Renée Kathleen Zellweger (/rəˈneɪ ˈzɛlwɛɡər/; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress and singer. She has received multiple accolades throughout her career, including four Golden Globe Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Academy Awards from four nominations. She was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007, and was named the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year in 2009.
Born and raised in Texas, Zellweger studied English literature at UT Austin. Initially aspiring to a career in journalism, she was drawn to acting following her brief work on stage during college. Following her minor roles in the 1993 coming-of-age comedy film Dazed and Confused, and the 1994 romantic comedy-drama film Reality Bites, Zellweger's first starring role came with the 1994 slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Receiving praise for her performances in the independent films Love and a .45 (1994) and The Whole Wide World (1996), she rose to prominence with starring roles in the 1996 romantic comedy-drama sports film Jerry Maguire, the 1998 drama film One True Thing, and the 2000 black comedy films Me, Myself and Irene and Nurse Betty, winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her portrayal of Betty Sizemore in the last of these.
For her portrayals of Bridget Jones in the 2001 romantic comedy film Bridget Jones's Diary, and Roxie Hart in the 2002 musical black comedy crime film Chicago, Zellweger garnered consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a loquacious farmer in the 2003 epic period war film Cold Mountain. Her other notable films include the 2002 drama White Oleander, the 2004 romantic comedy Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, the 2005 biopic sports drama Cinderella Man, the 2006 biopic drama Miss Potter, and the 2016 romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Baby. In 2019, Zellweger starred in her first major television role in the Netflix series What/If, and garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of Judy Garland in the biographical drama film Judy, winning the Academy for Best Actress. Zellweger also received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for the film's accompanying soundtrack album.