RACHEL WEISZ BIOGRAPHY

Rachel Weisz was encouraged to act by her mother Edith, who sent a photo of her daughter to Harpers And Queen and promptly landed her a modelling job. When she was 18, she studied at a RADA camp before going on to study English Literature at Cambridge. Having joined a theatre group so began her acting career in a number of student plays. One of these plays, ‘Talking Tongues’ went on to win a Guardian Award at the Edinburgh Festival.

Having been cast in a production of Noel Coward's ‘Design For Living’ at the Gielgud theatre in London, she won the London Critics' Circle Award for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’.

A number of low key television roles eventually led to film roles in ‘Stealing Beauty’ and ‘Chain Reaction’. However, Rachel often found it difficult to land to the right parts and her roles became few and far between.

Changing tack, she backed away from Hollywood and opted instead for a series of British films - ‘The Land Girls’, ‘I Want You’ and ‘My Summer With Des’.

In 1999, Rachel starred in ‘The Mummy’ which proved to be a huge blockbusting success. Her star status was now confirmed. Moving onto theatre she earned a Barclays Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress in the Tennessee Williams play ‘Suddenly Last Summer’.

Returning to film with ‘Enemy At The Gates’, she teamed up with Jude Law for this war epic, before bowing to Hollywood pressure and returning for a ‘Mummy’ sequel.

With a string of Hollywood and indie films under her belt, Rachel has managed to successfully juggle both a film and stage career on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2005, Weisz starred in the critically acclaimed film 'The Constant Gardner', which was set in the slums of Kibera in Kenya. The actress won a string of awards for her role in the movie, including the Golden Globe for best supporting actress. According to the Guardian, her performance in The Constant Gardner "established her in the front rank of British actors".

Weisz featured in a string of other movies over the next five years, including romantic drama 'The Fountain' and historical drama 'Agora'.

In 2010, the star featured in 'The Whistleblower', which made its debut at the Toronto Film Festival. She also appeared that year as a guest on 'The Simpsons'.

In November 2010, Weisz announced that she had split from her filmmaker partner Darren Aronofsky, who she began dating in 2001. The pair have a son, Henry Chance, who was born in 2006, and remain friends.

This year, the actress has starred in several films including 'Page Eight' - a contemporary spy film for the BBC also starring Bill Nighy and Michael Gambon.

She also plays Rose in the film '360' alongside Antony Hopkins, Jude Law, Ben Foster and Eminem. It looks at what happens when people from different social backgrounds engage in physical relationships.

Also set for release this year is 'The Deep Blue Sea', which sees Weisz play the wife of a British judge trapped in a self-destructive love affair with a Royal Air Force pilot.

On 30 September 2011, ‘Dream House’ will be released in the US. The thriller tells the story of a family who move into a new home and soon after discovers that a brutal crime was committed against the property's former dwellers.

Weisz stars in the film alongside Daniel Craig and Naomi Watts.

In 2012, the actress is set to appear in the ‘Bourne Legacy’.

At the start of 2011 it was widely reported that the actress started to date Bond star Daniel Craig. In June, the couple tied the knot in a secret wedding ceremony in New York with just four witnesses.