013), Red 2 (2013), and Dad's Army (2016). She has also taken on TV roles, playing Olivia de Havilland in Feud: Bette & Joan (2017) and Morticia Addams in Wednesday (2022–present).
Beyond acting, Catherine Zeta-Jones promotes various brands and supports many good causes. She is married to actor Michael Douglas, and they have two children.
Contents
Early Life and First Stage Roles
Catherine Zeta Jones was born on 25 September 1969 in Swansea, South Wales. Her father, David Jones, owned a sweet factory, and her mother, Patricia, was a seamstress. Her father is Welsh, and her mother has Irish Catholic roots. She was named after her grandmothers, Zeta Jones and Catherine Fair. She has an older brother, David, and a younger brother, Lyndon. She grew up in the Mumbles area of Swansea.
Because Catherine was a very active child, her mother sent her to dance school when she was four. She went to Dumbarton House School, a private school in Swansea. Her family wasn't wealthy at first, but their luck changed when they won £100,000 in a bingo game. This money helped pay for her dance and ballet lessons.
Catherine performed in school plays from a young age. She even got local news attention when she won a talent show by singing a Shirley Bassey song. As part of a dance group, she often traveled to London to try out for theater roles. At nine years old, Catherine was chosen to play July, one of the orphans in the original London West End show of Annie. In her early teens, she became a national tap dancing champion. In 1981, she played the main role of Annie in a Swansea show of the musical. Two years later, she played the main role of Tallulah in a West End show of Bugsy Malone.
When she was fifteen, Catherine left school without finishing her exams. She decided to move to London to become a full-time actress. She also got a role in a touring show of The Pajama Game. Catherine said about her teenage years in London, "I would wait in line for auditions and then change my costume or put on a different leotard and audition again. It might take me two tries, but I always got the job. I figured out what they wanted." She then went to the Arts Educational Schools in London for a three-year course in musical theatre.
In 1987, when she was seventeen, Catherine was chosen as the second understudy for the main actress in a West End show of 42nd Street. One night, both the star and the first understudy couldn't perform. Catherine was asked to play the role of Peggy Sawyer, a chorus girl who becomes a star. The producer was very impressed by her acting and let her play the role for the next two years. Her next stage role was with the English National Opera in 1989. She played Mae Jones in Kurt Weill's Street Scene.
Career Highlights
Early Screen Roles
In 1990, Zeta-Jones made her film debut in the French-Italian movie 1001 Nights. She then found more success in the British TV series The Darling Buds of May from 1991 to 1993. She played the eldest daughter of a family living in the countryside in 1950s Britain. This series was very popular and made Zeta-Jones widely recognized. She said, "Literally, with one hour of television my life completely changed. I couldn't go anywhere."
After a small role in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery (1992), Zeta-Jones appeared in an episode of George Lucas' TV series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles. She then played a duchess in Splitting Heirs (1993). In 1994, she starred in the TV film The Return of the Native and the war drama The Cinder Path. She also played the main character in the 1995 TV movie Catherine the Great. She later appeared in Blue Juice (1995), a British film about surfing.
Feeling that she was only getting roles based on her looks in Britain, Zeta-Jones moved to Los Angeles. She believed that being unknown in America would help her get roles based on her talent. She played Sala in the superhero film The Phantom (1996). The CBS TV series Titanic (1996) was better received. She played Isabella Paradine, a young mother, in this series.
Hollywood Success
Steven Spielberg noticed Zeta-Jones in Titanic and suggested her for The Mask of Zorro (1998). She was cast as the leading lady alongside Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas. The film tells the story of Zorro (Hopkins) and his daughter Elena (Zeta-Jones). Zeta-Jones learned dancing, riding, and sword-fighting for the role. The Mask of Zorro was very popular and earned over $250 million worldwide. This role was a big breakthrough for her.
In 1999, Zeta-Jones starred with Sean Connery in the film Entrapment. She played an insurance agent looking for an art thief. The film was a commercial success. Later that year, she appeared with Liam Neeson in The Haunting, a remake of a 1963 film.
After a supporting role in High Fidelity (2000), Zeta-Jones starred in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000). ..... Traffic was very successful and received great reviews. Critics praised Zeta-Jones's performance. The cast of Traffic won the SAG Award for Outstanding Cast.
Becoming a Major Star
In 2001, Zeta-Jones starred in the romantic comedy America's Sweethearts. She played a clever film star alongside Julia Roberts. The next year, she played the character Velma Kelly in Chicago (2002), a film based on the popular stage musical. She received excellent reviews for her performance. Critics praised her acting and singing. Chicago earned $306 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Picture. For her role, she won the Academy Award, SAG Award, and the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.
After Chicago, Zeta-Jones voiced Princess Marina in the animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003). Also in 2003, she starred with George Clooney in the comedy Intolerable Cruelty. She played a character who marries for money. The film was a commercial success, and reviewers liked her chemistry with Clooney.
In 2004, she worked with Steven Spielberg again in the comedy The Terminal. She played an air hostess in the film. The Terminal did well at the box office. She then reunited with Soderbergh, Clooney, and Pitt for Ocean's Twelve, a sequel to Ocean's Eleven. Zeta-Jones played Isabel Lahiri, a Europol agent. This sequel earned over $360 million globally.
Taking on New Challenges
The Legend of Zorro (2005), a sequel to The Mask of Zorro, saw her play Eléna again. However, this film was not as popular as the first. She did not have any film releases in 2006. In 2007, she starred in Death Defying Acts, a film about Harry Houdini.
Also in 2007, Zeta-Jones starred in the romantic comedy No Reservations. She played an ambitious chef whose life changes when she cares for her young niece. To prepare, Zeta-Jones worked in a restaurant kitchen. Critics praised her performance. The film earned $92 million worldwide.
After No Reservations, Zeta-Jones took on fewer roles for a few years. She focused on her family and health. She played a mother attracted to a younger man in the romantic comedy The Rebound.
Zeta-Jones returned to the stage in 2009 in the musical A Little Night Music, marking her Broadway debut. She played Desirée Armfeldt, an older actress. She won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance.
Recent Film and TV Roles
After a three-year break, she returned to film in Lay the Favorite (2012), a comedy with Bruce Willis. She also appeared in the musical comedy Rock of Ages (2012) and the romantic comedy Playing for Keeps (2012).
In 2013, Zeta-Jones starred in the crime thriller Broken City with Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. She then worked with Steven Soderbergh again in the thriller Side Effects (2013). She played a mysterious psychiatrist in this critically praised film.
In the action comedy Red 2 (2013), a sequel to the 2010 film Red, Zeta-Jones played a Russian agent. She enjoyed the action and humor of the film. Red 2 earned $148 million worldwide.
After Red 2, Zeta-Jones took another break from acting. She returned in the British war comedy film Dad's Army (2016), based on the TV show. She played a glamorous journalist.
Television and Streaming Work
In 2017, Zeta-Jones returned to television, playing actress Olivia de Havilland in the series Feud: Bette & Joan. Critics praised her performance.
..... She then played Vicki Ellis, a pageant coach, in the Facebook Watch series Queen America. She drew on her experiences with dancers who had eating disorders for the role.
In 2021, Zeta-Jones had a recurring role in the second season of the Fox drama series Prodigal Son. She played Dr. Vivian Capshaw. She also had a guest role as Morticia Addams in two episodes of the Netflix fantasy series Wednesday (2022). Wednesday became one of Netflix's most-watched English-language series. She also played the main villain in the Disney+ adventure series National Treasure: Edge of History. Her performance earned her a nomination at the Children's and Family Emmy Awards.
Catherine Zeta-Jones is set to appear in Cathy Yan's film The Gallerist and will also produce and star in the Prime Video thriller series Kill Jackie.
Other Activities
Besides acting, Catherine Zeta-Jones supports many charities. She is a patron of Swansea's Longfields Day Centre for disabled people and has given them large donations. In 2001, she auctioned an outfit from The Mask of Zorro to raise money for people with HIV/AIDS in Africa. In 2005, she became an ambassador for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children charity. She also supports other children's charities like the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children. Zeta-Jones is also a founding host for A Fine Romance, an annual charity event that raises money for the Motion Picture & Television Fund.
In the early 1990s, Zeta-Jones also sang. In 1992, she lent her voice to a character in Jeff Wayne's musical Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus. In 1995, she released her first song, "In the Arms of Love". She also sang a duet with David Essex called "True Love Ways" in 1994.
Zeta-Jones has been a spokesperson for several brands. In 2002, she became the global ambassador for the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, Inc.. That same year, she signed a deal with the phone company T-Mobile. In 2017, Zeta-Jones launched her own line of home decoration products called Casa Zeta-Jones. She also performed a monologue in a theatrical production called The Children's Monologues to raise money for a charity that helps African children pursue arts careers.
Personal Life
Catherine Zeta-Jones became a celebrity in Britain after the success of The Darling Buds of May. She met American actor Michael Douglas in August 1998. They share the same birthday. They got engaged on 31 December 1999 and married at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on 18 November 2000. Their wedding was a big event. They have two children: a son named Dylan Michael (born August 2000) and a daughter named Carys Zeta (born April 2003). The family lived in Bermuda until 2009. As of 2016, they live in rural New York state and also have a home in Mallorca.
In 2013, the couple decided to live separately for a time due to stress, but they reconciled in 2014. Michael Douglas said they were "stronger than ever" after this period.
Acting Credits and Awards
Some of Zeta-Jones's most successful films at the box office include:
- The Mask of Zorro (1998)
- Entrapment (1999)
- The Haunting (1999)
- Traffic (2000)
- America's Sweethearts (2001)
- Chicago (2002)
- Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
- Ocean's Twelve (2004)
- The Terminal (2004)
- No Reservations (2007)
- Red 2 (2013)
For her role in Chicago (2002), Zeta-Jones won the Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards. For her lead role in Broadway's 2009 revival of A Little Night Music, Zeta-Jones won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
Images for kids
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Catherine Zeta-Jones's signature
