Married to Hollywood royalty, wither own successful career,
Catherine Zeta-Jones is a woman who has it all and can now also add an Oscar to her success.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was born in Swansea, Wales.
She began her career as a singer and dancer in a troupe, but gravitated towards theatre. Whilst travelling in France, she met the French director Philippe de Broca, who offered Zeta-Jones her first role as “Sheherazade” in his film “Les 1001 nuits”(1990).
On returning to England the following year, she was ca-st in the role of “Mariette”, in the hugely successful television series “The Darling Buds of May” (1991-1993).
Following her success in the UK, Zeta-Jones left to conquer Hollywood and was soon noticed by the director,
Steven Spielberg, who recommended her for a role in Martin Campbell’s “The Mask of Zorro”.
Her first major role and she starred alongside the legendary
Antonio Banderas and
Anthony Hopkins! Her career was underway!
She went on to star in the films “Entrapment” (1999) starring opposite
Sean Connery, “The Haunting” (1999) and “Traffic” (2000). It was in the latter film that her life would change forever.
Not only was she nominated for a Golden Globe for “Best Supporting Actress”, she also met her future husband during filming.
Michael Douglas, 25 years her senior, with whom she shares the same birthday, became the love of her life in 1999.
The couple were married in November 2000 and have two children together, a son, Dylan Michael, born in August 2000 and a daughter, Carys Zeta Douglas, born in April 2003.
Is their successful marriage an indicator that older men really do know how to treat women better?
In 2001 Zeta-Jones starred alongside
Julia Roberts, John Cusack and Billy Crystal in the romantic comedy “American Sweethearts”.
However, it was in 2002 that put the icing on the cake for her career, when she starred as the murderess, “Velma Kelly”, alongside Richard Gere and
Renee Zellweger in “Chicago”.
Her performance in the film earned her widespread critical acclaim and more importantly an Oscar for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role”.
In 2003 she starred alongside the eternal bachelor
George Clooney in “Intolerable Cruelty”, where she played the role of a serial divorcee.
The following year she played the role of a flight attendant in “The Terminal”, alongside Tom Hanks. In 2004, she joined the ca-st of “Ocean’s Twelve”, which re-united her with George Clooney and Julia Roberts.
In 2005, she was re-united with the ca-st of “The Mask of Zorro” for the sequel “The Legend of Zorro”.
In 2007, she starred in the film “Death Defying Acts”, a film about the magician and escapologist Harry Houdini.
In 2011 Zeta-Jones sought treatment for Bipolar II Disorder. Her treatment was completed in April 2011.
We are currently awaiting the release of her 2012 films “Rock of Ages”, in which she stars alongside Tim Cruise and Alec Baldwin and “Playing the Field” alongside Uma Thurman and
Gerard Butler.
