Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett (born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor and director. Between 2008-2013, Blanchett was co-Artistic Director of Sydney Theatre Company with her husband Andrew Upton. Blanchett is also a successful film actor, having won an Academy Award for her performance in *The Aviator* and twice nominated for her performances in *Elizabeth: The Golden Age* and *I'm Not There.*

## Life and Career

Blanchett was born in Melbourne in 1969. Her first role was in 1992 as Electra in Sophocles' *Electra* while attending the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) as a student in 1992. She was originally cast as Clytemnestra. A couple of weeks in rehearsals, the actress playing Electra pulled out, and director Lindy Davies cast her in the title role. After graduating from NIDA, her first major stage role was in the 1993 David Mamet play *Oleanna* for the Sydney Theatre Company, opposite Geoffrey Rush. Also in 1993 Blanchett was awarded the Sydney Theatre Critics' Best Newcomer Award for her performance in Timothy Daly's *Kafka Dances* and won Best Actress for her performance in Mamet's *Oleanna*. She was the first person to win both categories at once. Her first Company B role was as Ophelia in an acclaimed 1994–95 production of *Hamlet* directed by Neil Armfield, starring Rush and Richard Roxburgh, and was nominated for a Green Room Award.

Much of her career following these first few years was dedicated to her film acting career, which saw her name become globally famous.

In 2008, Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton became the co-Artistic Directors of the Sydney Theatre Company (STC). Taking over from Robyn Nevin, Blanchett and Upton stamped their own unique style on the Company's annual program, attracting a number of high profile directors, playwrights and actors.

During her co-directorship of the STC, Blanchett also appeared as an actor in numerous successful performances. The most highly acclaimed of these was a production of Tennessee Williams's *A Streetcar Named Desire*, directed by Liv Ullman. Blanchett starred as Blanche DuBois, alongside Joel Edgerton as Stanley Kowalski. The production was a sell-out success. Following its run at the STC, the original cast toured the production to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. Blanchett's performance was particularly praised in many of the reviews, both from Sydney and the US. Blanchett won the Sydney Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the part.

In 2011, Blanchett joined the cast of two further STC productions. First, Lotte Kotte in a new translation of Botho Strauß's 1978 play *Groß und klein* (*Big and Small*) from Martin Crimp, directed by Benedict Andrews. This production also went on tour to London, Paris and Vienna.

Following this, she played Yelena, opposite Hugo Weaving and Richard Roxburgh, in Upton's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's *Uncle Vanya*.

In 2015, Blanchett played opposite Richard Roxburgh in *The Present*. The production enjoyed great critical acclaim during its run at the STC. When it travelled to Broadway in 2017, the production was met with mixed reviews from critics.

## Theatre Productions

### As Director

 2007
 2006

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 John Lahr, "Disappearing Act," *The New Yorker*, February 12 2007. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/02/12/disappearing-act
2. ↑ "Archive: Cate Blanchett," *Sydney Theatre Company Magazine*, 4 September 2014. https://www.sydneytheatre.com.au/magazine/posts/2014/september/archive-cate-blanchett
3. ↑ Robert Butler, "Theatre: What Cate did first," *The Independent*, September 11, 1999. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-what-cate-did-first-1118004.html
4. ↑ "Cate Blanchett - Hollywood Walk of Fame". Walk of Fame. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
5. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/stage/cate-blanchett-and-richard-roxburgh-receive-rave-reviews-in-broadway-debut-20170110-gtoocc.html
6. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cate\_Blanchett\_on\_screen\_and\_stage#cite\_note-80
7. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cate\_Blanchett\_on\_screen\_and\_stage#cite\_note-80