MOST TALENTED AND LUCKIEST CELEBRITIES
CATHERINE ZETA JONES
BIOGRAPHY SYNOPSIS:
It’s the classic story, in fact, the 42nd Street story: Unknown actress from
small town (in this case Mumbles, Wales) gets her big break when she goes on
in understudied role one night. She’s cast as the star (of 42nd Street) and
goes on to fame and fortune. Catherine Zeta Jones was an accomplished singer
and dancer as a youngster, touring with a local amateur performing troupe. At
age 11, she was playing the title role in local productions of Annie and, at
13, a lead role in Bugsy Malone. At 14 she was hired for a touring production
of The Pajama Game, and then moved to London to pursue acting full-time. She
moved up from second understudy to showstopping star in that West End
production of 42nd Street when only 16 years old. From London, the strikingly
beautiful actor traveled to France, and made her feature film debut in Les
1001 Nuits/Scheherazade (1990). In 1991, at 22 years of age, she took on the
role of the eldest daughter in the British television series, The Darling Buds
of May. During Darling Bud’s three-year run, she appeared in two American
productions, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (TV - 1992), and Christopher
Columbus: The Discovery (1992); and the British feature films Out of the Blue
(1991) and Splitting Hairs (1993). Before leaving England “to escape the
British tabloids,” Jones took to the London stage for an English National
Opera production of Street Scenes. A huge star in the United Kingdom, Jones
was almost unknown in Hollywood, but worked steadily through her first few
years with The Return of the Native (TV - 1994),The Cinder Path (1994),
Catherine The Great (TV mini-series - 1995), Blue Juice (1995), The Phantom
(1996), and Titanic (TV docu-drama - 1996). It was on the strength of that
Titanic performance that producer Steven Spielberg convinced the director of
Mask of Zorro to cast Jones as Zorro’s ‘Elena’. That swashbuckling heroine
role earned the actor a 1999 ShoWest award for Best Supporting Actress, and
led to roles in The Haunting (1999) and Entrapment (1999). Jones was awarded
the 1999 European People’s Choice Film Award for Best Actress for the latter.
Her popularity continued as she was named to People Magazine’s 10 Best-Dressed
List in September of 1999. Jones and fiancé, actor Michael Douglas, have
recently announced imminent joint-parenthood and wedding plans. Jones, in
fact, turned down a starring role in the upcoming Beyond Borders due to her
pregnancy. Set for release in 2000, though, are her films Traffic, High
Fidelity and The Tenth Victim. With a new production company (“Zeta”),
motherhood, marriage, and star-status, Jones has a full plate in the immediate
future. The actor, once described as “a smart piece of fluff,” is now a solid
Hollywood presence.