Rachel Weisz

Rachel Hannah Weisz is a British actress best known for role in Hollywood film ‘Chain Reaction’. She started modelling at a very young age and then took up acting during her years in Cambridge. She was known for being an ‘English Rose’ and debuted with the film ‘Death Machine’. She has starred in a number of movies including ‘The Mummy’ and its sequel, ‘Stealing Beauty’, ‘Enemy at the Gates’, ‘The Shape of Things’, ‘Constantine’, and ‘About a Boy’. She also won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild award in the Best Supporting Actress Category for her performance in ‘The Constant Gardner’. Apart from acting on the screen, she has performed on stage as well and has a liking for theatre. Her role in Noël Coward’s play ‘Design for Living’ garnered her praise from the audiences, as well as the critics. Her performance in the play earned her a number of awards including London Critic’s Circle Award for the most promising newcomer. She has also graced the covers of magazines like Esquire, InsideKENT, and Vogue.

• Rachel Hannah Weisz was born on March 7, 1970 in Westminster, London to parents George Weisz, a mechanical engineer and Edith Ruth, a psychotherapist. Her father is Jewish; her mother converted to Judaism before getting married.
• Her parents left for the United Kingdom during 1938 to escape the Nazis before the Second World War. Her father came from Hungary, while her mother is an Austrian. She has one sibling, a sister, Minnie Weisz who is a photographic artist.
• Rachel initially attended North London Collegiate School and later went on to attend Benenden School for a year. She then attended St Paul’s Girls School, completing her schooling with A-levels.
• She also studied at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and graduated with second class honors in Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
• Throughout her years as a student in Cambridge, Rachel appeared in several student productions and co-founded a drama group for students called ‘Cambridge Talking Tongues’. The group went on to win Guardian Student Drama Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1991. They had performed an improvised piece called Slight Possession. The group existed only a couple of years later after that.

   

  • Rachel started her career with modelling at the age of 14.
  • She first appeared on television in the film ‘Advocates II’ in 1992. She later went on to appear in episodes of ‘Inspector Morse’ and BBC’s ‘Scarlet and Black’.
  • In 1994, she made her film debut by appearing in ‘Death Machine’. Her first major movie role was in 1996’s ‘Chain Reaction’, in which she starred alongside Keanu Reeves and Morgan Freeman.
  • After this, she gained popularity and landed major roles in films including ‘Swept from the Sea’, ‘I want You’, ‘My Summer with Des’, and others.
  • She made headlines after rejecting an offer to work with Richard Gere in ‘King David’.
  • Rachel made a breakthrough with her role as Evelyn Carnahan, an English Egyptologist in ‘The Mummy’ opposite Brendan Fraser. The film opened to major success at the box office but did not impress the critics.
  • In 2003, she played Marlee in the film adaptation of John Grisham’s legal thriller novel ‘The Runaway Jury’, in which she starred with Dustin Hoffman, gene Hackman and John Cussack.
  • She also appeared in Constantine along with Keanu Reeves in 2005.
  • In 2005, she appeared in Fernando Meirelles’ ‘The Constant Gardener’, playing the role of an activist. The film was an adaptation of John le Carre’s thriller. The film received wide critical acclaim and Rachel was praised for her performance. She also won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award for the same.
  • She also lent her voice to Saphira the dragon in the 2006 fantasy film Eragon.
  • In 2010, she appeared in ‘The Whistleblower’ and received appreciation for her powerful performance. The film was based on a true story of human trafficking.
  • She also starred in 2012 action thriller film ‘The Bourne Legacy’ based on Robert Ludlum’s Jason Bourne series of books.
  • She recently appeared in the 2016 film, ‘The Light Between Oceans’ alongside Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender.