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Rachel Hannah Weisz ( "
"; born 7 March 1970)
[There are conflicting sources for the year of Weisz' birth. The British Film Institute and others give 1970 BFI | Film & TV Database | WEISZ, Rachel; a Guardian article gives 1971. Her birth was registered in March quarter of 1970 in Westminster] is an
English actress and model.
[IndieLondon: Definitely Maybe - Rachel Weisz interview - Your London Reviews] She gained wide public recognition after her portrayal of Evelyn "Evy" Carnahan-O'Connell in the films
The Mummy and
The Mummy Returns. In 2001, she starred opposite
Hugh Grant in the hit
About a Boy and continued to garner leading roles in Hollywood productions. Her performance in
The Constant Gardener (2005) won her the
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with other major motion picture awards.
Early life and background
Weisz was born in
Westminster,
England, and grew up in the
Hampstead Garden Suburb.
[Aslet, Clive. Design for living, The Daily Telegraph, 14 April 2007. Accessed 6 May 2008.] Her mother, Edith Ruth (
née Teich), is a
Vienna-born
Austrian teacher turned
psychotherapist.
[Rachel Weisz biography] Her father, George Weisz, is a
Hungarian-born inventor and engineer. Her parents fled to England during WW2. Weisz's father is
Jewish and her mother, an émigré from Vienna, has been referred to as either
Catholic,
or Jewish (and in the same article, "Half-Italian").
Weisz was raised in a "cerebral Jewish household"
[Joseph, Claudia. Rachel's Weisz guy. 5 June 2005.] and refers to herself as Jewish.
Weisz has a sister, Minnie Weisz, who is an artist.
