Cate Blanchett graduated from Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992 and, in a little over a year, had won both critical and popular acclaim. On graduating from NIDA, she joined the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Caryl Churchill's "Top Girls", then played Felice Bauer, the bride, in Tim Daly's "Kafka Dances", winning the 1993 Newcomer Award from the Sydney Theatre Critics Circle for her performance. From there, Blanchett moved to the role of Carol in David Mamet's searing polemic "Oleanna", also for the Sydney Theatre Company, and won the Rosemont Best Actress Award, her second award that year. She then co-starred in the ABC Television's prime time drama Heartland, again winning critical acclaim. In 1995, she was nominated for Best Female Performance for her role as Ophelia in the Belvoir Street Theatre Company's production of "Hamlet". Other theatre credits include Helen in the Sydney Theatre Company's "Sweet Phoebe", Miranda in "The Tempest" and Rose in "The Blind Giant is Dancing", both for the Belvoir Street Theatre Company. In other television roles, Blanchett starred as Bianca in ABC's Bordertown, as Janie Morris in G.P. and in ABC's popular series Police Rescue. She made her feature film debut in Paradise Road, and, in 1998, she played the title character in Elizabeth, winning numerous awards for her performance, including the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama. Cate was also nominated for an Academy Award for the role but lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow. 2001 was a particularly busy year, with starring roles in Bandits, The Shipping News, Charlotte Gray and playing Elf Queen Galadriel in the "Lord Of The Rings" trilogy.
1993: She was the first person to win the Sydney Theatre Critic's Circle Theatre award for Best Newcomer (for her role in "Kafka Dances"), and Best Lead Actress (for her role in David Mamet's Oleanna, with the Sydney Theatre Company, opposite Shine star Geoffrey Rush)in the same year. Has an older brother named Bob who works in the computer field, and a younger sister, Genevieve who is a theater designer. When she was 18, Cate was on vacation in Egypt. A fellow guest at a cheap hotel in Cairo asked if she wanted to be an extra in a movie, and the next day she found herself in a crowd scene, cheering for an American boxer who was losing to an Egyptian. She dreaded the experience and walked off from the movie. Attended Methodist Ladies College (MLC) in Melbourne, Australia and was the School Drama Captain. Her father, (Robert Blanchett) a Texan ad executive, died of a heart attack when she was ten years old. After completing work on the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the role of Galadriel, she kept and bronzed her elf ear prosthetics. Was considered for the role of Clarice Starling in Hannibal. The part eventually went to Julianne Moore. Son, Dashiell John Upton, born December 2001. He was named after the author of classic crime novel The Maltese Falcon, Dashiell Hammett. In an interview she gave to Fox Television Network, she admitted blushingly that she had accepted the role of Galadriel, the Elf Queen, in The Lord of the Rings trilogy because she always wanted to appear in a movie wearing pointed ears. Enjoys making lists and crossing items off as she accomplishes them. Chosen as one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful." [1999] Children: Dashiell John, born on December 3, 2001 in London, England; Roman Robert, born on April 23, 2004 Has been in 6 movies where the title contains the name of the character she plays: Veronica Guerin, Charlotte Gray, Elizabeth, Thank God He Met Lizzie, Oscar and Lucinda and Elizabeth: The Golden Age. [February 2008] Was originally going to play the role of Anna in Mike Nichols's latest film Closer, but due to her second pregnancy she had to drop out, so it was recast with Julia Roberts instead. Second son, Roman Robert, with Andrew Upton, born 23 April 2004 in London, England. Was the original 'Tim-Tam' girl in the series of commercials promoting the product. September 2004: Flew back home to Melbourne, Australia to launch the skincare range from SK-II at Australia's leading department store Myer. Was set to play "Portia" in Michael Radford's adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, thus re-uniting with actor Joseph Fiennes, her co-star from the blockbuster Elizabeth, but had to drop out after discovering her pregnancy. This also would have reunited her with Ian McKellen, with whom she appeared in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, who would have played "Shylock". He too ultimately left the project. By winning the Oscar for her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn, she became the first person to give an Oscar-winning portrayal of a previous Oscar winner. In The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, she appears with Anjelica Huston, and in The Aviator, she works with Danny Huston, the daughter and son, respectively, of director John Huston. In addition to having played Katharine Hepburn, who appeared in The African Queen, directed by John Huston, she also appeared in a remake of a film that John Huston appeared in: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. In The Aviator, she works opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Howard Hughes. The year before, she appeared in The Missing with Tommy Lee Jones. Jones played Hughes years earlier in The Amazing Howard Hughes. 1995: Nominated for Best Female Performance by the Melbourne Green Room Awards, for the Belvoir St Theatre Company's production of "Hamlet". Won the Rosemont Best Actress Award for her performance in "Oleanna". 1992: Graduated from Australia's NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art). Was unknowingly pregnant while portraying the pregnant journalist in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Four of her five Oscar nominations are for playing real people (Queen Elizabeth I, Katharine Hepburn and Bob Dylan). Won Best Female Actor, Helpmann Award for her performance in "Hedda Gabler". [2005] Appeared next to Hugo Weaving in 9 different projects: Bordertown, Drama School, Little Fish, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Making of 'The Lord of the Rings', Quest for the Ring. Is of French descent. In "The Lord of the Rings", she worked with Elijah Wood and Sean Astin, who played "Frodo" and "Sam", respectively. Also appearing with her in those films, as well as in The Aviator, was Ian Holm, who played "Frodo" in the BBC radio series. In Notes on a Scandal, she worked with Bill Nighy, who played "Sam" in the BBC radio series. In Elizabeth: The Golden Age, she worked with Samantha Morton, who is engaged to Ian Holm's son, Harry Holm. She participated in six films nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, four of them in a row: Elizabeth, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Aviator and Babel. In Bandits, she works with Troy Garity. In The Aviator, she plays Katharine Hepburn, who appeared with Garity's mother, Jane Fonda and grandfather, Henry Fonda, in On Golden Pond. Was considered for the role of Jane Smith in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. 15th February 2005: Attended the 2005 Elle Style Awards held at London's trendy Spitalfields Market. Posed for photos with fellow Australian Kylie Minogue, who was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Her Texan father, Robert Blanchett, met her mother, June, in Melbourne. Was officially in the BAFTA longlist (Equivalently, the semi-finals) for Best Actress in a Leading Role, for her role in Notes on a Scandal (unlike the Oscars, where she was competing for Supporting Role), which consisted of 15 finalists for each category (except Animated Film). However, she was eliminated in the next round, which the five official nominees were selected. [2007] She and her The Shipping News and Notes on a Scandal co-star Judi Dench both received Oscar-nominations for playing Queen Elizabeth I in 1999. Dench won for her supporting role in Shakespeare in Love while Blanchett was nominated for Elizabeth. Cate and her husband, Andrew Upton, are expecting their third child in April, 2008 [November 3, 2007]. Was Steven Spielberg's first choice for the role or Agatha in Minority Report. After the death of Stanley Kubrick, he made Artificial Intelligence: AI his first priority, and she moved on to other projects. She was later able to work with Spielberg in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dec. 2007 - Ranked #45 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#31). [2007]. In 2007, Forbes Magazine estimated her earnings for the year at $13 million. She is one of the elite eleven thespians to have been nominated for both a Supporting and Lead Acting Academy Award in the same year for their achievements in two different movies. The other nine are Fay Bainter, Sigourney Weaver, Teresa Wright, Barry Fitzgerald (he has been nominated in both categories for the same role in the same movie), Jessica Lange, Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, Holly Hunter, Julianne Moore and Jamie Foxx. She and Linda Hunt are the only performers to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a member of the opposite sex. She is one of five actors (and the only female actor) to be nominated for an Oscar twice for playing the same role in two separate films. She played Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth and in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. The others are Bing Crosby as Father Chuck O'Malley in Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary's, Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler and The Color of Money, Peter O'Toole as King Henry II in Becket and The Lion in Winter and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone for The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. Was listed as a potential nominee for the 2008 Razzies (but did not make the final ballot) for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a performance that earned her another Oscar nomination. Had she earned a Razzie nod, she would have been one of the few actors to have a Razzie and Oscar nomination for the same performance.