page_title: Renée Zellweger
section_title: Resurgence and Judy, 2016–present
hierarchical_section_title: Renée Zellweger / Career / Resurgence and Judy, 2016–present
caption_attribution_description: Renée Zellweger at the premiere of Judy, 2019 Toronto Film Festival
context_page_description: Renée Kathleen Zellweger
  is an American actress. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. 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 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 film debut with a minor role in Richard Linklater's Dazed and Confused, Zellweger's first starring role came with the slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation. Receiving praise for her performances in the independent films Love and a .45 and The Whole Wide World, Zellweger rose to prominence with starring roles in Jerry Maguire, One True Thing, Me, Myself and Irene, and Nurse Betty, winning her first Golden Globe Award for the lattermost.
  For her portrayals of Bridget Jones in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Diary and Roxie Hart in the musical crime drama Chicago, Zellweger garnered consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
context_section_description: Following a six-year hiatus from acting, Zellweger made her career comeback opposite Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Baby (2016), the third part in the Bridget Jones franchise, portraying Jones in her forties and single as she discovers that she is pregnant and must work out who the father is. It was met with a positive response by critics and grossed US$211.9 million worldwide. Village Voice found the movie to be "the warmest and most satisfying of the series" and concluded that Zellweger's "wise, light-hearted performance anchors this happy reunion, a surprising and refreshing gift from a creative well that seemed to have run dry". In the crime drama The Whole Truth, directed by Courtney Hunt and opposite Keanu Reeves, Zellweger took the role of Loretta Lassiter, the mother of a teenager suspected of murdering his wealthy father. Filmed in New Orleans in July 2014, The Whole Truth was released on October 21, 2016, for selected theaters and video-on-demand, receiving average reviews. Variety remarked: "Truth be told, [Reeves and Zellweger] deserve better than this predictable courtroom drama".
  In Same Kind of Different as Me (2017), a film adaptation of the autobiographical book by the same name, Zellweger starred with Djimon Hounsou, Olivia Holt and Jon Voight, as the wife of an art dealer whose struggling relationship is changed for the better by a homeless man. The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a moderate commercial success. The Wrap, nevertheless, remarked: "Zellweger, in fact, delivers a gentle, thoughtful, yet headstrong performance as the wife who digs in her heels to get human decency out of the people she cares for the most". She played the friend of a New York City singer who gets a life-changing medical diagnosis in the independent drama Here and Now (2018), opposite Sarah Jessica Parker.
  Zellweger obtained her first major television role when she was cast as Anne Montgomery, a mysterious venture capitalist, in the Netflix thriller miniseries What/If (2019). Although the show received mixed reviews from critics, Zellweger's performance was praised, with Haider Rifaat of The Express Tribune writing, "Not to forgo the incredible acting prowess of Zellweger, who impeccably embraces the character of Anne. Subtle gestures, symbolic interaction and character development are some commendable aspects that intensify the actors' performances."
  Her next role was that of Judy Garland in 2019's biographical drama Judy. Based on the West End and Broadway play End of the Rainbow, the film chronicles the last years of Garland's life, shortly before her death in 1969. Zellweger performed her own vocals in the film and her songs had to be performed in front of a live audience. Judy premiered to positive reviews at the Telluride Film Festival, with Zellweger's performance garnering widespread critical acclaim; certain critics deemed it the finest of her career. Zoe Gahan of Vanity Fair found her "witty, sharp and devastating in the title role" and added that "it is hard to tell where Garland stops and Zellweger starts". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone opined, "Zellweger performs miracles playing Judy Garland: singing her heart out, baring her bruised soul and acting with a ferocity that ultimately rises to a state of grace." For Judy, Zellweger won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, BAFTA Award and Academy Award. Zellweger's win made her just the seventh actress to win an Oscar in both acting categories and the fourth to win Best Actress after Best Supporting Actress.
caption: Zellweger at the TIFF premiere of Judy (2019)
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