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Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September
1969) is an Academy Award-winning Welsh actress who
began her career on stage at an early age. After
starring in a number of television films and small roles
in films, she came to prominence with roles in films
such as The Phantom, The Mask of Zorro, and Entrapment
in the late 1990s.
She is married to Michael Douglas, with whom she starred
in the 2000 film Traffic. She won an Academy Award for
Best Supporting Actress for portraying Velma Kelly in
the 2002 film adaptation of Chicago.
Early life: Born Catherine Jones, in Treboeth, a
working-class area of Swansea, West Glamorgan in South
Wales. She is the middle of three children born to Dai
Jones, a Welsh sweet factory owner, and Patricia Fair
who is Irish and from a Roman Catholic family.
Her father's cousin is married to singer Bonnie Tyler,
who is also from Swansea. Her uncle owns Swansea's Škoda
car dealership as well as Llanelli A.F.C. football club.
Her name stems from those of her grandmothers — her
maternal grandmother, Katherine Fair, and her paternal
grandmother, Zeta Jones.
After her parents won £100,000 at bingo in the 1980s,
they moved to St. Andrews Drive in Mayals, an upper
class area of Swansea. She attended the
moderately-priced private school, Dumbarton House in
Swansea where she was apparently an average student.
Comedian and actor Rob Brydon also went there.
She left school early to further her acting ambitions
without obtaining O levels and went on to attend The
Arts Educational Schools in Chiswick for a full-time
three year course in musical theatre.
Career: Zeta-Jones' stage career began in
childhood. She often performed at friends and family
functions when she was younger. She was a part of a
Catholic congregation's performing troupe before she was
10. She also starred in a London production of Annie, as
well as a version of Bugsy Malone. By 1987 she was
starring in 42nd Street as Peggy Sawyer in the West End.
Once the show closed, Zeta-Jones travelled to France,
where she received the lead role in French director
Philippe de Broca's 1001 Nights (also known as
Sheherazade), her feature film debut.
Her exotic looks, along with her singing and dancing
ability, suggested a promising future, but it was in a
straight acting role, as Mariette in the successful
television adaptation of H. E. Bates' The Darling Buds
of May (1991-93), that she made her name. She briefly
flirted with a musical career, beginning with a part in
the 1992 album: Jeff Wayne's Musical Version Of
Spartacus, from which the single "For All
Time" was released in 1989.
It failed to chart. She went on to
release the singles "In the Arms of Love",
"I Can't Help Myself", and a duet with David
Essex, "True Love Ways". The Duet was her only
chart single, reaching #38 in the UK singles chart in
1994. She also starred in an episode of The Young
Indiana Jones Chronicles, as well as in Christopher
Columbus: The Discovery.
She continued to find moderate success with a number of
television projects, including The Return of the Native
(1994) and the mini-series Catherine the Great (1995).
She also appeared in Splitting Heirs (1993), a comedy
starring Eric Idle, Rick Moranis and John Cleese.
In 1996, she was cast as the evil aviatrix
"Sala" in the action film, The Phantom , based
on the comic created by Lee Falk. Her character did her
best to kill Billy Zane's Phantom, while assisting
villain Xander Drax (Treat Williams) in taking over the
world with a weapon of doom.
The following year, she starred in the CBS mini-series
Titanic, which also starred Tim Curry and Peter
Gallagher. Steven Spielberg, who noted her performance
in the mini-series, recommended her to Martin Campbell,
the director of The Mask of Zorro. Zeta-Jones
subsequently landed a lead role in the film, alongside
Antonio Banderas. The following year she co-starred with
Sean Connery in the film Entrapment, and alongside Liam
Neeson and Lili Taylor in The Haunting. In 2000 she
starred in Traffic with future husband Michael Douglas.
In 2003, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting
Actress for her performance as Velma Kelly in the film
Chicago. Chicago also won the Academy Award for Best
Picture that year. On 22 October 2005, she referenced
her award, as guest host on the television show Saturday
Night Live, surrounded by four male dancers, mimicking
the Bob Fosse-inspired Chicago-style dancing, suggesting
in song that, no matter how bad she might be that night,
"They Can't Take My Oscar Away". For her role
in Chicago, she specifically requested a 1920s-style
short bob haircut, so her face could be seen and fans
wouldn't doubt she did all her dancing herself.
In 2003 she voiced Marina in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven
Seas, as well as starring in Intolerable Cruelty with
George Clooney. In 2004 she was in The Terminal, as well
as Ocean's Twelve, the sequel to Ocean's Eleven. In 2005
she reprised her role as Elena in The Legend of Zorro,
the sequel to The Mask of Zorro. She stars in and
produces the rugby-related comedy, Coming Out. The film
is produced by her company Milkwood Films.
Personal life: Zeta-Jones is married to actor
Michael Douglas, with whom she has two children. She has
the same birthday as her husband, although he is 25
years her senior. They were married at the Plaza Hotel
in New York City on 18 November 2000. A traditional
Welsh choir sang at her wedding; her wedding ring
includes a Celtic motif and was bought in the Welsh town
of Aberystwyth.
Their son, Dylan Michael Douglas, was
born 8 August 2000. Their daughter, Carys Zeta Douglas,
was born April 20, 2003. While pregnant with Carys,
photos were published of Zeta-Jones smoking cigarettes
on a private balcony; afterwards, she became the target
of anti-smoking and child health and welfare groups due
to her behaviour.
Zeta-Jones has decided that her children will grow up
aware of their Welsh heritage and has built a seaside
home for her parents in her hometown of Swansea. She
wants her children to know the Welsh language.
Her elder brother, David A. Jones (also known as Cameron
Jones), is Vice President of the film company, Initial
Entertainment. He was an executive producer of Gangs of
New York. Her younger brother, Lyndon Jones, is her
personal manager and producer for Milkwood Films.
Catherine's parents recently moved from their Mayals
property to a £2 million clifftop home two miles away,
paid for by their daughter.
Apart from her acting career, Zeta-Jones is also an
advertising spokeswoman. In 2003, she became spokeswoman
for the mobile phone company T-Mobile. However, in
September 2006, T-Mobile dropped Zeta-Jones for a more
“man on the street” advertising campaign. She is
currently the global spokeswoman for cosmetics giant
Elizabeth Arden. |
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