Cate Blanchett is an Australian actress renowned far away from her home continent. After having struck fame in the historical drama «Elizabeth», she remained in the memory of millions of viewers as Galadriel, the Elven queen, and received Oscars for best performance by an actress in a supporting role in «The Aviator» (2005) and best performance by an actress in a leading role in «Blue Jasmine» (2013). She also starred in «The Curious Case of Benjamin Button», «Robin Hood», «Cinderella» and many other notable films.
Cate Blanchett – actress, director, faithful wife and mother of four children
In between film shootings and educating her four children, she used to be the artistic director of Sydney Theatre Company in the period 2008 - 2013, as well as a theatre director.
Childhood
Catherine Elise Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969 in the old Australian town of Ivanhoe, in the family of Robert Blanchett, a Texas native and United States Navy officer, and June, an Australian teacher. Her parents met thanks to a romantic incident: Robert's ship broke down and had to be repaired in Melbourne.
Cate Blanchett (centre) with her father, brother and sister
Later on, her father was commissioned and moved to June’s home country, getting a job in an advertising agency and focusing on educating their children. Cate is the middle of the three children – she has an elder brother Bob (now a network engineer) and a younger sister Genevieve (a theatre production designer). When Cate was 10, her father died of a heart attack and her mother had to raise the children on her own.
Cate Blanchett in her childhood and at present
Cate attended primary school in Melbourne; then, for her secondary education, she moved to Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, and finally to Methodist Ladies' College, where she found her passion for the performing arts.
Cate Blanchett is one of the most emotional and natural actresses of Hollywood
«In my childhood I was part extrovert, part wallflower», – this is how the actress describes herself in her youth. In her school years she tended to dress in baggy clothing, having gone through both goth and punk phases, and once even shaved her head.
Young Cate Blanchett
During her last years of high school, she worked at a nursing home in Victoria. Having finished high school, she studied economics and fine arts at the University of Melbourne but dropped out after one year to travel overseas.
It is really great to do something truly… insane. That is extraordinary. All I seek is new, extraordinary experience. I really like it when I haven’t the faintest idea how it will turn out.
In 1989 fate brought Cate to Egypt, where she played as an extra in the film «Kaboria». Right until that moment she had never thought about becoming an actress, but after this debut, when she was paid 5 dinars and a meal, she returned to Australia and enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) to pursue an acting career. She graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and was considered one of the most gifted students in her year by her professors.
Acting career
In 1992 Cate was accepted to Sydney Theatre Company. She debuted in the play «Top Girls», and then got a role in «Kafka Dances». Her work as a new actress was highly praised – she won the Newcomer Award from the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle for her performance.
Later, Cate played Carol in the controversial and polemic "Oleanna", which brought her the Rosemont Best Actress Award, her second award that year.
Cate Blanchett in Jimmy Kimmel’s Show (2015)
Following this accomplishment, director Geoffrey Rush, who noticed Cate ever since university, invited her to play Ophelia in «Hamlet» to her overwhelming success, as well as viewers’ and critics’ acclaim.
Cate Blanchett and Jeffrey Rush
Cate Blanchett’s first roles in cinema and on TV emerged in 1994, when she starred in «Police Rescue», «Heartland», and «Bordertown».
In 1995 Cate was the star of Sydney stage in three parallel projects: «The Blind Giant is Dancing», «Sweet Phoebe», and «The Tempest». Her theatre success did not go unnoticed, as she was noted by film producers and directors. In 1997 the actress played Nina in Chekhov’s «The Seagull», after which she started combining her theatre and film career, yet later cinema took over the leading place in her life.
Photo from «Hamlet»
In 1996 Cate got her first leading role in the film «Parklands», which demanded from the young actress the most of her emotional involvement, as her heroine had just found out the bitter truth about her father who had passed away not long ago. The young star was noticed by Bruce Beresford, the director of war drama «Paradise Road», where Cate had the opportunity to work with Glenn Close.
Photo from «Paradise Road»
In 1997 Cate got the main role in the historical melodrama «Oscar and Lucinda». It is worth noting that the director wanted a beginner actress for this role, so she was cast to play the carefree millionaire Lucinda who made a bet with a young priest (Ralph Fiennes) – if she builds a glass church, he will take her to Australia and get all her fortune, yet on condition that everything ends well.
Cate Blanchett as Lucinda (1997)
Then came the role of the English virgin queen Elizabeth I in the eponymous drama directed by Shekhar Kapur. The austere-looking Blanchett appeared on screen in the company of Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush and Vincent Cassel and in the blink of an eye stopped being a mere Australian actress. For the role of queen Elizabeth I she received the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards, and was nominated for Oscar and the US Screen Actors Guild Award.
The role of Elizabeth I brought Cate Blanchett critical acclaim far outside Australia
A year later, Cate starred in the melodrama «An Ideal Husband», and then in the comedy «Pushing Tin» with Angelina Jolie, John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton. In 1999, right after having finished working on «Bangers» short, the actress started shooting «Talented Mister Ripley» with Matt Damon. Film lovers remember her as the aristocrat Meredith, who couldn’t resist the charms of the calculating and devious Tom Ripley.
Photo from «Talented Mister Ripley»
The new century brought on an entire series of vivid and versatile roles. First, Blanchett starred in the drama «The Man Who Cried» with the Russian actor Oleg Yankovskiy. This one was followed by the role of the psychic in the mystical thriller «The Gift». The critics said few words of praise, yet, according to their opinions the film was a success only thanks to Cate's acting talent. Net worth: $95 million.
Cate Blanchett’s photoshoot for Vogue
In the first film in Peter Jackson’s «The Lord of the Rings» trilogy, Cate astounded the viewers by her embodiment of the Elven queen Galadriel. It is this very role that Blanchett defined as seminal and life-changing, while her impressions after having worked with Peter Jackson and Ian McKellen still burned for a long time even after completing the shooting of the final part of the trilogy, «The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King», which came out in 2003.
Galadriel changed my life. «The Lord of the Rings» is the best thing that even happened to the fantasy genre.
Curious to know that while working on the trilogy, the actress never went out without a thick layer of sunscreen that protected her milky-white skin from the burning sun.
She could return to playing her favourite character in 2012 – this time Peter Jackson started working on the screen adaptation of «The Hobbit». He managed to stretch the short book to the size of his favourite format well-known by his fans – a trilogy. The second and third parts of «The Hobbit» franchise came out in 2013 and 2015, respectively.
Cate Blanchett as Galadriel
Another curious experience that Cate Blanchett had was working with the independent film director Jim Jarmush on the film «Coffee and Cigarettes». There she played two roles: one as herself, while the second one – as her fictional cousin Shelly, envious of her success. The viewer could only tell the difference between them by the wig she wore and the cigarette between her teeth.
« Coffee and Cigarettes»: Cate and her fictional cousin Shelly
In 2004 she had the opportunity to work with another prominent film director – Martin Scorsese – who intended to adapt for the screen the biography of Howard Hughes (Leonardo di Caprio), an eccentric millionaire. Blanchett got to play the role of the only actress in the history of cinema who received four Oscars – the iconic Katharine Hepburn.
Cate Blanchett appearing as Katharine Hepburn and the real Katharine
Many were unhappy with the director’s choice, mostly due to the difference in the appearances of Hepburn and Blanchett. Even Cate herself was afraid that «The Aviator» might ruin her career, yet her fears turned out to be unfounded – the film-goers completely forgot about any dissimilarities, struck by Cate’s acting talent, and her efforts ended in being rewarded with her first Oscar.
Why do we love Cate Blanchett?
In 2006, on the set of the drama «Babel», Blanchett made a great acting duo with Brad Pitt. Two years later they met again to work on «The Curious Case of Benjamin Button» directed by David Fincher. This was another iconic role in Blanchett’s filmography. The movie tells the inverted story of a man’s life who was born an old man and gradually grew younger. Cate’s character befriended him in her childhood, ignoring her parents’ protests. As she grew older, he became younger. «To be able to work with Fincher again, I’d give all the time in the world», – Cate confessed.
Photo from «The Curious Case of Benjamin Button»
In 2008 Cate (together with her husband) became one of the artistic directors of Sydney Theatre Company where she had started her brilliant acting career. Under her leadership, the theatre, which was going through a difficult period, returned its old glory especially thanks to staging such plays as «Hedda Gabler» and «A Streetcar Named Desire».
Cate Blanchett in «Bandits»: the cooking scene
In 2013 Woody Allen’s drama «Blue Jasmine» appeared on the screens. The heroine, Jasmine Francis (whose character was written specifically for Blanchett) loses everything in an instant. When her multibillionaire husband (Alec Baldwin) is convicted for fraud, the family fortune goes down the drain, and cheating surfaces. She has to turn over a new leaf and start her life anew. The critics found this role one of the most vivid in her career, which was confirmed by her second Oscar for the best performance by an actress in a leading role.
The film «Blue Jasmine» brought Cate Blanchett her second Oscar
Cate Blanchett’s personal life
According to Zoomboola.com, in 1996 the actress met the screenwriter Andrew Upton and married him the following year, in 1997.
Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton were married in 1997
The couple challenged the stereotype of unstable relationships between Hollywood stars. Even 20 years later their love is as strong as in the very beginning, despite Andrew’s unsophisticated appearance.
Cate Blanchett with her husband Andrew Upton
Blanchett and Upton have three sons: Dashiell John (born 2001), Roman Robert (born 2004), and Ignatius Martin (born 2008). Also, in 2015 the couple adopted an Australian orphan named Vivian.
Cate Blanchett’s four children: three sons and one adopted daughter
Alongside his wife, Upton also was the second artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company in the period 2008 - 2013.
Cate Blanchett Now
November 2017 gave the world the superhero blockbuster «Thor: Ragnarok». There, Cate Blanchett, who had been long dreaming of trying this new genre for her, became Hela – the first female villain in the Marvel cinematic universe. More than that, this is her first «antihero» role in her entire filmography. «Shooting this film brought me the most happiness in my life in terms of acting and creativity», believes Cate.
«Thor: Ragnarok»: Cate Blanchett as Hela
Cate Blanchett’s future plans include working on the female take on «Ocean’s Eleven», which is entitled «Ocean’s Eight», with Dakota Fanning, Sandra Bullock, Olivia Mann, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter and Katie Holmes.
Cate Blanchett on the set of «Ocean’s Eight»
She will also dub one of the main characters in the new «Mowgli» film, which is scheduled to come out in 2019, as well as a character in the third part of the animated dragon-themed franchise, «How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World».
Cate Blanchett Says Don't Look Up Is Less of a Satire and More of a Documentary | The Tonight Show
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Barbara Edwards
Dearly love her work together with Brad Pitt in «The Curious Case of Benjamin Button». The scene in the film is good but it is worth to pay tribute and actors, especially Cate.
2021-04-28 19:08:33
Gregory Lambert
I remember her for her role as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings. Other films with her I have not watched yet...
2021-04-10 18:03:43
Mitchell Salazar
Very funny that such a sweetheart person took better parts of the films with roles of negative characters. Maybe this is the secret of being memorable badass when the role played by a great person?
2021-02-23 11:15:23
Carrie Martin
In Ocean`s Eight she played on all 110%. I was watching the film only because of her.
2021-02-20 23:34:40
Wayne Harris
I can not imagine any other actress in the role of Hela in the Thor: Ragnarok. This role fits her so good that this part of the trilogy I enjoyed the most
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Barbara Edwards
2021-04-28 19:08:33
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Gregory Lambert
2021-04-10 18:03:43
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Mitchell Salazar
2021-02-23 11:15:23
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Carrie Martin
2021-02-20 23:34:40
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Wayne Harris
2021-01-10 12:34:02
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