Renee Zellweger by Nikolai von Bismarck for British Vogue February 2025

Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress and producer. She has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and two BAFTA Awards. Zellweger was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007 and was named Hasty Pudding Theatricals' Woman of the Year in 2009.

Born in Texas, Zellweger studied English Literature at UT Austin. Initially aspiring to a career in journalism, she was drawn to acting following her brief work on stage during college. Following her film debut with a minor role in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused (1993), Zellweger's first starring role came with the slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). She rose to prominence with starring roles in Jerry Maguire (1996), One True Thing (1998), Me, Myself and Irene (2000), and Nurse Betty (2000), winning her first Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for the lattermost. For her portrayals of Bridget Jones in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Roxie Hart in the musical crime drama Chicago (2002), she garnered consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She reprised her role as Jones in two equally successful sequels, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016).

Zellweger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a loquacious farmer in the epic drama Cold Mountain (2003). She followed this with her portrayals of Mae Fox in Cinderella Man (2005) and author Beatrix Potter in Miss Potter (2006). After starring roles in smaller scale films, such as Appaloosa (2008) and Case 39 (2009), she had a six-year hiatus from the screen. In 2019, Zellweger starred in the Netflix anthology series What/If and garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the biopic Judy, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress.