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Annette Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning actress.

Early life

She was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Arnett Grant Bening (born 1926) and Shirley Bening (born 1930). Her sister and two brothers are Jane Bening (born 1953), Bradley Bening (born 1955) and Byron Bening (born 1957). Her father worked for an insurance company. The family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood.

In 1965, Annette's father took a job with a company in San Diego, California, and they moved there. She began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in The Sound of Music. She studied drama at Patrick Henry High School and graduated in three years. (Patrick Henry was a three-year high school; in the 90's it was changed to a four-year school and its "feeder" schools switched to three-year schools for grades 6-8.)

She then spent a year working as a cook on a charter boat taking fishing parties out on the Pacific Ocean, and scuba diving for recreation. She attended San Diego Mesa College, then completed an academic degree in theatre arts at San Francisco State University. Bening joined the acting company at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while studying acting as part of the Advanced Theatre Training Program. During this time she established herself as a formidable acting talent in roles like Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.

Personal life

In 1985, she and her first husband, choreographer J. Steven White, moved to Denver, Colorado, to work at the Shakespeare Festival in Boulder, Colorado. They separated the following year.

She and Warren Beatty met on the set of Bugsy (1991), in which she played Virginia Hill, and the two began a secret romance. They married in 1992. She and Beatty live in Los Angeles with their four children, Kathlyn Elizabeth Beatty (born 1992), Benjamin McLaine Beatty (born 1994), Isabel Ira Ashley Beatty (born 1997) and Ella Corinne Beatty (born 2000). Bening is the sister-in-law of Shirley MacLaine.

Career highlights

Bening moved to New York City, where she debuted off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre in the role of 'Holly Dancer' in Tina Howe's widely acclaimed Coastal Disturbances (1987). However, despite the praise and recognition, it took some time for that success to translate to her film career.

Her television debut was with the made-for-TV movie Manhunt for Claude Dallas (1986). Her first major role in a theatrical feature was in The Great Outdoors (1988) playing 'Kate Craig' opposite Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Her next role was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989) opposite Colin Firth.

Bening's next major feature, Stephen Frears's The Grifters (1990) starring Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, met with critical acclaim. She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Grifters. She followed that with her appearance in Bugsy.

Bening was paid $3 million to play the role of 'Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger' in The Siege (1998) co-starring Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis. Her next role, in the 1999 film American Beauty, would give her the highest-profile role of her career thus far.

Bening's next appearance is in the film adaptation of the Augusten Burroughs book, Running With Scissors.

Awards and recognition

She received Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role for American Beauty and for Being Julia (2004). She would lose both times, coincidentally, to Hilary Swank.

Bening won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy for Being Julia, in which she played a 1930s stage actress in mid-career and mid-life crises.

Bening was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in Coastal Disturbances, and won a Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Performance.

She recently received an 2006 Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or T.V. Movie for her work on Mrs. Harris.

Bening's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is located at 6927 Hollywood Boulevard in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre

Other credits

• She has also done voice work for animation, such as that of Abigail Adams in the TV series Liberty's Kids: Est. 1776 (2002).
• Bening is a council member for the California Arts Council.

Trivia

• Bening was offered the role as Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992), but after she became pregnant, the role went to Michelle Pfeiffer.
• Bening played a real-estate agent in three different movies: Regarding Henry, American Beauty and What Planet Are You From?.
• She has appeared in three different Mike Nichols' movies: Postcards From The Edge, Regarding Henry and What Planet Are You From?
• Often rumored to be the model for the current incarnation of the Columbia Pictures logo, but is not. Jennifer Joseph was the model for the Columbia Pictures logo.
• Bening appeared in a cameo role as herself in the 11th episode of the 5th season of the HBO series, The Sopranos.
• She was originally cast as the mother in Disney's Freaky Friday but dropped out
• Annette also replaced Julianne Moore in Running With Scissors as Deirdre Burroughs.

Filmography

• The Great Outdoors (1988) ... Kate Craig
• Valmont (1989) ... Merteuil
• Postcards from the Edge (1990) ... Evelyn Ames
• The Grifters (1990) ... Myra Langtry
• Guilty by Suspicion (1991) ... Ruth Merrill
• Regarding Henry (1991) ... Sarah Turner
• Bugsy (1991) ... Virginia Hill
• Love Affair (1994) ... Terry McKay
• Richard III (1995) ... Queen Elizabeth
• The American President (1995) ... Sydney Ellen Wade
• Mars Attacks! (1996) ... Barbara Land
• The Siege (1998) ... Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger
• In Dreams (1999) ... Claire Cooper
• American Beauty (1999) ... Carolyn Burnham
• What Planet Are You From? (2000) ... Susan Anderson
• Open Range (2003) ... Sue Barlow
• Being Julia (2004) ... Julia Lambert
• Mrs. Harris (2005) ... Jean Harris
• Running with Scissors (2006) ... Deirdre Burroughs

References

• Roger Ebert [1] "Movie Answer Man: Hail, Columbia! Mystery solved". Retrieved Aug. 27, 2005.

External links

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