Annette Bening Biography

Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. Bening is a four-time Oscar nominee for her roles in The Grifters, American Beauty, Being Julia, and The Kids Are All Right, winning Golden Globe Awards for the latter two films.

Early life

Bening was born in Topeka, Kansas, the youngest of four children. Her mother, Shirley (née Ashley), was a church singer and soloist, and her father, Arnett Grant Bening, was a sales training consultant and insurance salesman. Her parents, natives of Iowa, were practicing Episcopalians and conservative Republicans. Her sister and two brothers are Jane, Bradley and Byron. The family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. In 1965, her 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 graduated in 1975, from Patrick Henry High School where she studied drama.

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.

Career

Film

Bening made her film debut with a minor role in The Great Outdoors (1988). Her second film appearance was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989), opposite Colin Firth. Her breakthrough role was in The Grifters (1990), which starred John Cusack and Anjelica Huston, and earned Bening an Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress. In 1991, she portrayed Virginia Hill in the Barry Levinson-directed biopic of Bugsy, starring Warren Beatty. Also in 1991, she appeared in Regarding Henry with Harrison Ford. In 1994, Bening and Beatty starred in Love Affair, which also featured Katharine Hepburn. In 1995, Bening appeared in The American President, followed by Tim Burton's sci-fi spoof Mars Attacks! (1996). In 1998, she co-starred with Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis in The Siege.

The biggest critical and commercial success of her career thus far was the 1999 film American Beauty, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was directed by Sam Mendes. For this performance, Bening was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress and won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. Bening also starred in the films In Dreams (1999) and What Planet Are You From? (2000).

Bening starred in the 2003 western Open Range as Kevin Costner's love interest. In 2004, she played the title role in Being Julia, which earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination as Best Actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her portrayal of Jean Harris the 2005 HBO film Mrs. Harris. In 2006, she replaced Julianne Moore to star in the film adaptation of Running with Scissors. In December of that year, Bening hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guests Gwen Stefani and Akon.

In 2008, Bening starred in '. The following year she received strong reviews for her performance in the independent film Mother and Child (2009). In 2010, Bening received strong critical acclaim for her performance in The Kids Are All Right, with several reviewers noting that she "deserves an Oscar" for her "sublime" performance. For that role, Bening won a second Golden Globe, as well as Academy Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations.

Theatre

Prior to becoming a film actress, Bening was a member of the acting company at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while studying acting as part of the Advanced Theatre Training Program. There, she starred in such productions as Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth. Bening also starred in productions of Pygmalion and The Cherry Orchard at the Denver Center Theatre Company during 1985-86. She made her Broadway debut in 1987, garnering a Tony Award nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Coastal Disturbances. In 2009, Bening starred in a new interpretation of the Euripides classic Medea at UCLA's Freud Playhouse. In 2010, she starred in Joanna Murray-Smith's comedy The Female of the Species at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

Other Work

In 2012, Bening's audiobook recording of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway was released at Audible.com.

Personal life

Bening's first husband was choreographer J. Steven White. They married in 1984, separated in 1986, and divorced in 1991.

Bening married Warren Beatty on March 12, 1992, one year after meeting on the set of Bugsy. They have four children: Stephen (born January 8, 1992), Benjamin (born August 23, 1994), Isabel (born January 11, 1997), and Ella (born April 8, 2000).

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1988	'	Kate Craig
1989	Valmont	Merteuil
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Evelyn Ames	Cameo
	The Grifters	Myra Langtry	London Film Critics' Circle Award for Newcomer of the Year National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
1991	Guilty by Suspicion	Ruth Merrill
	Regarding Henry	Sarah Turner
	Bugsy	Virginia Hill	Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Drama Nominated " MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (Shared with Warren Beatty)
1994	Love Affair	Terry McKay
1995	Richard III	Queen Elizabeth
	The American President	Sydney Ellen Wade	Nominated " American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1996	Mars Attacks!	Barbara Land
1998	The Siege	Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger	Nominated " Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Suspense
1999	In Dreams	Claire Cooper
	American Beauty	Carolyn Burnham	American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated " Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated " Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress - Drama Nominated " Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated " Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated " Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated " Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated " Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated " Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
2000	What Planet Are You From?	Susan Anderson
2003	Open Range	Sue Barlow
2004	Being Julia	Julia Lambert
2005	Mrs. Harris	Jean Harris
2006	Running with Scissors	Deirdre Burroughs
	Saturday Night Live	Herself	Episodes: Annette Bening / Gwen Stefani & Akon
2008	'	Sylvie Fowler	Nominated " Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress
2009	Mother and Child	Karen	Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2010	'	Nic
2012	Ruby Sparks	Gertrude
	Ginger & Rosa	May Bella
2013	The Face of Love	Nikki	Completed
	Girl Most Likely	Zelda	Completed
2014	Imagine		Filming

Awards

• 2006: Ibsen Centennial Commemoration Award