Renee Zellweger Trivia

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Birth name: Renée Kathleen Zellweger 

Date of birth: 25 April 1969 

Place of birth: Katy, Texas, USA 

Nickname: Zelly 

Height: 5′ 4″ (1.63 m) 

Spouse: Kenny Chesney (9 May 2005 – 20 December 2005).

• Swiss father, Norwegian mother.
• She is the daughter of Emil Eric Zellweger (a Swiss immigrant) and Kjellfrid Iren Andreassen (a Norwegian immigrant of Sami origin).
• After Zellweger graduated from university she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting.
• She was a cheerleader and gymnast, and participated in the drama club.
• She won supporting roles in films such as Dazed and Confused, Reality Bites, Empire Records, The Whole Wide World, 8 Seconds, and Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
• Chosen by ‘People Magazine’ as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [2001]
• She was a part of the Katy High School Bengal Brigade and Cheerleaders.
• Was in the bathroom when it was announced that she won the Golden Globe for her performance in Nurse Betty (2000).
• Named one of E!’s “top 20 entertainers of 2001″.
• With no dance or voice training, she learned how to perform for Chicago (2002) by watching co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones. She endured a grueling training regime of vocal coaching and dance training for 10 months to rise to professional standards.
• Her dog, Dylan, a collie-golden retriever mix, died in November 2003.
• While her mother is originally from Norway, her Swiss father was raised in Australia.
• Attended University of Texas at Austin, Graduated 1991, majoring in English.
• Worked as a cocktail waitress in a strip club while trying to catch her “big break” in acting.
• Had a non-speaking role in Dazed and Confused (1993).
• Prior to the filming of Chicago (2002), Renee had only sung previously in public in the last scene of Empire Records (1995) and in the comical karaoke scene in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001). However, critics were amazed how good her voice was in the movie.
• Lived with actor Rory Cochrane for four years.
• Gained 20 pounds for her role in Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001).
• Her Norwegian mother, Kjellfrid Irene Andreassen, is of sami origin (a minority originating mainly from the northern parts of the Scandinavian peninsula often referred to as Lapland). Zellweger herself has many typical sami features, such as the strong cheekbones and the squinty eyes.
• She became the first performer to win 2 individual (excluding best acting ensemble) SAG awards in film catagories.
• Is accompanied to many award shows and other functions by her long time agent John Carrabino.
• Her father (Emil Erich Zellweger) and her grandparents (Dorothy and Emil Zellweger) lived in Switzerland, a village called Au in the canton of St. Gallen. They left right after World War II and moved first to Australia and then to the U.S. Emil Erich met Renee’s mother on a boat during the crossing to the U.S.
• Ended her relationship with Jack White (they met during the filming of Cold Mountain (2003)) over the Christmas holidays in 2004.
• Married country singer Kenny Chesney on the resort island of St. John on the U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Her wedding ceremony lasted 15 minutes.
• Zellweger is a fan of Chelsea FC. 
• Met her future husband Kenny Chesney at a tsunami relief benefit in January 2005.
• Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [May 24, 2005].
• In 2004, she accepted the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role” on behalf of Johnny Depp, who wasn’t present at the awards ceremony
• She wore her favorite designer, Carolina Herrera, in her wedding to Kenny Chesney.
• Friend of Reese Witherspoon.
• Dyed her hair brown for her role in Cinderella Man (2005)
• Her father’s family comes from Au in canton St. Gallen/Switzerland. This is just a few minutes away from Rorschach where Emil Jannings was born, the very first actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor.
• Zellweger, together with Marc Forster, took part in the 2005 HIV prevention campaign of the Swiss federal health department. She’s shown with the text “No intercourse without a condom” and “Semen or blood – never in the mouth”.