MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Actresses Cate Blanchett

Often misspelled Kate Blanchett, this top Hollywood actress was born Catherine Elise Blanchett in Melbourne, Australia on May 14th, 1969

She was ten years old when her Texan father died, leaving her Australian mother to raise her and two other siblings. Blanchett later joined a local theater troupe while in her teens, but lost interest in drama to attend the University of Melbourne to study art history.

It was only later - when on a travel adventure in Egypt - when the acting bug bit again after she was cast as an extra in a boxing movie being shot nearby.Back in Sydney, Blanchett enrolled in the National Institute of Dramatic Art where she shone as an ingenue, and upon graduation launched her career in an award-winning stage performance appearing opposite actor Geoffrey Rush in Oleanna.

National recognition soon followed with such appearances in the Australian Broadcasting Commission's production of Heartland, and another award-winning performance in 1997 in Thank God He Met Lizzie.

A year later, Blanchett launched her Hollywood career when she burst upon the world scene in an internationally acclaimed performance in Elizabeth, for which she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Actress. Since then, Blanchett has established a reputation for fearlessness as she has taken on a variety of roles in such films as Pushing Tin with Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina Jolie, and alongside Jude Law and Matt Damon in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was a tremendous success for all concerned in 2001, and furthered Blanchett's reputation with Tolkien fans in her brief, powerful performance as Queen Galadriel.

In 2005, the actress was nominated for a Golden Globe, won best supporting actress at the SAG Awards and again for best supporting actress at the 2005 Oscar Awards for her portrayal of legendary actress Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

In 2006, she co-starred with actor Brad Pitt in the Golden Globe nominated Babel followed by another Oscar-nominated role as Best Supporting Actress opposite Judi Dench in Notes on a Scandal.

Cast in yet another chameleon-like role, Blanchett appeared as the young Bob Dylan in the musical biopic I'm Not There and also reprised her star-making role as Queen Elizabeth I in The Golden Age, both films released in 2007.

In 2008, the Australian-born actress appears opposite Harrison Ford as the "heavy" in "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" playing an evil Russian KGB agent.

Blanchett next appears in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" opposite Brad Pitt. Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the screenplay follows the bizarre tale of a man who ages backward from old age to infancy, and already has generated enormous Oscar buzz months before its release, scheduled for December 2008.

Cate Blanchett News - Links to breaking news and feature stories about the actress from various sources around the Web, from Topix.net

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel - Biography and photos of the actress in her role in The Lord of the Rings.

TheOneRing.net | Cate Blanchett as Galadriel - Vital stats, brief bio, quotes, and picture galleries chronicling her movie career.

Cate Blanchett - Yahoo! Movies - Biography, picture gallery, filmography, awards list, and links to related Web sites, messageboards and groups.