Renee Zellweger was born on April 25, 1969, in Katy, Texas, a small town outside of Houston. She is the daughter of European parents, her mother Norwegian and her father Swiss.

After graduating from Katy High School in 1987, where Renee was a cheerleader, gymnast and participated in the drama club, she went off to the University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in English.

An excellent student (she made the Dean's List several times), Renee took a drama class only because she needed a fine arts credit to complete her degree.

She acted in a few school theatre productions and found herself driving her red Honda Accord to Dallas to audition for film parts.

Her uncredited role in 1993's Dazed and Confused as a high school senior was her first film role, and was followed up by a role in The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (released in 1997).

It was her starring role in "The Whole Wide World" which, not only won her praise at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, but also led to her breakthrough role in Cameron Crowe's hit "Jerry Maguire".

She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of the supermodel Gia Carangi who died of AIDS. She received an Emmy nomination as well as a Cable Ace nomination for her work in the TNT movie GEORGE WALLACE (co-starring Gary Sinise.)