| Biography:
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. |