Catherine Alice Blanchett is an Australian film and theater actress, producer, theater director.
Place of Birth, Education
She was born on May 14, 1969 in the suburbs of Melbourne to Robert DeWitt Blanchett Jr. and June Gamble.
She attended Ivanhoe East Primary School and then Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar School.
Subsequently, she entered the Women’s Methodist College of Melbourne, where she first appeared on stage in several theatrical productions.
Returning to Australia, Blanchett entered the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Melbourne, which she completed in 1992.
Career
After leaving the Methodist Women’s College, she went to travel to England. When her visa expired, she went to Egypt with almost no money. There, a hotel resident invited her to star in the extras of an Egyptian boxing film. Due to financial difficulties, Kate agreed.
Theatre
Her first theatrical works immediately received rave reviews from critics. After graduating from the institute, Blanchett joined the Sydney Theatre Company and took part in the production of “Cool Girls” based on the play by the British writer Caryl Churchill.
After that, Blanchett played the role of Felicia Bauer in the play “Kafkaesque Dances”. Her performance was praised by theater critics, and in 1993 the actress received the Sydney Society of Theater Critics Award for Best Debut.
Subsequently, she appeared in the provocative production “Oleanna”, for which she received another award. Later she played in the production of “Hamlet” by actor Geoffrey Rush.
In 1997, Blanchett appeared in only one theatrical production, playing Nina in “The Seagull” based on Chekhov’s play
In 1999, she combined work on stage with filming. She took part in two theatrical productions in London – the play “Abundance” and the play of the Old Age Theater “Vagina Monologues”.
In 2004, after a five-year break, she returned to the theater stage, playing the main role in the production of “Hedda Gabler” based on the work of Henrik Ibsen.
Movie
1989 – 2000
Blanchett first appeared on television in 1989, playing a small role in the series “GP”.
In the period from 1993 to 1995, she participated in several television films and series, including “Police Forces”, “Homeland” and “City near the Border”, continuing to perform on the theater stage.
Blanchett played her first notable film role in 1996 in the short drama Parklands, where she played the main character Rosa, who learns the truth about her late father’s corrupt past.
In 1997, three films were released with her participation: “The Road to Paradise”, “Oscra and Lucinda”, as well as “Thank God He Met Lizzie”. The last tape presented the actress with awards from the Australian Film Institute and the Australian Film Critics Society.
In 1998, Blanchett played the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England in the historical drama Elizabeth by Indian director Shekhar Kapoor. She received nominations for the Academy Awards and the Screen Actors Guild of America, and also won a Golden Globe and BAFTA.
In 1999, four films were released with her participation: the short film “Stories of Lost Souls”, the melodrama “An Ideal Man” based on the play by Oscar Wilde, the comedy “Flying Control” and the psychological thriller “The Talented Mr. Ripley” based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith. For her role in The Talented Mr. Ripley, Blanchett was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.
That same year, People magazine included Cate Blanchett in its list of the 50 most beautiful people in the world.
2000 – 2010
In 2000, the actress starred in two films – Sally Potter’s drama “The Crying Man” and Sam Raimi’s thriller “The Gift”.
In 2001, she appeared alongside actors Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton in Barry Levinson’s crime comedy Bandits. In the same year, she joined Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, where she played the role of the elven queen Galadriel.
She also starred in two films – the military drama “Charlotte Gray”, based on the novel of the same name by Sebastian Faulks, and the melodrama “Ship News”.
In 2002, she accepted the invitation of director Tom Tykwer to play the main role in the film “Paradise”, created according to the script by Krzysztof Kieślowski, inspired by Dante’s “Divine Comedy”. The film was presented in the competition program of the Berlin Film Festival, received several prestigious awards in Germany, but could not recoup the costs at the box office.
In 2003, Blanchett played the lead role in Joel Schumacher’s crime drama Veronica Guerin. In the same year, she appeared in one of the episodes of Jim Jarmusch’s black-and-white film almanac “Coffee and Cigarettes”, and later starred with Tommy Lee Jones in Ron Howard’s dramatic western “The Last Raid”.
In 2004, she played a minor role in the eccentric comedy “Water Life with Steve Zissou”, and later appeared in Martin Scorsese’s biographical drama “The Aviator”, dedicated to the life of millionaire Howard Hughes. Playing the role of Katharine Hepburn earned the actress the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as awards from the British Film Academy and the Screen Actors Guild. In particular, she was nominated for a number of prestigious awards, including the Golden Globe.
In 2005, Blanchett took a short break in her career and took part in only one film, the Australian crime thriller Little Fish. For this role, she received an award from the Australian Film Institute.
In May 2006, the premiere of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s drama “Babylon” starring Blanchett took place at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was highly praised by critics and was awarded the festival’s award for Best Director.
In the same year, the actress starred in Steven Soderbergh’s romantic thriller “The Good German”, as well as in the drama “Notes on a Scandal”. For her role in the last film, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
In 2007, she played the role of Queen Elizabeth I of England in the historical drama “The Golden Age”.
The following year, she received a Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category and an Academy Award nomination for her role in Todd Gaines’ film I’m Not There.
In 2008, she starred in Steven Spielberg’s film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, where she played the role of Soviet agent Irina Spalko.
In the same year, she appeared with Brad Pitt in David Fincher’s film The Mysterious Story of Benjamin Button, based on the story by Francis Scott Fitzgerald. For this work, Blanchett was nominated for the Saturn Award and the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards for Best Actress in 2009.
On December 5, 2008, Blanchett received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2009, the anime “Ponyo on the Rock” was released in the United States, in which Blanchett voiced the Sea Goddess in English, the mother of the main character Ponyo.
2010 – 2020
In 2010, the actress appeared in Ridley Scott’s film Robin Hood.
In 2011, Blanchett starred in the thriller “Hannah. The Perfect Weapon”, and a year later returned to the image of the elven queen Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s fantasy film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.
In 2013, Cate Blanchett collaborated with director Woody Allen for the first time, starring in his drama film Jasmine. The tape received an unusually warm reception from critics, and the actress’s performance was called one of the strongest in her career.
For this role , she received a number of prestigious awards, including an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
In the fall of 2013, she began filming in Kenneth Branagh’s film Cinderella, which was released in 2015.
Also in 2015, she took part in the filming of the romantic drama “Carol”. The premiere took place at the Cannes Film Festival, where the film received awards for Best Actress and Queer Palm, and the audience gave it a long ovation. For this role, Blanchett was nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild of America.
In 2017, she appeared in the film Thor: Ragnarok, where she played the role of the main antagonist – the goddess of death Hela.
The following year, she took part in three film projects at once: “Ocean’s Eight Friends”, “House with a Clock in the Walls” and “The Jungle Book: The Beginning”.
In February 2019, the animated film How to Train Your Dragon 3 was released, in which Blanchett voiced Valka, Hicking’s mother. In the same year, she appeared in the tragicomedy “Where Have You Gone, Bernadette?”, based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Maria Semple.
2020 – tep. Time
In 2021, she played in the film adaptation of the novel “Alley of Horror”, for which she received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award. She also starred in the satirical film “Don’t Look Up”. Both films were nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Picture category.
In 2022, Blanchett starred in the drama film “Tár” directed by Todd Field. For this work , the actress received a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a second Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
That same year, she collaborated again with Guillermo del Toro, voicing one of the roles in his animated film “Pinocchio”.
Marital Status
Since December 29, 1997, Kate has been married to screenwriter and editor Andrew Upton. They met on the set of a television series in Australia and started dating a year before the wedding.
The family has three sons: Dashiele John Upton, Roman Robert Upton, and Ignatius Martin Upton.
In March 2015, the couple adopted a girl – Edith Vivian Patricia Upton.
