Is there an actress in all of Hollywood more diverse than two-time Oscar winner Cate Blanchett? Having barely moved to California from her native Australia, Blanchett was immediately able to prove that she was a real chameleon. Kate managed to try on the roles of a monarch, a legend of the music industry, an elf and even the goddess of death. And in her latest project, the TV series Mrs. America, she played an ultra-conservative lawyer.
On September 20, the Emmy Award will be presented, for which Blanchett was nominated for her role in Mrs. America, and on September 2, the Venice Film Festival will start, where the actress will head the jury. We admire Cate Blanchett's talent and remember her most striking roles.
"Oscar and Lucinda", 1997
The film with which Cate Blanchett began her ascent to Hollywood Olympus. In this film, she plays Lucinda, a rich heiress who meets a poor priest at a card table and offers him a bet. Lucinda gave Kate not only critical praise, but also the leading role in the film Elizabeth. Director Shekhar Kapur saw the trailer for “Oscar and Lucinda” while searching for the leading actress and immediately knew that she was needed, Cate Blanchett.
Still from the film “Oscar and Lucinda”
Cate Blanchett
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Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett
has Australian citizenship. She was born on May 14, 1969 in Melbourne. In addition to the future celebrity, the family had two more children. Her father died when Kate was ten years old. The entire responsibility for providing for three children fell on the mother, who works as a teacher at school.
As a schoolgirl, Kate began attending drama classes. After graduating from school, she entered the Faculty of Economics at the University of Melbourne. However, after a year she realized that this specialty was not her calling and dropped out of school. She decided to try her luck in Egypt, where she arrived without money in her pocket. She had to work as a waitress in a restaurant. The proceeds were barely enough for food and housing. One fine day, she was accidentally offered to act as an extra in one of the films. Cate Blanchett
I received, although small, the first fee in my life.
Arriving home, Kate applies for admission to the Institute of Dramatic Art, successfully graduates in 1992 and becomes a member of the Sydney Theater Company. A year later, Cate Blanchett
won two awards as best actress. Critics appreciated it. This was largely achieved thanks to his successful role in the popular youth television series “Motherland at the Border” and “The Road”. At the same time, she does not stop playing roles in the theater. Directors began offering Kate leading roles in films. The first of these was “Parklands” in 1996, the role in which required complete emotional commitment from the performer. Read more
In 1997, two films starring Cate Blanchett
: “Another Paradise” and “Thank God He Met Lizzie.”
A year later, the actress’s success was appreciated by film critics, and she was nominated for the first time at the Golden Globe and Oscar for her role in “Elizabeth.” In 1999, Kate became surrounded by established Hollywood celebrities; she was lucky enough to star with Jolie, Moore, and Cusack. The actress's real fame came from her role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Among other films, remembered for the presence of Cate Blanchett,
are “Robin Hood”, “The Aviator”, “The Hobbit”, etc.
Personal life of Cate Blanchett
is doing better than most Hollywood stars. She connected her life with screenwriter Andrew Upton in 1997, with whom she lives happily to this day. She has three sons, the last of whom was born in 2008.
"Elizabeth", 1998
The role that brought Cate Blanchett fame and an Oscar nomination was the image of the Virgin Queen, for which only the lazy did not praise Cate at the time. It was with “Elizabeth” that she announced herself in the Hollywood Hills. Then the actress was 28 years old, and she played a 52-year-old queen - Kate did not get any images of a beautiful and seductive ingénue in Hollywood. The career began with a serious statement.
The film was shot after the death of Princess Diana - then the issue of the privacy of the monarch's private life was especially acute. And the Australian, still a little-known actress, coped with the role of the shining queen in armor with an A plus.
Still from the film “Elizabeth”
© Polygram/Kobal/Shutterstock
Her Majesty
In 1998, Blanchett starred as Queen Elizabeth in the film of the same name. And it was a breakthrough: the first Oscar nomination and the first Golden Globe. Why did they choose an actress practically unknown outside Australia, essentially a foreigner? It is believed that the unique portrait resemblance contributed, ideally falling into the type of red-haired queen. She reprized the role of Elizabeth I in The Golden Age (2007). It is curious that Blanchett received her first Oscar (for Best Supporting Actress) for her role as the legendary Hollywood film star of the 30s and 40s Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, and Hepburn’s favorite film role was Mary of Scotland, Elizabeth’s arch-rival .
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, 2008
The actress's portrayal of the Soviet intelligence agent and villainess Irina Spalko in Steven Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was a great success (by the way, this was not her first role as a Russian woman - back in Australia in 1997, she played Nina from The Seagull Chekhov). The director, after the release of the film, called Irina his favorite villain, separately noting Kate’s merits as a “master of disguise.” By the way, Spalko’s signature bob is the idea of the actress herself; she picked it up from Rosa Klebb from the James Bond film “From Russia with Love.”
Still from the movie "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull"
International man of mystery
Kate played Russians twice: in Sally Potter’s melodrama “The Man Who Cried” (where her partner was Oleg Yankovsky) and in Steven Spielberg’s “The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”, where her name was Irina Spalko. She happened to play a man, however, many believe that in the battle for a unique role, the trump card was not some undoubted androgyny and otherworldly appearance of Blanchett, but her striking portrait resemblance to Bob Dylan. Although her character in Todd Haynes's I'm Not There is simply called Jude, it is assumed that this is at least the lyrical alter ego of the poet and rock performer. Again, few people suspected back in 2008 that she was playing not just a cult rocker, but a future Nobel laureate in literature. For this role, Kate received the prestigious Volpi Cup at the Venice International Film Festival and her next, one of three, Golden Globe. It is all the more honorable that Blanchett received her second and main Oscar for her role as a completely ordinary woman - in Woody Allen’s drama Jasmine (2013).
Her latest appearance from the category of “breaking the stereotype” is in the performance film “Magnifesto”, where Blanchett reads the manifestos of thirteen artists (and others) who changed the world in the twentieth century. And in parallel - filming in “Ocean’s Eight” and creating the image of Kaa in the film adaptation of “Mowgli” for Netflix. Cate Blanchett is not afraid to take risks.
"Jasmine", 2013
Woody Allen's Jasmine is a woman of fine spiritual organization who, out of jealousy, put her husband in prison, bankrupted her family and came to her sister for a reboot. Now the heroine has to put up with life in the middle class and make plans for the future in the company of gin and vodka. The nervous and infinitely beautiful Jasmine is another undoubted success of Cate Blanchett, supported by awards for Best Actress - at the Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Still from the film “Jasmine”
Cate Blanchett and Oscar 2016
The end of February 2020 marked a long-awaited and exciting event: the annual Oscar ceremony. At the appointed time, the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles opened its doors to the previously announced nominees and numerous guests of this magnificent celebration. Among the most anticipated candidates for Oscar 2020 was the talented Australian actress and incredible beauty Cate Blanchett. Among other nominees, her candidacy was nominated in the category “best actress” for her role in the film “Carol.”
About the film
The retro melodrama Carol, directed by Todd Haynes, released in 2020, tells the story of an eternal and elusive value - love. The plot is based on the lesbian love of two dissimilar women from different social classes. Their acquaintance in a toy store became a banal accident, which was destined to develop into the birth of an uncontrollable and all-consuming feeling. By the way, the gender of the lovers plays only a secondary role in this beautiful story. This direction of the plot was rather to the advantage of the director, since melodrama as a genre has not been taken seriously by true connoisseurs of cinema for a long time.
This amazing opportunity was provided to Todd Haynes by the famous writer Patricia Highsmith in the middle of the last century. After successfully publishing detective stories, she suddenly decided to turn to melodrama and, unexpectedly for everyone, wrote a novel called “The Price of Salt.” The theme of homosexuality presented in the work seemed at that time a complete strangeness. Then it was decided to publish the novel under the name of a fictitious author. The book was a great success and sold millions of copies. Later, the novel was reissued and published under the name of the real author, and the title was replaced with the laconic “Carol” - the name of one of the main characters, played by Cate Blanchett.
This year, the film of the same name “Carol” by Todd Haynes was presented in a number of key nominations, but was defeated in the Oscar race. In the “best actress” category, Oscar winner Cate Blanchett was beaten by young Brie Larson, who took the award for her role in the film “Room”.
Despite the fact that the film “Carol” was not awarded any awards, it should be noted that it received a positive assessment from film critics. The creators of the film immerse the viewer in a truly recreated era of the 50s of the last century, where the story of the life and love of two women, at the same time different and the same as us, unfolds in a panorama. It is noteworthy that all the scenes of the film are shot as if by chance, giving the observer the opportunity to see episodes from the personal lives of the main characters through a keyhole, behind the glass of a cafe or from over the shoulder of one of the women. This detective message brings some intrigue to the picture and makes you feel like a random witness to real events in the lives of real people.
Appearance on the red carpet
The beautiful Cate Blanchett, a 46-year-old actress with an amazing elfin appearance, appeared at the 2016 Oscars ceremony in a fabulously delicate mint-colored dress embroidered with flowers. The luxurious outfit and laconic “Hollywood wave” hairstyle were accompanied by massive diamond jewelry and a charming smile.
A beauty in any look: the beauty evolution of Cate Blanchett
Australian actress Cate Blanchett has played many roles: both devils and queens. In every image she is recognizable, but at the same time unique. But has it always been this way? Do all looks suit Kate so well? Let's understand our material!
In 2000, the star appeared before the public with a short, boyish haircut, which emphasized her perky eyes. Some people think Kate looks like a tomboy in this look, but unfortunately, not everyone wears makeup. It is clear from the actress that she used foundation, lip gloss and emphasized her eyelashes.
And the very next year the star appeared before the public with long red hair and freckles. Sometimes it seems that Kate suits any hair color and hairstyle. Many people think that in this image the star looks very cozy and cute, and such “no makeup” makeup only enhances her beauty. However, at 31 years old, all are beauties.
In 2007, the star came to the film awards with short blond hair styled in Hollywood waves. Makeup artists note that the star wears very trendy makeup to this day: darkening the outer corner of the eyes suits many women. Thanks to this technique, you can emphasize your eyes without looking like a panda.
In 2014, Kate, even at official events, does not betray herself: an even tone, lipstick the color of her lips, but a little better, and brown smokey eyes. Thanks to the natural shades used in Kate's makeup, expression lines become less noticeable. The star is probably also painted with transparency powder, which masks wrinkles for cameras.
And two years later, many noticed age-related changes on Kate’s face: the contour of her face “swollen”, wrinkles near the eyes became more obvious. At the same time, the star holds her head proudly, recognizing her own aging. By the way, many Western stars of the first magnitude prefer natural aging only because they acquire a new character.
In 2018, many again noted that Cate Blanchett had noticeably become prettier and fresher. Some believe that she had several “beauty injections”, others believe that she had plastic surgery. We probably won’t know what Kate did to herself. But it is noteworthy that the actress again prefers light shades in makeup, which do not emphasize her imperfections.
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