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Cate Blanchett

Acting

Born May 14, 1969 · Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Also known as Catherine Élise Blanchett

Biography

Catherine Elise Blanchett (born May 14, 1969) is an Australian actor and producer. Regarded as one of the best actresses of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. Blanchett is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, three British Academy Film Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. After graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Blanchett began her acting career on the Australian stage, taking on roles in Electra in 1992 and Hamlet in 1994. She came to international attention as Elizabeth I in the drama film Elizabeth (1998), for which she won the Golden Globe and BAFTA Award for Best Actress, and received her first of seven Academy Award nominations. Her portrayal of Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for playing a neurotic former socialite in Woody Allen's comedy-drama Blue Jasmine (2013). Blanchett's other Oscar-nominated roles include Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), and Carol (2015). Her highest-grossing films include The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) trilogies, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008), Cinderella (2015), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), and Ocean's 8 (2018). Blanchett has performed in over 20 theatre productions. From 2008 to 2013, she and her husband, Andrew Upton, were the artistic directors of the Sydney Theatre Company. Some of her stage roles during that period were in revivals of A Streetcar Named Desire, Uncle Vanya and The Maids, garnering several theatre awards and nominations. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 in The Present, for which she received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play nomination. Blanchett has also received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and Outstanding Limited Series as producer for the FX/Hulu historical drama miniseries Mrs. America (2020).

Awards & recognition

  • Bambi Award · 2025
  • Canadian Screen AwardBest Lead Performance in a Comedy Film · 2025
  • BAFTA AwardBest Actress in a Leading Role · 2023
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Motion Picture Drama · 2023
  • International Goya Award · 2022
Show all 34 awards →
  • Volpi CupBest Actress · 2022
  • Crystal Award · 2018
  • Companion of the Order of Australia · 2017
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2014
  • BAFTA AwardBest Actress in a Leading Role · 2014
  • Crystal Award · 2014
  • Independent Spirit AwardBest Female Lead · 2014
  • Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role · 2014
  • Independent Spirit AwardBest Supporting Female · 2008
  • star on Hollywood Walk of Fame · 2008
  • Volpi CupBest Actress · 2007
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2005
  • BAFTA AwardBest Actress in a Supporting Role · 2005
  • Screen Actors Guild AwardOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role · 2005
  • BAFTA AwardBest Actress in a Leading Role · 1999
  • Empire AwardBest Actress · 1999
  • Golden Globe AwardBest Actress – Motion Picture Drama · 1999
  • Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
  • Empire Awards
  • honorary doctor of the University of Sydney
  • Sydney Theatre Awards
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2023 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2016 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2014 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 2008 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2008 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2007 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Supporting Actress · 2005 · nominated
  • Academy AwardBest Actress · 1999 · nominated

Filmography50+ titles

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2003as Galadriel

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

2002as Galadriel

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

2001as Galadriel

Our Living World

as Self - Narrator (voice)

What If...?

2021as Hela (voice)

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio

2022as Spazzatura (voice)

The Simpsons

1989as Elaine Wolff (voice)

Squid Game

2021as The Recruiter

Staged

2020as Cate

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

2019as Valka (voice)

How to Train Your Dragon 2

2014as Valka (voice)

Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled

as Self

Spielberg

2017as Self

Thor: Ragnarok

2017as Hela

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

2013as Galadriel

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008as Daisy Fuller

Hot Fuzz

2007as Janine (uncredited)

Disclaimer

2024as Catherine Ravenscroft

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema

2022as Self

Carol

2015as Carol Aird

Eyes Wide Shut

1999as Mysterious Woman (voice) (uncredited)

Marvel Studios: Legends

2021as Hela (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

2012as Galadriel

Family Guy

1999as Penelope (voice)

Mrs. America

2020as Phyllis Schlafly

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

2014as Galadriel

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

Babel

2006as Susan Jones

The Aviator

2004as Katharine Hepburn

The Talented Mr. Ripley

1999as Meredith Logue

Elizabeth

1998as Elizabeth I

Tár

2022as Lydia Tár

Don't Look Up

2021as Brie Evantee

Documentary Now!

2015as Izabella Barta

Hot Ones

2015as Self

Notes on a Scandal

2006as Sheba Hart

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

2004as Jane Winslett-Richardson

The School for Good and Evil

2022as The Storian (voice)

Nightmare Alley

2021as Dr. Lilith Ritter

Ocean's Eight

2018as Lou

Girl Rising

2013as Narrator - Haiti (voice)

Blue Jasmine

2013as Jasmine

Coffee and Cigarettes

2003as Cate / Shelly (segment "Cousins")

Shayda

2023Executive Producer

Manifesto

2015as Various

Cinderella

2015as Stepmother, Lady Tremaine

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2007as Elizabeth I, Queen of England

Veronica Guerin

2003as Veronica Guerin

Where'd You Go, Bernadette

2019as Bernadette

Hanna

2011as Marissa