Rachel Weisz

Rachel Weisz (born 7.3.1970)

Rachel Weisz is an English actress of stage and screen.

Rachel Weisz: Childhood

Rachel Weisz was born in Westminster, London, to Edith Ruth and George Weisz. Her mother is a teacher-turned-psychotherapist and her father is an inventor and engineer; both of them had fled to England in World War II. She grew up in the Hampstead Garden suburb of London.

Rachel Weisz was privately educated at North London Collegiate School, St. Paul's Girls' School and Benenden School before studying at Trinity Hall Cambridge. She graduated from Cambridge University with a 2:1 in English and whilst at university, she co-founded a drama group named Cambridge Talking Tongues. The student group went on to win a Guardian Student Drama Award for a piece entitled 'Slight Possession', performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Rachel Weisz: Acting Career

In 1993, Rachel Weisz worked on the popular TV series Inspector Morse, which starred the late John Thaw, before starting her cinema career with Chain Reaction in 1995. The film starred Keanu Reeves, Morgan Freeman and Brian Cox.

In 1996, Weisz landed a role in Stealing Beauty, along with Liv Tyler, Joseph Fiennes and Jeremy Irons before working on a number of British films, including My Summer with Des (with Neil Morrissey and Arabella Weir), Swept from the Sea (with Zoe Wanamaker and Kathy Bates), The Land Girls (with Anna Friel) and I Want You (directed by Michael Winterbottom).

Weisz's big break in Hollywood came with her role in The Mummy, in which she starred alongside Brendan Fraser. The role was reprised in 2001 with The Mummy Returns. The sequel grossed $433million - even more than the original film. That same year, she appeared in Enemy at the Gates, which starred Jude Law and Ralph Fiennes.

In 2002, Rachel Weisz featured in About A Boy, the film adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel, which starred Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette. The following year, she appeared in Runaway Jury with an all-star cast including John Cusack, Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.

2005 saw Rachel Weisz starring in the sci-fi / fantasy / horror film Constantine, along with Keanu Reeves, Shia LaBeouf and Tilda Swinton. Later in 2005, Weisz also starred in The Constant Gardener. The movie was an adaptation of John le Carré's novel and was set in Kenya. Ralph Fiennes and Bill Nighy also starred in the film and Weisz won both an Oscar and a Golden Globe for her performance. Weisz also starred in The Fountain, which was directed by Darren Aronofsky and starred Hugh Jackman, after the original choice of lead roles (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) could not be budgeted for.

In the 2009 film Agora, Rachel Weisz played the role of Agora. At the Toronto Film Festival, Weisz film The Whistleblower made a woman faint. The film also stars Vanessa Redgrave and Monica Bellucci.

Rachel Weisz: Personal Life

Rachel Weisz started dating the American film director Darren Aronofsky in 2001. In 2005, the pair became engaged and the following year, had a son together, Henry Chance. In 2010, however, Weisz and Aronofsky announced their separation.