Renée Kathleen Zellweger (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards, she was one of the world's highest-paid actresses by 2007. Born and raised in Texas, Zellweger studied English literature at the University of Texas at Austin. Initially aspiring for a career in journalism, she was drawn to acting following her brief work on stage while in college. Following minor roles in Dazed and Confused (1993) and Reality Bites (1994), her first starring role came with the slasher film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation (1994). She rose to prominence with starring roles in the romantic comedy Jerry Maguire (1996), the drama One True Thing (1998), and the black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), winning a Golden Globe Award for the last of these. For portraying Bridget Jones in the romantic comedy Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) and Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago (2002), Zellweger gained consecutive nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing a loquacious farmer in the war film Cold Mountain (2003). She reprised her role as Jones in the sequel Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004), and, following a career downturn and hiatus, in Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). In 2019, Zellweger starred in her first major television role in the Netflix series What/If, and portrayed Judy Garland in the biopic Judy, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has since starred as Pam Hupp in the NBC crime miniseries The Thing About Pam (2022).

Filmography

• 2025Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy — Bridget Jones, Executive Producer
• 2025They — Director, Writer, Producer
• The Thing About Pam — Pam Hupp, Executive Producer
• Only Murders in the Building — Camila White
• 2019Judy — Judy Garland
• WHAT / IF — Anne Montgomery
• 2018Here and Now — Tessa
• 2017Same Kind of Different as Me — Deborah Hall
• 2016Bridget Jones's Baby — Bridget
• 2016The Whole Truth — Loretta Lassiter
• 2010My Own Love Song — Jane Wyatt
• 2009Case 39 — Emily Jenkins
• 2009Monsters vs Aliens — Katie (voice)
• 2009My One and Only — Anne Deveraux
• 2009New in Town — Lucy Hill
• 2009Planet 51 — Lem's Mom (voice)
• 2008Appaloosa — Allie
• 2008Leatherheads — Lexie Littleton
• 2008Living Proof — Executive Producer
• 2007Bee Movie — Vanessa Bloome (voice)
• 2006Miss Potter — Beatrix Potter, Executive Producer
• 2005Cinderella Man — Mae Braddock
• 2005Club Oscar — Angie (voice)
• 2004Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason — Bridget
• 2004Shark Tale — Angie (voice)
• 2003Cold Mountain — Ruby Thewes
• 2003Down with Love — Barbara Novak
• 2002Chicago — Roxie Hart
• 2002White Oleander — Claire Richards
• 2001Bridget Jones's Diary — Bridget Jones
• 2000Me, Myself & Irene — Irene P. Waters
• 2000Nurse Betty — Betty
• 1999The Bachelor — Anne
• 1998A Price Above Rubies — Sonia Horowitz
• 1998One True Thing — Ellen Gulden
• 1997Deceiver — Elizabeth
• King of the Hill — Tammy Duvall (voice)
• 1996Jerry Maguire — Dorothy Boyd
• 1996The Whole Wide World — Novalyne Price
• 1995Empire Records — Gina
• 1995The Low Life — Poet
• 1995The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre — Jenny
• 19948 Seconds — Buckle Bunny
• 1994Love and a .45 — Starlene Cheatham
• 1994Reality Bites — Tami
• Rebel Highway — Susan Doyle
• 1994Shake, Rattle and Rock! — Susan
• 1993Dazed and Confused — Girl in Blue Truck (uncredited)
• Murder in the Heartland
• 1992A Taste for Killing — Mary Lou
• A Woman in the Sun — Claire Keating, Producer
• Phantom Son — Audrey, Executive Producer

Appearances as themselves (30)

• 2023Art-House America: Austin Film Society — Self
• 2020Being Bridget Jones — Self
• 2020Bombshell in Concert — Self
• The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
• 2016Queen Mimi — Self
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter — Self
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert — Self - Guest
• 2014Chicago in the Spotlight: A Retrospective with the Cast and Crew — Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon — Self
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors — Self
• The Jonathan Ross Show — Self
• 2008Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History — Self
• 2008Hope and Miracles: The Making of 'Living Proof' — Self
• 2007ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway — Self
• The Graham Norton Show — Self
• Parkinson — Self - Guest, Self - Guest (archive footage)
• 2003Declaration of Independence — Self
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! — Self - Guest
• The Ellen DeGeneres Show — Self
• 2002Making of Chicago — Self
• 2000Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth — Self (archive footage)
• Rove — Self
• 1996The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Documentary — Self
• Inside the Actors Studio — Self
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien — Self - Guest
• Late Show with David Letterman — Self - Guest
• Goldene Kamera — Self
• Entertainment Tonight — Self
• Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
• The Oscars — Self