Family Background and Personal Life: Catherine Elise Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969, in Melbourne, Australia to an Aussie mother and a Texan father. She was exposed to a range of cultures. Her father passed away when Cate was merely 10 years old. Cate married Andrew Upton, playwright and screenwriter, whom she met in 1996 while she was performing in a production of The Seagull. They were married on 29 December 1997 and have three sons: Dashiell John, Roman Robert, and Ignatius Martin.
Kate with Her Husband and Children
Career: Cate Blanchett joined a drama group at her Methodist College, playing small roles in small-time plays. This was her first taste of acting. Cate Blanchett studied art history at the University of Melbourne before she decided to continue her education abroad. After living for a while in England, she traveled to Egypt. Here she was asked to be an extra in a boxing movie being shot nearby. Her first major stage role was opposite Geoffrey Rush in the 1993 David Mamet play Oleanna. This fetched her Sydney Theatre Critics’ Best Newcomer Award. Later she acted in many TV series like Heartland, Bordertown, and in an episode of Police Rescue entitled “The Loaded Boy”.
Paradise Road, was her first international film debut where she played the supporting role as an Australian nurse captured by the Japanese Army during WW2. Her role as Elizabeth I changed her world completely. The 1998′s Elizabeth has gained her enormous praise for her outstanding part in the movie. She was awarded the Best Actress title by The Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Chicago Film Critics and the Online Film Critics Society for this movie. Her brilliant work was also recognized by the Screen Actors Guild and at the Oscars, with Best Actress nominations but she did not win both.
A Still from Elizabeth
Another incredible role she played was in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Blanchett, as the Elf Queen Galadriel, has certainly enchanted all. She continued to do the series The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).
Cate portrayed Katharine Hepburn alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in The Aviator. Her incredible performance was rewarded with a Best Supporting Actress award at the 2005 Academy Awards ceremony. In 2010, look for Cate Blanchett as Maid Marian in Hollywood’s latest version of Robin Hood. Cate plays opposite to Russell Crowe who is stepping into the elfin boots of the infamous thief to rob the rich to pay the poor.
Scene from The Aviator
Achievements:
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in Elizabeth
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Aviator.
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture in I’m Not There.
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Elizabeth and The Aviator.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for The Aviator.
Trivia:
Cate was ranked #2 in Glamour’s The 50 most glamorous women of ’08.
Cate was listed at #63 in Forbes magazine’s Celebrity 100 of 2007.
Cate is the first performer to be awarded an Academy Award for playing a previous Oscar-winning actor.
Cate was originally scheduled to star in Miss Potter, but was forced to withdraw after she was confirmed for another role. The role was then given to Renee Zellwegger.
