Annette Bening biography
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[h3]The youngest of four children, she was born Carol Annette Bening, to father, Arnett Grant Bening, who worked for an insurance company and mother, Shirley. Her siblings are Jane, Bradley, and Byron. The year following her birth, the family moved in 1959 to Wichita, Kansas. They remained there for six years before Bening’s father found work with a company in San Diego, California, where the family moved in 1965.[/h3]

Rather a shy young girl, Bening was always polite and friendly. Her interest in acting began at a young age and it was in junior high school that she played the lead role in the school’s production of ‘The Sound of Music’. She then went on to study drama at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego. Following her graduation, Bening took some time out from studies and worked as a cook with a charter boat company. She went out on the Pacific Ocean with groups of people going fishing and scuba diving.

After a year of doing this, Bening decided to attend San Diego Mesa College, before completing an academic degree in Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University. She then joined the American Conservatory Theatre acting company in San Francisco, studying acting as part of their Advanced Theatre Training Programme. She spent several years there, both as a student and a teacher, and became recognised as a truly talented actress in roles such as Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth.

In 1984, Bening married her first husband, choreographer J. Steven White. In 1985, the couple moved to Denver, Colorado but they separated in 1986 and divorced in 1991. In 1986, Bening made her television debut in ‘Manhunt for Claude Dallas’ (1986). In 1987 she moved to New York City and made her off-Broadway debut as Holly Dancer in Tina Howe’s highly acclaimed ‘Coastal Disturbances’ (1987), being nominated for a Tony Award and winning a Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Performance.

Moving to Los Angeles to concentrate on her movie career, Bening made her feature film debut as Kate Craig in the comedy ‘The Great Outdoors’ (1988), co-starring [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/964:0/Dan_Aykroyd.htm]Dan Ackroyd[/urlnew] and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/962:0/John_Candy.htm]John Candy[/urlnew]. She was then cast as the Marquise de Merteuil, opposite Colin Firth, in ‘Valmont’ (1989), which was based on the same novel as ‘Dangerous Liaisons’ (1988) but was not as successful. Her next film proved to be a huge boost to her career when she played Myra Langtry, with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1769:0/John_Cusack.htm]John Cusack[/urlnew] and Angelica Huston in the critically acclaimed ‘The Grifters’ (1990). Bening received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for this performance.

She was listed as one of the 12 Promising New Actors in John Willis’ Screen World in 1990 and played Evelyn Ames in ‘Postcards from the Edge’ (1990), with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1849:0/Meryl_Streep.htm]Meryl Streep[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/272:0/Shirley_MacLaine.htm]Shirley MacLaine[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1015:0/Dennis_Quaid.htm]Dennis Quaid[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/515:0/Gene_Hackman.htm]Gene Hackman[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/378:0/Richard_Dreyfuss.htm]Richard Dreyfuss[/urlnew] and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1710:0/Rob_Reiner.htm]Rob Reiner[/urlnew]. In 1991 she met [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/274:0/Warren_Beatty.htm]Warren Beatty[/urlnew] on the set of ‘Bugsy’ (1991). Beatty, who directed the film, cast her as Virginia Hill, whilst Beatty played Ben ‘Bugsy’ Siegel. They began a secret on-set romance and learned, shortly before the end of production of the film, that Bening was pregnant with their first child. They were married on 12th March 1992. The couple are still together, live in Los Angeles and have four children, Kathlyn (1992), Benjamin (1994), Isabel (1997) and Ella (2000).
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Taking a few years off from film making to enjoy family life, Bening collaborated with Beatty in ‘Love Affair’ (1994), which was unfortunately a box-office flop. She was back on form however with her next role as [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/240:0/Elizabeth_I.htm]Queen Elizabeth[/urlnew] in Richard Loncraine’s highly regarded ‘Richard III’ (1995). To follow were Rob Reiner’s romantic drama ‘The American President’ (1995) with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/524:0/Michael_Douglas.htm]Michael Douglas[/urlnew], [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/95:0/Martin_Sheen.htm]Martin Sheen[/urlnew] and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/871:0/Michael_J_Fox.htm]Michael J. Fox[/urlnew], and Tim Burton’s sci-fi spoof ‘Mars Attacks!’ (1996), with Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Sarah Jessica Parker and Natalie Portman. In action thriller ‘The Siege’ (1998), Bening played the role of Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger with co-stars [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1122:0/Denzel_Washington.htm]Denzel Washington[/urlnew] and Bruce Willis. The following year was thriller ‘In Dreams’ (1999), with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/1611:0/Robert_Downey_Jr.htm]Robert Downey Jr.[/urlnew] and Aidan Quinn.

In possibly her highest profile role of her career thus far, Bening received an Academy Award nomination for her notable performance as Carolyn Burnham in Sam Mendes’ unforgettable ‘American Beauty’ (1999), with [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/560:0/Kevin_Spacey.htm]Kevin Spacey[/urlnew] and Mena Suvari. She played Susan Anderson opposite Garry Shandling in Mike Nichols’ sci-fi comedy ‘What Planet Are You From?’ (2000). Bening provided the voice of Abigail Adams in the animated television series ‘Liberty’s Kids: Est. 1776’ (2002).

In [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/523:0/Kevin_Costner.htm]Kevin Costner’s[/urlnew] Western ‘Open Range’ (2003) she played Sue Barlow opposite Costner and Robert Duvall. Her next performance was as a 1930s stage actress in ‘Being Julia’ (2004), a drama with Michael Gambon. For this role, Bening received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role and won a Golden Globe award for Best Actress in a Comedy. In the made for television thriller, ‘Mrs Harris’ (2005), she starred with Ben Kingsley and received a 2006 Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie. Next was the film adaptation of Augusten Burrough’s book, ‘Running with Scissors’ (2006). Bening played Diedre Burroughs, alongside co-stars Brian Cox, Joseph Fiennes, Evan Rachel Wood, Alec Baldwin and [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/558:0/Gwyneth_Paltrow.htm]Gwyneth Paltrow[/urlnew].

On 9th December 2006, Bening hosted the television programme ‘Saturday Night Live’, with guests [urlnew=http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_home/2124:0/Gwen_Stefani.htm]Gwen Stefani[/urlnew] and Akon. The following day, on 10 November 2006, she received a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Bening has a great screen presence and is a versatile performer. She has been nominated for numerous awards and won several more. She is a council member of the California Arts Council. Her next film, a romantic comedy with Lindsay Lohan and Sean Bean, ‘A Woman of No Importance’ (2008) is currently in pre-production.

Carey Latimore

Annette Bening biography



- ight: 5’ 8½ ” (1.74m).

- Husband, Warren Beatty, is the son of actress Shirley MacLaine.

- Her idols are Ingrid Bergman, Helen Mirren, Liv Ullmann, and Frances McDormand.

- Her role as Catwoman in ‘Batman Returns’ (1992) was given to Michelle Pfeiffer when Bening fell pregnant with her first child.

- Has played the role of a real estate agent in three films: ‘Regarding Henry’ (1991), ‘American Beauty’ (1999) and ‘What Planet Are You From?’ (2000).

- Received a star of the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 10 November 2006.

- Both her Academy Award nominations for Best Actress in a Leading Role, in ‘American Beauty’ (1999) and ‘Being Julia’ (2004), were lost to Hilary Swank.

- Became the subject of an urban legend which claimed that she had been the model for the Colombia Pictures logo. It was untrue but became so widespread that Bening herself said she believed it to be true.
Annette Bening biography



A Woman of No Importance (2008) – pre-production

Saturday Night Live (TV series) (2006 episode)

Running with Scissors (2006)

Mrs Harris (2005)

Being Julia (2004)

Open Range (2003)

Liberty’s Kids: Est. 1776 (2002)

What Planet Are You From? (2000)

American Beauty (1999)

In Dreams (1999)

The Siege (1998)

Mars Attacks! (1996)

The American President (1995)

Richard III (1995)

Love Affair (1994)

Bugsy (1991)

Regarding Henry (1991)

Guilty by Suspicion (1991)

The Grifters (1990)

Postcards from the Edge (1990)

Valmont (1989)

The Great Outdoors (1988)

Hostage (1988) (TV)

Wiseguy (TV series) (1987 episode)

Miami Vice (TV series) (1987 episode)

Manhunt for Claude Dallas (1986) (TV)
Annette Bening biography

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