Date of Birth
28 September 1968, Shoreham, Kent, England, UK
Birth Name
Naomi Ellen Watts
Nickname
Queen of Remakes
Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)
Mini Biography
Naomi Watts was born
in Shoreham, England on September 28, 1968 to Peter and Miv Watts. Peter Watts, the road manager to Pink Floyd, died when Naomi was seven
and she began to follow her mother and her brother around England until they settled
in Australia when she was fourteen. She coaxed her mother into letting her take
acting class when they arrived. After bit parts in commercials, she landed her
first role in For Love Alone (1986). Naomi met her best friend, Nicole Kidman, when they both
auditioned for a bikini commercial and they shared a taxi ride home. In 1991,
Naomi starred along Kidman in the sleeper-hit Flirting (1991) directed by John Duigan. Naomi continued her
career by starring in the Australian "Brides
of Christ" (1991)
co-starring Oscar-winners Russell
Crowe and Brenda Fricker. In 1993, she worked
with John Duigan again in Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) and director George Miller in Gross
Misconduct (1993). Tank Girl (1995), in 1995, an adaptation of the
comic book was a cult hit, starred Naomi as "Jet Girl", but it didn't
fare well at the box-office and didn't do much for her career as a whole. Watts
continued to take insignificant parts in movies including the much forgotten
film Children of the Corn: The
Gathering (1996) (V). It wasn't
until David Lynch cast her in the critically acclaimed
film Mulholland Dr. (2001) that she began to become
noticed. Her part as an aspiring actress showed her strong acting ability and
wide range and earned her much respect, as much as to say by some that she was
overlooked for a Oscar nomination that year. Stardom finally came to Naomi in
the surprise hit The Ring (2002/I), which grossed over
$100,000,000 at the box-office and starred Watts as a investigative reporter
hunting down the truth behind several mysterious deaths seemingly caused by a
video tape. While the movie did not fare well with the critics, it launched her
into the spotlight. In 2003, she starred in Alejandro
González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003) which earned her - what some
say is a much overdue Oscar nomination and brought others to call her one of
the best in her generation of actors. The same year, she was nominated for 21 Grams (2003), Naomi was chosen to play
"Ann Darrow" in director Peter
Jackson's King Kong (2005) which took her to New Zealand
for a five month shoot. Watts completed her first comedy in I Heart Huckabees (2004) for director David O. Russell, playing a
superficial spokes model - a break from her usual intense and dramatic roles
she is known for. In 2005, she reprized her role as the
protective-mother-reporter "Rachel Keller" in The Ring Two (2005). The movie, released in March,
opened to $35,000,000 at the box office in the first weekend and established
her as a box-office draw. Also in 2005, it was decided that her independent movie Ellie Parker (2001) would be re-released in late
2005 after its success at resurfacing at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie,
which Naomi also produced, features her in the title role and is a bit biographical,
but yet exaggerated take of the life of a struggling actress as she comes to
Hollywood and encounters nightmares of the profession (it also features Watts'
own beat-up Honda which she travels around in). In 2006, she starred with Edward Norton in The
Painted Veil (2006). In July of
2007, Naomi gave birth to a boy, Alexander Pete in Los Angeles with Liev Schreiber. Since then her career
choices have gathered even more critical acclaim with starring roles roles in
German director Michael Haneke's
American remake of his thriller Funny
Games (2007), David Cronenberg'sEastern Promises (2007), and the action-thriller, The International (2009/I), released in February 2009.
In mid-2008, Watts announced she was expecting her second child with Schreiber
and gave birth to another boy, Samuel Kai in New York on December 13.
Trade Mark
Her two front teeth
Often plays
characters that endure loss or suffering
Frequently plays
Dark and troubled characters
Long Blonde Hair
Often works with
Sean Penn
Blue Eyes
Roles in Remakes of
Films
Trivia
She once appeared in
an Australian television commercial turning down a date with Tom Cruise for her mum's lamb roast.
Was named one of the
50 Most Beautiful People by People Magazine in 2002.
Featured on the
cover of the Australian Empire Magazine March 2003 for Women of the Year 2002.
Voted the 14th
Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.
Accepted the role
for 21 Grams (2003) without reading the script
first.
She met Heath Ledger on the set of the new historical epic
movie Ned Kelly (2003), and the pair dated until May
2004. He was eleven years younger than her.
She has a Yorkshire
terrier named Bob.
Her favorite
actresses are Meryl Streep, Jodie Foster and Julianne
Moore. For music, her favorite artists/bands are Fiona Apple, Coldplay, Björk,Radiohead, Cat Stevens and Pink
Floyd.
Moved in with best
friend Nicole Kidman after Kidman spilt up from husband Tom Cruise.
Starred in and
produced 2001's Ellie Parker (2001), which was made into a kind of
cult classic about a struggling actress in Hollywood and the nightmares she
encountered. The movie resurfaced in 2005 at the SunDance Film Festival and is
set to be re-released in December of 2005.
Ranked #76 on Forbes
2005 Power in Entertainment List.
Had an horrific fall
on the New Zealand set of King
Kong (2005). She fell from a
height into a ditch, to the shock of the cast and crew. She thanked her
rigorous practice of yoga for saving her from any permanent damage.
Named #99 in FHM
magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).
Was voted #29 on
AskMen.com's Most Desirable Women of 2006.
Named #2 in the
French edition of FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World
2006".
Ranked #2 in the UK
FHM's most eligible women (2006).
Was voted 3rd in
Entertainment Weekly's Entertainers of the Year in December 2005.
Named #4 of Sexiest
Women over the age of 35 according to the editors at MSN Lifestyle: Men.
Her favorite
"scary movie" is Don't
Look Now (1973) (1973).
Considers herself to
be both British and Australian.
Was in contention
for the role of Hanna Schmiz in The
Reader (2008), along with Marion Cotillard, after Nicole Kidman dropped out due to pregnancy. However
due to scheduling conflicts she had to back out and the part was eventually
given to Kate Winslet.
Was cast in a King
Lear adaptation as Goneril alongside Keira
Knightley (as Cordelia), Gwyneth Paltrow (as Regan) and Anthony Hopkins (as King Lear). The movie was shelved.
Has been in at least
seven remakes/revisions: Down (2001), The Ring (2002/I), Ned Kelly (2003), Ellie Parker (2005), King Kong (2005), The Painted Veil (2006) and Funny Games (2007).
Before finally accepting
a lead role in You Will Meet a
Tall Dark Stranger (2010), she
was forced to turn down roles by Woody
Allen in bothMelinda and Melinda (2004) and Cassandra's Dream (2007) due to scheduling conflicts.
Shot her leading
role in Mother and Child (2009) in only 8 days.
Attended North
Sydney Girls High School.
Spokeswoman for Audi
(2011).
Spokeswoman for
Pantene haircare (2011).
Model for Ann Taylor
(2011).
Good friends with
frequent co-star Sean Penn.
