Cate Blanchett

Profile
Name: Cate Blanchett
Birth Name: Catherine Elise Blanchett
Height: 5' 8½''
Sex: F
Nationality: Australian
Birth Date: May 14, 1969
Birth Place: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Profession: Actress, Producer
Education: Methodist Ladies College (MLC), Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne University in Melbourne, Australia (majored in Art History)
National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia (graduated in 1992)
Husband/Wife: Andrew Upton (film editor, screenwriter; married in June 1997)
Father: (advertising executive from Texas; died in 1979)
Mother: June (Australian; businesswoman, former teacher)
Sister: Genevieve (theater designer; younger)
Brother: Robert (works in the computer field; older)
Son: Roman Robert Upton (born on April 23, 2004 in London), Dashiell John Upton (born in December 3, 2001)
Claim to fame: As Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur' Elizabeth (1998)

Biography
Cate Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Australia on May 14, 1969, to an Aussie mother and a Texan father. She is of French ancestry, was raised by her mother following her father's passing when she was ten. She attended Methodist Ladies College [MLC] where she was part of "Cato" House drama group. One of her very first plays was "Odyssey of Runyon Jones"...a fantasy about a young boy whose dog dies. Cate also directed her fellow students in "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?". After growing up in Melbourne, she began studies of fine arts and economics at the University of Melbourne, but, departed, after a fashion, to continue her education via travel. After the expiration of her vistor's visa forced her to leave England, she eventually found herself in Egypt, desperate for money. In an effort to earn some cash, and get a crack at craft services, she signed on as an extra in an Arabic boxing film. It was the first time she had ever been on a film set, but, it wouldn't, obviously, be the last.

Upon her return to Melbourne, she enrolled at Australia's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art. After graduation she joined the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls", then played Felice Bauer, the bride in Timothy Daly's musical "Kafka Dances". She won the Newcomer Award from the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle for her performance. From there, Cate went on to star as Carol opposite Geoffrey Rush in David Mamet's searing polemic, "Oleanna", also for The Sydney Theatre Company. Consequently, she achieved an unprecendented feat, picking up her second gong of the year by also winning the Rosemont Best Actress Award. In 1995, she was nominated for Best Female Performance for her turn as Ophelia in the Belvoir Street Theatre Company's production of "Hamlet". Her other theatre credits include Helen in the Sydney Theatre Company's "Sweet Phoebe", Miranda in "The Tempest", and Rose in "The Blind Giant Is Dancing", both for the Belvoir Street Theatre Company. Later, like "Oscar and Lucinda" co-star, Ralph Fiennes, she moved on to Chekov, playing Nina in "The Seagull".

In the realm of television, Cate co-starred in ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) Televsion's "Heartland", winning critical acclaim in this examination of rural aborigines. She also earned notice as Bianca in ABC's "Bordertown", as Janie Morris in "G.P.", and in ABC's popular series, "Police Rescue". Cate revised her character of Rosie from "Heartland" in the non-feature film, Parklands. She made her feature debut as a shy Australian nurse in Bruce Beresford's, Paradise Road. She next starred in Cherie Nowlan's debut feature, Thank God He Met Lizzie, playing the title role. For this, Cate won the prestigious AFI (Australian Fim Institute) Best Supporting Actress Award. Cate's next venture was the critically acclaimed, Oscar and Lucinda, directed by noted Australian director, Gillian Armstrong. Cate captivated audiences and critics alike, playing opposite Ralph Fiennes, with her bewitching and mesmerizing portrait of Lucinda Leplastrier.

In June of 1997, she married Andrew Upton, a script and cointinuity editor she had met on the Parklands shoot. It was Cate's starmaking portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth that shot her into the stratosphere in terms of both popular and critical acclaim. Cate's chameleonlike qualities astounded both the industry and the public. As a result of Elizabeth, Cate was honored with many awards for her performance. Blanchett went on to star with Angelina Jolie, John Cusack, and Billy Bob Thornton in the Mike Newell comedy Pushing Tin (1999). Although the film got a lukewarm response, Blanchett was praised for her performance as a Long Island housewife. The same year, she played another housewife, albeit one of an entirely different stripe, in Oliver Parker's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband. Despite a uniformly strong cast including Jeremy Northam, Rupert Everett, and Julianne Moore, the film received very mixed reviews, although, as was usually the case, Blanchett won praise for her contribution to it.

Remaining remarkably busy through 2003, Blanchett would appear in no less than five films in 2001 alone. After following Pushing Tin with a supporting role in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Blanchett joined Johnny Depp and Christina Ricci with her role as a kindhearted though materialistic showgirl in The Man Who Cried before starring as a fortune teller who may hold the key to a mysterious murder in director Sam Raimi's The Gift. Gaining positive notes for her uncanny ability to move effortlessly and convincingly between a wide range of characterizations, Blanchett appeared as a hostage of love in the crime comedy Bandits before re-teaming with Gift co-star Giovanni Ribisi in director Tom Tykwer's Heaven. Her busy year already off to a hectic start, Blanchett then faced the daunting task of appearing in not one but three films with her role as Galadriel, Queen of Lothlorien, in the eagerly anticipated Lord of the Rings trilogy. As if her plate wasn't full enough, Blanchett would also appear in 2001 in both The Shipping News and director Gillian Armstrong's Charlotte Gray before rounding out the Lord of the Rings trilogy with The Two Towers in 2002 and The Return of the King in 2003.

Filmography
2008 Fantastic Mr. Fox
2008 The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2007 I'm Not There: Suppositions on a Film Concerning Dylan
2007 The Golden Age
2006 Babel
2006 Notes on a Scandal
2006 The Good German
2005 Little Fish
2004 The Aviator
2004 The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou
2003 Veronica Guerin
2003 Coffee and Cigarettes
2003 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2003 The Missing
2002 Heaven
2002 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
2001 Bandits
2001 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
2001 Charlotte Gray
2001 The Shipping News
2000 The Man Who Cried
2000 The Gift
1999 The Talented Mr. Ripley
1999 An Ideal Husband
1999 Pushing Tin
1998 Elizabeth
1997 Paradise Road
1997 Oscar and Lucinda
1997 The Wedding Party
1996 Parklands
1995 Bordertown

Awards
Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
Year : 2004
Category : Best Acting Ensemble
For : The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Won

Screen Actors Guild Awards
Year : 2004
Category : Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
For : The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Won

National Board of Review
Year : 2003
Category : Best Ensemble Performance
For : The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
Won

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
Year : 2002
Category : Best Supporting Actress
For : The Man Who Cried
Won

Golden Camera
Year : 2002
Category : Film - International
For : Heaven
Won

National Board of Review
Year : 2001
Category : Best Supporting Actress
For : The Man Who Cried
Won

Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards & British Academy Award
Year : 1999
Category : Best Actress
For : Elizabeth
Won

Broadcast & Chicago Film Critics Association Awards; Empire Awards
Year : 1999
Category : Best Actress
For : Elizabeth
Won

Golden Satellite Awards
Year : 1999
Category : Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
For : Elizabeth
Won

London Critics Circle Film Awards
Year : 1999
Category : Actress of the Year
For : Elizabeth
Won

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
Year : 1998
Category : Most Promising Actor
For : Elizabeth
Won

Australian Film Institute Awards
Year : 1998
Category : Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
For : Oscar And Lucinda
Won

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards
Year : 1998
Category : Best Supporting Actor - Female
For : Thank God He Met Lizzie
Won

Golden Globe
Year : 1998
Category : Best Actress in a Drama
For : Elizabeth
Won

Australian Film Institute Awards
Year : 1997
Category : Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
For : Thank God He Met Lizzie
Won

Critics Circle Theater award
Year : 1994
Category : Best Newcomer and Lead Actress
Won

Trivia
* 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.
* Cate honeymooned with her husband in Italy.
* Cate has stated that it was difficult and terrifing to play the late Katharine Hepburn.
* Cate has stated that she thinks that it is important thing to travel in her business.
* Cate won an Australian Film Institute award for Best Lead Actress in 2005, for her role in the 2005 film Little Fish.
* Cate was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her work in the 2003 film Veronica Guerin.
* Cate is currently filming the sequel to her 1998 film Elizabeth. The title of the sequel is Elizabeth: The Golden Age. She will reprise her role as Queen Elizabeth, and the movie will focus on Elizabeth's relationship with Sir Walter Raleigh.
* In 1992, Cate graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney, Australia.
* In 1999, Cate was chosen by People Magazine as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People."
* In 2004, Cate won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, for her work in the 2004 film The Aviator.
* In 2004, Cate won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for her work in the 2003 film Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
* In 2003, Cate was nominaed for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture for her work in the 2002 film Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
* In 2001, Cate was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 2001 film Bandits.
* Cate was nominated in 1999 for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, for her work in the 1998 movie Elizabeth.
* In 1999, the Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards gave Cate the win for Best Actress, for her role in the 1998 film Elizabeth.
* In 1999, Cate was nominated for the Academy Award's category of Actress in a Leading Role for her role in the 1998 film Elizabeth.
* In 2005, Cate won the Academy Award for Actress in a Supporting Role, for her work in the 2004 film, The Aviator.
* Cate has an older brother, Bob, who is a computer programmer.
* Cate gave birth to her son Roman Robert on April 23, 2004.
* Cate's father, Robert Blanchett, was a former Naval officer.
* Cate wears a size 6 shoe.
* Cate gave birth to her son Dashiell John on December 3, 2001.
* Cate married her husband, Andrew Upton, on December 29, 1997.
* Cate is 5'8" tall.