Rachel Weisz proves she’s still a yummy mummy after four decades – the British beauty turns 41, today. Starting her career in the drama department of Britain’s posh Cambridge university, Weisz soon caught the eyes of casting directors around the world and has become one of the U.K. most glamorous exports. From action queen to indie dream, Weisz has fought ancient enemies in The Mummy films, proved her comic timing in Fred Claus and provided an Oscar-winning turn in The Constant Gardner. And as the actress moves into her forties, we have come up with 10 terrific facts to quench your thirst for Rachel.
- Weisz’s film career could have started a lot earlier – she was offered a part in Richard Gere’s movie King David in 1985 when she was just 14 – but her parents wouldn’t let her do it.
- She gets her dark good looks from her mother’s Italian ancestry.
- She’s multi-talented: not only did she gain a degree from Cambridge – one of England’s most revered universities – she is fluent in German.
- For all those who have struggled saying her last name, it’s pronounced Vice.
- She has been linked to Bond star Daniel Craig after splitting from Black Swan director Darren Aronofsky last year. He is the father of her son, Henry.
- Weisz took over from supermodel Kate Moss as the face of Burberry in 2006.
- Gemma Arterton is Rachel’s biggest fan – insisting she’d “love” a career like the actress.
- She was voted the woman most men want as their wife by British magazine Esquire.
- Sienna Miller missed out on Weisz’s Oscar-winning role in The Constant Gardner in 2005 after a home dye disaster left her hair green at the audition.
- She was a radical feminist in her student days.

Source: Contactmusic

Florida filmmaking legend Victor Nunez will be a guest of honor at this year’s Florida Film Festival at a screening of his acclaimed drama Ruby in Paradise, the movie that launched Ashley Judd’s career. The festival’s line-up was announced Wednesday, and Nunez is the stand-out guest filmmaker on the program. After Ruby in Paradise, Nunez went on to film “Ulee’s Gold,” and has been the most distinct Florida voice in all of cinema over the course of his long indie film career. Films directed by famous actors will be a focus of this year’s festival, with movies by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz, Oscar winner Natalie Portman, Oscar nominee Richard Jenkins, as well as Eva Mendes, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Liv Tyler, Ellen Page, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, Denis Leary, Gerard Depardieu, Christopher Llyod, Christina Ricci, Julia Stiles and Rainn Wilson have films in the FFF line-up. Oscar winner James Man on Wire Marsh’s documentary Project Nim will open the festival. It’s about a chimpanzee raised as a human baby as part of a sociological/psychological experiment. Some 21 world premieres, four North American premieres, seven films shown for the first time ever in the United States and 39 titles never before seen on the East Coast will be featured in the 20th anniversary edition of the festival, which this year runs April 8-17.

Source: Orlando Sentinel

Actress Rachel Weisz is reportedly in talks with director Sam Mendes to star in the new James Bond movie, opposite her rumoured new love interest Daniel Craig. Filming on the 23rd 007 film is set to commence later this year and hit cinemas on November 9, 2012. Craig will reprise his role as the superspy for the Mendes-directed action movie – and Weisz, who was spotted strolling hand-in-hand with the actor over Christmas, is in negotiations to star opposite her alleged new lover, according to Britain’s Grazia magazine. A source tells the publication, “Rachel has been speaking with Sam for some time now about appearing in the new Bond film, long before she and Daniel hit it off.” The publication also reports Weisz is planning to leave her home in New York and move back to her native U.K. with her son, Henry, by former partner Darren Aronofsky. The Hollywood couple ended its eight-year relationship in 2010, announcing news of the split in November after several months of separation. The insider adds, “Whatever happens, she intends to move back to London this year. She loves her life in New York but she desperately misses England, and is keen to reconnect with her roots there. But most importantly she wants to be there to support Daniel. “Rachel and Daniel have become very close and are serious about one another. It seems that being photographed holding hands was their way of showing the world that.”

Source: TorontoSun.com

Rachel Weisz says being an actress has perks for working mothers. The beautiful British actress has a four-year-old son called Henry Chance from her relationship with ex-partner Darren Aronofsky. Rachel admits it can be tough raising a child and having a full-time career simultaneously, although she thinks if she were to work in a different profession it would be harder. “If I worked in an office or factory my son wouldn’t be able to visit, but Henry comes to see me on set so it’s actually a very good place to be a working mum,” she enthused. The 40-year-old loves motherhood, although she admits for a long time she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to be a parent or not. It was only when the beauty hit 30 her biological clock began to tick. “I didn’t know if I wanted to be a mother and then in my thirties I began thinking, ‘Oh actually I do!’” she added.

Source: MusicRooms.net

BBC Two has announced an all-star cast for its new thriller Page Eight. The show, which is David Hare’s first original screenplay for 20 years, will feature actors including Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Judy Davis, Michael Gambon and Ralph Fiennes. The drama follows Nighy’s character Johnny, a long-serving MI5 officer who is shocked when his boss and best friend Benedict (Gambon) dies suddenly, leaving him a mysterious file. Meanwhile, Johnny has a seemingly chance encounter with his next-door neighbor Nancy (Weisz), a political activist. Eventually he ends up walking out of his job and “out of his identity” to find out the truth. The cast also includes Ewen Bremner, Felicity Jones, Tom Hughes, Alice Krige and Saskia Reeves. Hare said: “The last decade has been as testing as any in the history of the British intelligence community – the compromises and dilemmas they’ve faced in the new century make a fascinating story. I’m thrilled to be working with such an extraordinary ensemble of great actors.” Filming for Page Eight will begin this month and the film will air later this year.

Source: Digital Spy

Rachel Weisz has proved her split from Darren Aronofsky was amicable after she was spotted enjoying a family day out with her former fiance and their son on Wednesday (January 05). The Hollywood stars ended their eight-year relationship in 2010, announcing news of the split in November after they had been separated for several months. Weisz has since been linked to Bond actor Daniel Craig and they were photographed strolling hand-in-hand together over the holidays. But The Mummy star appears to have put her past problems with Aronofsky aside for the sake of their four-year-old son Henry – they were seen reunited for a family outing in New York City’s East Village on Wednesday (January 05). The actress was snapped smiling as her former partner carried the youngster around town.

Source: Contactmusic