Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett (born 14 May 1969) is an Academy Award-winning Australian actress and stage director. She has won various other acting awards, most notably two SAGs, two Golden Globe Awards and two BAFTAs, as well as the Volpi Cup at 64th Venice International Film Festival.

Blanchett came to international attention in the 1998 film Elizabeth, directed by Shekhar Kapur, in which she played Elizabeth I of England. She is also well known for her portrayals of the elf queen Galadriel in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Colonel-Doctor Irina Spalko in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role which brought her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She and her husband Andrew Upton are currently artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company.

Biography

Early life and education

Blanchett was born in Ivanhoe, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia, the daughter of June, an Australian property developer and teacher, and Robert "Bob" Blanchett, a Texas-born United States Navy Petty Officer who later worked as an advertising executive. The two met while Blanchett's father's ship was in Melbourne. When Blanchett was 10, she lost her father to a heart attack. She has described herself during childhood as "part extrovert, part wallflower". She has two siblings; her older brother, Bob, is a computer systems engineer, and her younger sister, Genevieve, worked as a theatrical designer and received her Bachelor of Design in Architecture in April 2008.

Blanchett attended primary school in Melbourne at Ivanhoe East Primary School before completing secondary education at Methodist Ladies' College, where she explored her passion for acting. She studied Economics and Fine Arts at the University of Melbourne before leaving Australia to travel overseas. When she was 18, Blanchett went on a vacation to Egypt. A fellow guest at a cheap hotel in Cairo asked if she wanted to be an extra in a movie, and the next day she found herself in a crowd scene cheering for an American boxer losing to an Egyptian in the film Kaboria, starring the late Egyptian actor Ahmed Zaki. Blanchett returned to Australia and later moved to Sydney to study at the National Institute of Dramatic Art; graduating in 1992 and beginning her career in the theatre.

Career

Her first major stage role was opposite Geoffrey Rush in the 1993 David Mamet play Oleanna, for which she won the Sydney Theatre Critics' Best Newcomer Award. She also appeared as Ophelia in an acclaimed 1994–95 Company B production of Hamlet, directed by Neil Armfield, starring Rush and Richard Roxburgh. Blanchett appeared in the TV mini-series Heartland opposite Ernie Dingo, the mini-series Bordertown, with Hugo Weaving, and in an episode of Police Rescue entitled "The Loaded Boy". She also appeared in the 1994 telemovie of Police Rescue as a teacher taken hostage by armed bandits and in the 50 minute drama Parklands (1996), which received a limited release in Australian cinemas.

Blanchett made her international film debut with a supporting role as an Australian nurse captured by the Japanese Army during WW2 in Bruce Beresford's 1997 film Paradise Road, which co-starred Glenn Close and Frances McDormand. Her first leading role, also in 1997, was as Lucinda Leplastrier in Gillian Armstrong's production of Oscar and Lucinda opposite Ralph Fiennes. Coincidentally, Peter Carey, the Booker Prize-winning Australian author of Oscar and Lucinda, had known Blanchett's father, Bob, when both worked in the advertising industry in Melbourne. Blanchett was nominated for her first Australian Film Institute Award as Best Leading Actress for this role but lost out to Pamela Rabe in The Well. She did, however, win an AFI Award as Supporting Actress in the same year for her role as Lizzie in the romantic-comedy Thank God He Met Lizzie, co-starring Richard Roxburgh and Frances O'Connor.

Her first high-profile international role was as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 movie Elizabeth, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Blanchett lost out to Gwyneth Paltrow for her role in Shakespeare in Love but won a British Academy (BAFTA) Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama. The following year, Blanchett was nominated for another BAFTA Award for her supporting role in The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Already an acclaimed actress, Blanchett received a host of new fans when she appeared in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. She played the role of the High Elf Queen Galadriel in all three films, which hold the record as the highest grossing film trilogy of all time.

In 2005, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator. This made Blanchett the first person ever to garner an Academy Award for playing a previous Oscar-winning actor/actress.

In 2006, she starred in both Babel opposite Brad Pitt, and Notes on a Scandal playing Sheba Hart opposite Dame Judi Dench. Coincidentally, Dench won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for playing Elizabeth I, the same year Blanchett lost for playing the same historical figure, albeit in a different category. Blanchett received her third Academy Award nomination for her performance in the film (Dench was also Oscar nominated).

In 2007, she won the Volpi Cup Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival and the Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for portraying one of six incarnations of Bob Dylan in Todd Haynes' feature film I'm Not There and reprised her role as Elizabeth I in the sequel to Elizabeth entitled Elizabeth: the Golden Age. At the 80th Annual Academy Awards Blanchett received two Academy Award nominations including Best Actress for Elizabeth: the Golden Age and Best Supporting Actress for I'm Not There, becoming only the eleventh actor to ever receive two acting nominations in the same year and the first female actor to receive another nomination for the reprisal of a role.

In 2007, Blanchett was named as one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People In The World and also one of the most successful actresses by Forbes magazine. She next starred in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull as the psychic KGB agent Col. Dr. Irina Spalko.

Blanchett and her husband commenced three-year contracts as artistic co-directors of the Sydney Theatre Company in January 2008. Their contracts include a clause that will allow either of them to take three months out of each year to pursue other activities. Blanchett made her stage directing debut in 2007 when she directed the play Blackbird for the Sydney Theatre Company.

Blanchett will next be seen on screen alongside Brad Pitt in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, at the end of the year.

Personal life

Blanchett's husband is playwright and screenwriter Andrew Upton, whom she met in 1996 while she was performing in a production of The Seagull. It was not love at first sight, however; "He thought I was aloof and I thought he was arrogant", Blanchett later remarked. "It just shows you how wrong you can be, but once he kissed me that was that." The two were married on 29 December 1997. Their first child, Dashiell John, was born on 3 December 2001; their second child, Roman Robert, was born on 23 April 2004 and on 13 April 2008, they welcomed their third son, Ignatius Martin Upton, in Sydney.

After making Brighton, England their main family home for much of the early 2000s, she and her husband returned to their native Australia. In November 2006, Blanchett stated that this was due to a desire to decide on a permanent home for her children, and to be closer to her family as well as a sense of belonging to the Australian (theatrical) community. She and her family live in "Bulwarra", an 1877 sandstone mansion in the harbourside Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill. It was purchased for $10.2 million Australian dollars in 2004 and underwent extensive renovations in 2007 in order to be made more "eco-friendly".

In 2006, a portrait of Cate Blanchett and family painted by McLean Edwards was a finalist in the Archibald Prize, which is awarded the "best portrait painting preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in Art, Letters, Science or Politics".

Blanchett is a Patron of the Sydney Film Festival. She works as the face of SK-II, the luxury skin care brand owned by Procter & Gamble. In 2007, Blanchett became the ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation's online campaign www.whoonearthcares.com — trying to persuade Australians to express their concerns about climate change. She is also the Patron of the development charity SolarAid.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes and awards
1994	Police Rescue: The Movie	Vivian
1996	Parklands	Rosie
1997	Oscar and Lucinda	Lucinda Leplastrier	Nominated - Australian Film Institute award, Best Lead Actress
	Thank God He Met Lizzie	Lizzie	Australian Film Institute award, Best Supporting Actress
	Paradise Road	Susan Macarthy
1998	Elizabeth	Queen Elizabeth I	Won - Golden Globe for Best Actress - Drama Won - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - SAG award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1999	Bangers	Julie-Anne
	The Talented Mr. Ripley	Meredith Logue	Nominated - BAFTA for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
	Pushing Tin	Connie Falzone
	An Ideal Husband	Lady Gertrude Chiltern
2000	The Gift	Annabelle "Annie" Wilson
	The Man Who Cried	Lola
2001	The Shipping News	Petal Quoyle
	Charlotte Gray	Charlotte Gray
	The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	Galadriel	Nominated - SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast
	Bandits	Kate Wheeler	Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Actress - Comedy or Musical Nominated - SAG award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2002	The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	Galadriel	Nominated - SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast
	Heaven	Philippa
2003	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	Galadriel	Won - SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast
	The Missing	Magdalena 'Maggie' Gilkeson
	Coffee and Cigarettes	Herself & Shelly
	Veronica Guerin	Veronica Guerin	Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Actress - Drama
2004	The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou	Jane Winslett-Richardson
	The Aviator	Katharine Hepburn	Won - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Won - BAFTA award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Won - SAG award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress
2005	Little Fish	Tracy Heart	Won - Australian Film Institute award for Best Lead Actress
2006	Babel	Susan Jones	Nominated - SAG award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
	The Good German	Lena Brandt
	Notes on a Scandal	Sheba Hart	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - SAG for Best Supporting Actress
2007	Hot Fuzz	Janine	Uncredited Cameo
	Elizabeth: The Golden Age	Queen Elizabeth I	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Actress - Drama Nominated - SAG award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
	I'm Not There	Jude Quinn (Bob Dylan)	Won - Volpi Cup for Best Actress Won - Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress Won - Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - SAG award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
2008	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	Colonel Doctor Irina Spalko
	The Curious Case of Benjamin Button	Daisy	awaiting release
2009	''Fantastic Mr. Fox	Mrs. Fox (voice)	post-production

Awards and nominations

• Academy Awards:
1. 1998: Best Actress (Elizabeth, nominee)
2. 2004: Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator, winner)
3. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
4. 2007: Best Actress (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, nominee)
5. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, nominee)

• BAFTA Awards:
1. 1998: Best Actress (Elizabeth, winner)
2. 1999: Best Supporting Actress (The Talented Mr. Ripley, nominee)
3. 2004: Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator, winner)
4. 2007: Best Actress (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, nominee)
5. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, nominee)

• Broadcast Film Critics Association:
1. 1998: Best Actress (Elizabeth, winner)
2. 2003: Best Cast (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, winner)
3. 2004: Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator, nominee)
4. 2004: Best Cast (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, nominee)
5. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
6. 2007: Best Actress (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, nominee)
7. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, nominee)

• Chicago Film Critics Association:
1. 1998: Best Actress (Elizabeth, winner)
2. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
3. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, winner)

• Golden Globe Awards:
1. 1999: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Elizabeth, winner)
2. 2001: Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (Bandits, nominee)
3. 2003: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Veronica Guerin, nominee)
4. 2004: Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator, nominee)
5. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
6. 2007: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, nominee)
7. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, winner)

• Satellite Awards:
1. 1998: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Elizabeth, winner)
2. 2007: Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (An Ideal Husband, nominee)
3. 2001: Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama (Charlotte Gray, nominee)
4. 2004: Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Drama (The Aviator, nominee)
5. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
6. 2007: Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (I'm Not There, nominee)

• Screen Actors Guild:
1. 1998: Best Actress (Elizabeth, nominee)
2. 2001: Best Supporting Actress (Bandits, nominee)
3. 2001: Best Cast (The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, nominee)
4. 2002: Best Cast (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, nominee)
5. 2003: Best Cast (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, winner)
6. 2004: Best Supporting Actress (The Aviator, winner)
7. 2004: Best Cast (The Aviator, nominee)
8. 2006: Best Supporting Actress (Notes on a Scandal, nominee)
9. 2006: Best Cast (Babel, nominee)
10. 2007: Best Actress (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, nominee)
11. 2007: Best Supporting Actress (I'm Not There, nominee)

• Venice Film Festival:
1. 2007: Volpi Cup - Best Actress (I'm Not There, winner)

Academy Award
BAFTA Award
Golden Globe Award
Screen Actors Guild Award
Venice Film Festival

Theatre Credits and Awards

Year	Play	Location	Role	Notes and Awards
pre-1992	The Odyssey of Runyon Jones	Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne	Unknown	Adaption of the famous play by Norman Corwin.
pre-1992	They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?	Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne	Director	She directed her fellow students in a production of the novel by Horace McCoy.
1992	Electra	National Institute of Dramatic Art, Melbourne	Electra	She played the lead in this play by Sophocles. Her director, Lindy Davies, was sharing a house with Geoffrey Rush, and urged him to come and see this “astonishing young woman.” He did, and shared sentiments. He later recounted this to Blanchett.
1992/1993	Top Girls	Sydney Theatre Company	Unknown	After graduading from the NIDA, she joined the Sydney Theatre Company. This play by Caryl Churchill was the first one she starred in.
1993	Oleanna	Sydney Theatre Company	Carol	She played the lead opposite Geoffrey Rush in David Mamet's play about a university professor who is accused of sexual harassment by a student. She initially believed it to be a "misogynist piece of crap", and her anger inspired her in the role. She picked up her second award of the year for the role: the Rosemont Best Actress Award.
1994	Hamlet	Belvoir Street Theatre Company	Ophelia	Once again, she played the lead opposite Geoffrey Rush. It was a Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield.
1995	Sweet Phoebe	Sydney Theatre Company and the Warehouse Theatre, Croydon.	Helen	She played the lead in the Belvoir Street Theatre/Playbox Theatre co-production, written and directed by Michael Gow. The Sydney production was the first ever, then transferred to the West End.
1995	The Tempest	Belvoir Street Theatre Company	Miranda	A Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield. Cate played alongside Duxton Chevalier, who was previously in the 1994 TV Movie Police Rescue with her.
1995	The Blind Giant is Dancing	Belvoir Street Theatre Company	Rose Draper	Played alongside Hugo Weaving among others in this Stephen Sewell play. It opened on 15 August 1995, and closed on 10 September 1995. It was a Company B production, directed by Neil Armfield, with music composed by Paul Charlier.
1997	The Seagull, a.k.a. The Seagull in Harry Hills	Belvoir Street Theatre Company	Nina	Played a lead in the Anton Checkov play. It opened on March the 4th, 1997, and closed on April the 13th. It was a Company B Production, directed by Neil Armfield, music composed by Ian McDonald.
1999	Plenty	The Alemida Season at the Albery Theatre, London	Susan Traherne	She played the lead in the play by David Hare, directed by Jonathan Kent. It opened on 27 April 1999, and closed on July the 27th. The play, about twenty years of a woman's life, starting with her being in the French resistance in the 40s, was the first London production since its premiere at the National Theatre 21 years previously.
1999	The Vagina Monologues	The Old Vic Theatre, London	Unknown	She took part in the show in February 1999, alongside other celebrities, including Melanie Griffith.
2004	Hedda Gabler	Sydney Theatre Company	Hedda Gabler	Her performance in this Henrik Ibsen play is her last to date. It opened on 22 July 2004, and closed on 26 September 2004. She reprised her performance as Hedda in New York in March 2006, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theatre.
2008	The War of the Roses	Sydney Theatre Company
2009	A Streetcar Named Desire	Sydney Theatre Company	Blanche DuBois	The play will be directed by actress Liv Ullman and costar Joel Edgerton.

References

External links

• CateBlanchett.com - Updated Daily
• Cate Blanchett - Australian Film Commission
• Cate Blanchett: A Life in Pictures, BAFTA webcast
• Interview: Recent article about Cate's environmental renovation to her Australian home
• Cate Blanchett online theatrical performance "The Crossing"