Good looks were certainly a boon to the meteoric ascent of Welsh actress Catherine Zeta-Jones. Hollywood success came to the actress when she caught the eye of Steven Spielberg during a TV mini-series, Titanic. Her performance so struck the famous producer that he immediately suggested her for the female lead in the film The Mask of Zorro, which he produced. The performance was so electrifying that she then went on to star opposite Sean Connery in Entrapment and opposite Liam Neeson and Lili Taylor in The Haunting.

Zeta-Jones had been acting professionally for well over a decade, becoming equally reputed for her work in theater, television, and film, before Zorro made her an international sensation. Since the young age of fifteen, Zeta-Jones was acting in British television, theater and film. Her work made such a sensation that she was continually sought out by the paparazzi. An incident where she ran her car into a light post trying to flee the pursuing paparazzi prompted her to make the decision to try her luck in Hollywood. Her success in England didn't necessarily translate into success in Hollywood though. Until she caught Spielberg's attention, she was only successful in getting television work.

The only daughter of working class parents, Zeta-Jones began acting at a very young age. The bug hit her when she secured the lead in a local production of Annie. She was just eleven. Born on September 25, 1969 in a small fishing village called Mumbles, just outside Swansea in Wales. She has two brothers Lyndon and David. Zeta-Jones was named for her grandmothers Catherine and Zeta.

Success came quickly for Zeta-Jones after she moved to London at the age of fifteen to pursue an acting career. Fortune shined on her when she took over the lead in a production of 42nd Street. Originally she was the second understudy for the lead but one day both the star or the first understudy bowed out. Zeta-Jones took over and delivered a stunning performance. As luck would have it, the shows producer chose that night to see the show for the first time. He immediately insisted that Zeta-Jones be given the lead for the duration of the show. From there she went on to secure leads in such productions as The Darling Buds of May, Scheherazade, Bugsy Malone, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and Street Scenes.