Rachel Weisz facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rachel Weisz
Weisz in 2018
Born	Rachel Hannah Weisz (1970-03-07) 7 March 1970 (age 55) Westminster, London, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom United States
Alma mater	Trinity Hall, Cambridge École Philippe Gaulier
Occupation	Actress producer
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Daniel Craig ​ (m. 2011)​
Partner(s)	Darren Aronofsky (2001–2010)
Children	2
Relatives	Minnie Weisz (sister)
Awards	Full list

Rachel Hannah Weisz, born on March 7, 1970, is a talented English actress. She is famous for her roles in both smaller, independent movies and big blockbuster films. Rachel has won many important awards, like an Academy Award (Oscar), a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award for her acting.

Rachel Weisz started acting on stage and in TV shows in the early 1990s. Her first movie was Death Machine in 1994. She won an award for her role in the play Design for Living in 1994. She also appeared in the play Suddenly Last Summer in 1999.

She became widely known for her main role as Evelyn Carnahan in the action-adventure movies The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001). Rachel Weisz starred in many films in the 2000s, including Enemy at the Gates (2001), About a Boy (2002), Runaway Jury (2003), Constantine (2005), The Fountain (2006), The Lovely Bones (2009), and The Whistleblower (2010).

For her role as an activist in the 2005 movie The Constant Gardener, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also won a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress for playing Blanche DuBois in the play A Streetcar Named Desire in 2009. In the 2010s, Rachel continued to appear in big movies like The Bourne Legacy (2012) and Oz the Great and Powerful (2013). She also earned praise for her roles in independent films such as The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Denial (2016), and The Favourite (2018). For her part as Sarah Churchill in The Favourite, she won a BAFTA Award and was nominated for another Academy Award. Rachel Weisz played Melina Vostokoff in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movie Black Widow (2021). She also starred as twin doctors in the TV series Dead Ringers (2023).

Early Life and Education

Rachel Weisz was born in Westminster, London, on March 7, 1970. She grew up in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Her father, George Weisz, was a mechanical engineer from Hungary. Her mother, Edith Ruth, was a teacher who became a psychotherapist from Vienna, Austria.

Rachel's parents moved to the United Kingdom as children around 1938. They came to escape the Nazis before World War II began. Her younger sister, Minnie Weisz, is a visual artist. Rachel's parents encouraged their children to think for themselves and discuss ideas.

Rachel started modeling when she was 14 years old. In 1984, she became known when she turned down a role in the movie King David with Richard Gere.

She attended Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she studied English starting in 1988. She graduated with good grades. During her time at university, she was part of a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues. This group won an award in 1991 for a play Rachel helped create called Slight Possession. Rachel also trained with a famous clown teacher, Philippe Gaulier, at École Philippe Gaulier.

Career Highlights

Starting Out in the 1990s

In 1992, Rachel Weisz appeared in the TV movie Advocates II. She then had roles in an episode of Inspector Morse and the BBC drama Scarlet and Black with Ewan McGregor. Her first film was Dirty Something, a BBC TV movie made in 1992.

Rachel's big break on stage was playing Gilda in the 1994 play Design for Living. For this role, she won an award for the most promising new performer. Critics called her performance "wonderful."

Her film career began with a small part in Death Machine (1994). Her first major film role was in Chain Reaction (1996). The movie did not get very good reviews. Next, she played Miranda Fox in Stealing Beauty, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. This is where she was first called an "English rose."

In 1997, Rachel appeared in the American drama Swept from the Sea. In 1998, she was in the British TV comedy-drama My Summer with Des, the crime film I Want You, and The Land Girls.

In 1999, Rachel played Greta in the historical film Sunshine. That same year, she became internationally famous with the adventure film The Mummy. She played the main female role, Evelyn Carnahan, an English Egyptologist. Her character goes on an adventure to find an ancient book. She returned for the sequel, The Mummy Returns, in 2001. This movie earned about $433 million worldwide.

Also in 1999, she played Catherine in the play Suddenly Last Summer. Critics praised her performance. The same year, Rachel Weisz appeared in The Shape of Things on stage, for which she received an award.

Success in the 2000s

In 2000, Rachel played Petula in the film Beautiful Creatures. This was followed by Enemy at the Gates in 2001 and the comedy-drama About a Boy in 2002, with Hugh Grant. In 2003, she played Marlee in the movie Runaway Jury and starred in the film version of the play The Shape of Things.

Rachel Weisz in 2007

In 2004, Rachel Weisz appeared in the comedy Envy, which did not do well at the box office. Her next role was with Keanu Reeves in Constantine, based on a comic book.

Her next film, in 2005, was The Constant Gardener. This movie was set in the slums of Kibera and Loiyangalani, Kenya. Rachel played Tessa Quayle, an activist married to a British official. The film was highly praised. Rachel won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her role. In 2006, she received the BAFTA Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year.

In 2006, Rachel starred in The Fountain. That same year, she voiced Saphira the dragon in the fantasy film Eragon. She turned down a role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor due to problems with the script. Her later films include My Blueberry Nights (2007) and The Brothers Bloom (2008). In 2009, she played Hypatia of Alexandria in the historical drama Agora. That same year, she played Blanche DuBois in the play A Streetcar Named Desire. Critics highly praised her performance in the play.

Roles in the 2010s

Rachel Weisz at the 2012 Deauville American Film Festival

Rachel Weisz starred in The Whistleblower, which premiered in 2010. This film was based on a true story. Critics praised Rachel's performance. That same year, she was a guest voice in an episode of The Simpsons. Rachel's roles in 2011 included The Deep Blue Sea, 360, the TV thriller Page Eight, and Dream House.

She filmed scenes for To the Wonder (2012), but her scenes were later cut from the movie. She starred in the 2012 action thriller The Bourne Legacy.

In 2013, Rachel Weisz starred on Broadway with her husband, Daniel Craig, in the play Betrayal. It was a very successful play. That year, Rachel played Evanora in the fantasy film Oz the Great and Powerful.

Rachel Weisz at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival

In 2015, she appeared in the drama film Youth and the science fiction film The Lobster, which won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. In 2016, she was in The Light Between Oceans. She also played Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt in Denial, a film based on Lipstadt's book.

In 2017, Rachel starred in My Cousin Rachel, based on a novel. In 2018, she co-starred in The Mercy, a film about sailor Donald Crowhurst.

Rachel Weisz's production company, LC6 Productions, released its first film, Disobedience, in 2017. Rachel starred in it with Rachel McAdams.

In 2018, Rachel Weisz played Sarah Churchill in The Favourite. For this role, she won a BAFTA Award and was nominated for her second Academy Award. In 2019, she joined the cast of the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Widow. She played Melina Vostokoff in the film, which was released on July 9, 2021.

Recent Work in the 2020s

Rachel Weisz starred in and helped produce the thriller TV series Dead Ringers in 2023. This series is a new version of a 1988 film.

Personal Life

In 2001, Rachel Weisz started dating American filmmaker and producer Darren Aronofsky. They met in London. Rachel moved to New York City with Darren in 2002, and they got engaged in 2005. Their son was born in May 2006 in New York City. In November 2010, Rachel and Darren announced they had separated but remained good friends and planned to raise their son together.

Rachel Weisz and English actor Daniel Craig had been friends for many years. They worked together on the 2011 film Dream House. They started dating in December 2010 and got married on June 22, 2011, in a private ceremony in New York. Only four guests were there, including Rachel's son and Daniel's daughter. On September 1, 2018, it was reported that they had their first child together, a daughter.

Rachel Weisz has been featured on the covers of magazines like Vogue. She was a source of inspiration for fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez. In 2010, she became a global ambassador for L'Oréal. Rachel learned karate for her role in The Brothers Bloom. Born a British citizen, Rachel also became an American citizen in 2011.

Filmography

Movies

Television Shows

Theatre Performances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Rachel Weisz para niños

• List of British Academy Award nominees and winners
• List of Jewish Academy Award winners and nominees
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations
• List of actors with three or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories