By Nicole Bernard
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Catherine Zeta-Jones CBE (/ˈziːtə/; born 25 September 1969) is a Welsh actress. Recognised for her versatility, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Tony Award. In 2010, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her film and humanitarian work.
Born and raised in Swansea, Zeta-Jones aspired to be an actress from a young age. As a child, she played roles in the West End productions of the musicals Annie and Bugsy Malone. She studied musical theatre at the Arts Educational Schools, London, and made her stage breakthrough with a leading role in a 1987 production of 42nd Street. Her screen debut came in the unsuccessful French-Italian film 1001 Nights (1990), and went on to find greater success as a regular in the British television series The Darling Buds of May (1991–1993). Dismayed at being typecast as the token pretty girl in British films, Zeta-Jones relocated to Los Angeles. She established herself in Hollywood with roles that highlighted her sex appeal, such as in the action film The Mask of Zorro (1998) and the heist film Entrapment (1999).
Zeta-Jones received critical acclaim for her performances as a vengeful pregnant woman in Traffic (2000) and a murderous singer in the musical Chicago (2002), winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the latter. She starred in high-profile films for much of the decade, including the black comedy Intolerable Cruelty (2003), the heist film Ocean’s Twelve (2004), the comedy The Terminal (2004), and the romantic comedy No Reservations (2007). Parts in smaller-scale features were followed by a decrease in workload, during which she returned to the stage and played an ageing actress in a Broadway production of A Little Night Music (2009), winning a Tony Award. Zeta-Jones worked intermittently in the subsequent decades, starring in the films Side Effects (2013), Red 2 (2013) and Dad’s Army (2016). She took on supporting roles in television, portraying Olivia de Havilland in Feud: Bette & Joan (2017) and Morticia Addams in Wednesday (2022–present).
Aside from acting, Zeta-Jones is a brand endorser and supports various charitable causes. Her struggle with depression and bipolar II disorder has been well documented by the media. She is married to actor Michael Douglas, with whom she has two children.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Question of the Day
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
On three legs I stand, And when taken in hand, My nose often points to the light. Inside I’m as black as any coal sack, But my outside is polished and bright. (1897) (What is being described?)
Candle snuffer
Born
- Francesco Borromini (architect) –
- Ole Roemer (astronomer) –
- Thomas Hunt Morgan (geneticist) –
- William Faulkner (author) –
- Robert Brackman (artist) –
- Marl Rothko (artist) –
- Shel Silverstein (author, humorist) –
- Barbara Walters (broadcast journalist ) –
- Juliet Prowse (actress) –
- Michael Douglas (actor) –
- Cheryl Tiegs (model) –
- Mark Hamill (actor) –
- Christopher Reeve (actor) –
- Heather Locklear (actress) –
- Will Smith (actor) –
- Catherine Zeta Jones (actress) –
- Matthew Hasselbeck (football player) –
- Antonia Gentry (actress) –
Died
- Felix-Gabriel Marchand (Quebec premier) –
- Mary Astor (actress) –
- George Plimpton (writer) –
- Don Adams (actor) –
- Andy Williams (singer) –
Events
- Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed Isthmus of Panama and sighted the Pacific Ocean–
- Publick Occurrences became the first newspaper in the United States”“–
- Zachary Taylor’s troops captured the Mexican city of Monterrey–
- Congress established Yosemite National Park in California–
- TAT-1 first transatlantic telephone cable to link North America and U.K.–
- Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, the first woman to hold the office–
- An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit northern Peru–
- A 20-foot wide, 3,699-pound pumpkin pie was baked and presented at the New Bremen, Ohio, annual Pumpkinfest. It was certified as the world’s largest pumpkin pie.–
- A 3.4-magnitude earthquake shook New Hampshire about 10 miles north of the capital city of Concord–
Weather
- Cut Bank, Montana, recorded 4 degrees below zero F.–
- Early snow flurries, Fort Wayne, Indiana–
COURTESY www.almanac.com
