This three-time Oscar nominee is an indisputable A-list movie star, yet for years the comely blonde was dismissed as Mrs. Warren Beatty. After appearing in regional theater, Bening moved to New York and earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway debut in
Coastal Disturbances. But since she was over 30 when she began landing significant screen roles, she was too old to play the ingenue. Instead, Bening took on vampy supporting parts, including deliciously wicked turns in
Valmont and
The Grifters, the latter of which earned her an Academy Award nod. In 1991 she signed on to the project that would change her career and her life. Although
Bugsy wasn't a commercial success, it offered Bening her first genuine leading role, as a gangster's moll. It also introduced her to notorious ladies' man Warren Beatty, who ended up abandoning his wild ways to wed and raise a family with Bening. For the next three years, the actress chose family over films, and her 1994 return to cinema, the tepid romance
Love Affair opposite her husband, was far from triumphant. But the plucky player kept plugging away, appearing in one big project per year, and while some of them were misses (
The Siege,
In Dreams), many were hits — her emotionally raw performance in
American Beauty and her comical turn in
Being Julia were both rewarded with Oscar nominations. Her mid-forties found her at the top of her game, with a happy home life to boot.
Annette Bening Fast Facts:
- Played the lead in her junior high school's production of The Sound of Music.
- Spent some time as a cook on a charter boat.
- Annette Bening Relationships:
- Arnett Grant Bening - Father
- Benjamin Beatty - Son
- Bradley Bening - Brother
- Byron Bening - Brother
- Ella Corinne Beatty - Daughter
- Isabel Ira Ashley Beatty - Daughter
- J. Steven White - Ex-husband
- Jane Bening - Sister
- Kathlyn Elizabeth Bening Beatty - Daughter
- Shirley Bening - Mother
- Warren Beatty - Husband
- Annette Bening Awards:
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Nominee
- 1992 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama - Nominee
- 1996 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2005 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Winner
- 2007 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy - Nominee
- 2006 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie - Nominee
- 1999 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 2004 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role - Nominee
- 1990 Oscar: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role - Nominee
- 1987 Tony: Actress (Featured Role--Play) - Nominee
- College:
- San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA (BA in Theater); attended San Diego Mesa College, San Diego, CA
