Born: Naomi Ellen Watts on 28 September 1968, in Shoreham, Kent.

Naomi Ellen Watts is a British-Australian actress known for her roles in Mulholland Drive, the film remakes of The Ring and King Kong, as well as her Academy Award-nominated role in the film 21 Grams.

Watts was born in Shoreham, England to Peter and Miv Watts. Her father, the sound engineer to Pink Floyd, died when Watts 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). In 1991, Watts starred along Kidman in the sleeper-hit Flirting (1991) directed by John Duigan.

Watts continued her career by starring in the Brides of Christ (1991) (mini) 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 Watts 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 IV: 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. Stardom finally came to Watts in the surprise hit The Ring (2002), which grossed over $100,000,000 at the box-office. While the movie did not fare well with the critics, it launched her into the spotlight.

In 2003, she starred in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's 21 Grams (2003) which earned her an Oscar nomination. The same year, she 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.

I keep saying to myself, Oh, God, I'm sick of playing these dark, harrowing roles. I want a big paycheck, so put me in some dumb romantic comedy any day..

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 reprised 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 Watts 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. In 2006, she starred with Edward Norton in The Painted Veil (2006).

Since spring 2005, Watts has dated actor Liev Schreiber. The couple's son, Alexander Pete, was born in July 2007.

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