Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett AC (/ˈblæntʃɪt/ BLAN-chit;[2] born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor[a] and producer. Often regarded as one of the best performers of her generation, she is recognised for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters and the stage. Blanchett has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards and four Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award.
"Cate Upton" redirects here. Not to be confused with Kate Upton.
Cate Blanchett
A graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Blanchett began her career on the Australian stage. Making her feature film debut in 1997, she came to international prominence for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in the period drama Elizabeth (1998), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in the biopic The Aviator (2004) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in the comedy-drama Blue Jasmine (2013). Blanchett's other Oscar-nominated roles were in Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Carol (2015), and Tár (2022), making her the most-nominated Australian. Her biggest commercial successes include The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Cinderella (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Ocean's 8 (2018), and Don't Look Up (2021).
Blanchett has performed in over twenty stage productions. She and her husband, Andrew Upton, were the artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company from 2008 to 2013. Some of her stage roles during this period were in acclaimed revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya, Big and Little and The Maids. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 in The Present, for which she received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She has also received two Emmy Award nominations for producing and starring as Phyllis Schlafly in the period drama miniseries Mrs. America (2020).
Blanchett is the recipient of several honorary awards. The Australian government awarded her the Centenary Medal in 2001, and she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2017.[4] In 2012, she was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government. In 2015, she was honoured by the Museum of Modern Art and received the British Film Institute Fellowship. Blanchett has received honorary Doctor of Letters degrees from the University of New South Wales, University of Sydney and Macquarie University. Time named her one of its 100 most influential people in the world in 2007. In 2018, she was ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses.
Career[edit]
1992–2000: Early work and international breakthrough[edit]
Blanchett's first stage role was opposite Geoffrey Rush, in the 1992 David Mamet play Oleanna for the Sydney Theatre Company. That year, she was also cast as Clytemnestra in a production of Sophocles' Electra. A couple of weeks after rehearsals, the actress playing the title role pulled out, and director Lindy Davies cast Blanchett in the role. Her performance as Electra became one of her most acclaimed at NIDA.[11] In 1993, Blanchett was awarded the Sydney Theatre Critics' Best Newcomer Award for her performance in Timothy Daly's Kafka Dances and won Best Actress for her performance in Mamet's Oleanna, making her the first actor to win both categories in the same year.[11] Blanchett played the role of Ophelia in an acclaimed 1994–1995 Company B production of Hamlet directed by Neil Armfield, starring Rush and Richard Roxburgh, and was nominated for a Green Room Award.[20]
Her first screen appearance was in the 1994 TV miniseries Heartland[21] opposite Ernie Dingo, and she went on to appear in the miniseries Bordertown (1995) with Hugo Weaving, and in an episode of Police Rescue entitled "The Loaded Boy".[22][23] She also appeared in the 50-minute drama short film Parklands (1996), which received an Australian Film Institute (AFI) nomination for Best Original Screenplay.[24][25]
Blanchett made her feature film debut with a supporting role as an Australian nurse captured by the Japanese Army during World War II, in Bruce Beresford's film Paradise Road (1997), which co-starred Glenn Close and Frances McDormand.[13] The film made just over $2 million at the box office on a budget of $19 million and received mixed reviews from critics.[26][27] Her first leading role came later that year as eccentric heiress Lucinda Leplastrier in Gillian Armstrong's romantic drama Oscar and Lucinda (1997), opposite Ralph Fiennes.[13] Blanchett received wide acclaim for her performance,[18] with Emanuel Levy of Variety declaring, "luminous newcomer Blanchett, in a role originally intended for Judy Davis, is bound to become a major star".[28] She earned her first AFI Award nomination as Best Leading Actress for Oscar and Lucinda.[29] She won the AFI Best Actress Award in the same year for her starring role as Lizzie in the romantic comedy Thank God He Met Lizzie (1997), co-starring Richard Roxburgh and Frances O'Connor.[18]
Activism[edit]
Environmental[edit]
Blanchett has been a long term proponent of individual and collective action on climate change and other environmental issues. In 2006, she joined former US Vice-president Al Gore's Climate Project.[256][257] In 2007, Blanchett became the ambassador for the Australian Conservation Foundation.[258][259] She was made an honorary life member of the Australian Conservation Foundation in 2012, in recognition of her support for environmental issues.[256] At the beginning of 2011, Blanchett lent her support for a carbon tax.[260] She received some criticism for this, particularly from conservatives.[261][262] Blanchett is a patron of the international development charity SolarAid, which works to create a sustainable market for solar lights in Africa.[263]
From 2008 to 2011, the Sydney Theatre Company under the leadership of Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton, initiated a comprehensive large scale environmental program called Greening the Wharf, which invested in solar energy, rainwater harvesting, energy efficiency measures and best practice waste management.[264] The program won a Green Globe Award which was accepted by Blanchett and Upton.[265]
In January 2014, Blanchett took part in the Green Carpet Challenge, an initiative to raise the public profile of sustainable fashion, founded by Livia Firth of Eco-Age.[266][267] In September 2020, as part of her role as Jury President of the 77th Venice International Film Festival, Blanchett vowed that during the festival she would only wear outfits that she had previously worn at public events in an effort to highlight the issue of sustainability in the fashion industry.[268] In October of the same year, Blanchett was appointed by Prince William as a council member for the Earthshot Prize, which provides 50 environmental pioneers with the funds needed to further their work in tackling major problems impacting the environment.[269] In 2022, Blanchett launched the Climate of Change podcast on Audible together with Danny Kennedy to discuss climate change and the importance of preserving the environment.[270][271]
The ecohouse that Blanchett and Upton are having built in Mawgan Porth, Cornwall, on the site of a stone cottage they bought for £1.6 million and then demolished,[272] has been the subject of controversy, as the noise from its construction is alleged to have "destroyed the family holidays" of a number of people in 2023.[273] The couple's application to build an extension and space for parking had been described by a local resident as a "blatant attempt to erode an environmentally important piece of land by stealth and incorporate it".[273] The architects developing the site denied that anyone has been inconvenienced by the noise.[273]
Blanchett has appeared in over 70 films and over 20 theatre productions. As of 2019, Blanchett's films have grossed over $9.8 billion at the worldwide box office.[317] Her highest-grossing films include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Cinderella (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018).
Among her numerous accolades for her acting work, Blanchett has won two Academy Awards,[318][319] four BAFTA Awards,[320] four Golden Globe Awards,[321] and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.[322][323][324] Her performance as Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator made her the only actor to win an Academy Award for portraying an Academy Award-winning actor.[325][326] Blanchett is one of only four actresses to win the Academy Award for Best Actress after winning Best Supporting Actress.[118] She is the only actress (and one of only six actors) in Oscar history to be nominated twice for playing the same role in two films (Elizabeth I for Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age), and the eleventh actor to receive two acting nominations in the same year.[64][327] She is also the only Australian to win two acting Oscars.[328] Blanchett was also the first, and remains the only, woman born in Australia to win an acting Oscar.[b]
Blanchett has been recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the following performances:
Blanchett received Premiere magazine's Icon Award in 2006.[329] In 2008, she received the Santa Barbara International Film Festival Modern Master Award in recognition of her accomplishments in the film industry.[330] That year, she received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, inducted at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard outside Grauman's Egyptian Theater.[20] She received Women in Film and Television International's Crystal Award for excellence in the entertainment industry in 2014.[331] In 2015, Blanchett was honoured at the Museum of Modern Art's Film Benefit for her outstanding contributions to the industry.[332][333] She received the British Film Institute Fellowship in recognition of her outstanding contribution to film, presented to her by fellow actor Ian McKellen.[334][335] Blanchett was also the recipient of the AACTA Longford Lyell Award in 2015, for her "outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia's screen environment and culture."[336] In 2016, she received the Costume Designers Guild Lacoste Spotlight Award, in honour of an "enduring commitment to excellence" and her "appreciation for the artistry of costume design and collaboration with the Costume Designers."[337]
Blanchett was awarded the Centenary Medal for Service to Australian Society by the Australian government.[338] In 2012, she was appointed Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture, in recognition of her significant contributions to the arts.[339] In 2017, Blanchett was made a Companion of the Order of Australia by the Queen for "eminent service to the performing arts as an international stage and screen actor, through seminal contributions as director of artistic organisations, as a role model for women and young performers, and as a supporter of humanitarian and environmental causes."[4][340] She has been presented with honorary Doctor of Letters degree from the University of Sydney, the University of New South Wales and Macquarie University in recognition of her contribution to the arts, philanthropy and the community.[338][341] In 2022, she received the Honorary César award from the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma for her "absolutely remarkable career and personality".[342]