Free samples of Kip Addotta's CD's. Click on the icons below!

Annette Bening!

All the links on this page are free and secure!

I'm Kip Addotta and I approve this message!

Annette Bening Biography

Born in Topeka, KS; educated at San Francisco State University (acting) and the American Conservatory Theatre, San Francisco. Versatile, attractive performer who, after several years of successful stage work (including a 1987 Tony nomination for Tina Howe's Coastal Disturbances), proved herself an equally adept screen actress. Bening made a disappointing debut in the lackluster comedy, "The Great Outdoors" (1988), but etched an aptly uneasy portrait of the Marquise de Merteuil in Forman's "Valmont" (1989); the cool subtlety of her performance caught the attention of Stephen Frears, who ironically had directed his own version of the same tale, "Dangerous Liaisons", six months earlier. (Bening had, in fact, auditioned for Michelle Pfeiffer's role in that film).

Frears was impressed enough to cast Bening alongside John Cusack and Anjelica Huston in his gritty film noir, "The Grifters" (1990), adapted from the novel by Jim Thompson. Although it was her nude scenes in the film which generated the most publicity, Bening injected considerable verve and authority into her portrayal of a tough young hustler who coolly uses her body as one of the tools of her trade -- a performance intentionally modeled after Gloria Grahame's in Fritz Lang's landmark noir, "The Big Heat" (1953). The role earned Bening an Oscar nomination and propelled her into the front rank of Hollywood leading ladies. She went on to demonstrate her versatility by portraying nurturing, supportive wives in "Guilty by Suspicion" and "Regarding Henry" (both 1991) before returning to a more seductive role in "Bugsy" (1991), opposite Warren Beatty.

After a three year hiatus to marry and start a family, Bening and Beatty again co-starred, this time in LOVE AFFAIR (1994), the second remake of a 1939 film of the same title. They played two people engaged to others who fall in love after an accidental meeting. While many hoped to draw comparisons between the couple's real life romance and their film characters, the pair vehemently denied any connections.

She received her second nomination, this time for Best Actress, for her work in AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999) opposite Best Actor winner Kevin Spacey. Her taut -- yet, somehow, comic -- portrayal of Spacey's suburban cheating wife was one of the year's most memorable roles.

Other recent screen credits include RICHARD III and THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT (both 1995), MARS ATTACKS! (1996), THE SIEGE (1998), IN DREAMS and FOREVER HOLLYWOOD (both 1999), WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM? (2000), "Liberty's Kids" (2002, TV series as Abigail Adams), OPEN RANCE (2003), BEING JULIA (2004), RUNNING WITH SCISSORS (2006), and THE WOMEN, A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, THE VILLA GOLITSYN and DIRTY TRICKS (all scheduled for 2008).

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 1990: THE GRIFTERS

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1999: AMERICAN BEAUTY

Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2004: BEING JULIA

Although some of Annette Bening's recognition may stem from Annette Bening's 1992 marriage to Warren Beatty, Annette Bening has established herself as an actress capable of far more than domesticating one of Hollywood's most notorious playboys. After winning raves for Annette Bening's role in 1990's The Grifters. Bening turned in a series of strong performances in films ranging from The American President to Richard III to American Beauty.

Annette Bening, from Topeka

Born in Topeka, Kansas, on May 29, 1958, Bening moved with Annette Bening's family to San Diego, California when Annette Bening was very young. It was there that Annette Bening began to pursue Annette Bening's career, first as a dancer in various productions at a local college. Eventually graduating from San Francisco University (an education Annette Bening paid for by working as a cook on a charter boat), Bening acted with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre before moving to New York to further Annette Bening's stage experience. Annette Bening's career in New York had its auspicious moments, such as winning a Tony Award nomination and a Clarence Derwent Award for Outstanding Debut Performance for Annette Bening's performance in Coastal Disturbances, but Bening endured a five-year struggle before breaking into film

Annette Bening's debut

She made Annette Bening's debut's irritable wife in Dan Akroyd's The Great Outdoors in 1988; more substantial work followed in the form of Milos Forman's Valmont, a 1989 adaptation of Chodleros de Laclos' Les Liaisons Dangereuses that featured Bening as the scheming, manipulative Marquise de Merteuil. The film suffered in comparison to Stephen Frear's Dangerous Liasons, which had been released the previous year; fortunately, the same couldn't be said of Bening's next major effort, 1990's The Grifters.

Annette Bening in The Grifters

Stephen Fear's gripping, stylish adaptation of Jim Thomson's novel of the same name, The Grifters met with almost unanimous critical acclaim, much of which was aimed at the performances of Angelica Houston, John Cusack, and Bening as the film's protagonists. Bening won special praise for Annette Bening's portrayal of an ill-fated con artist, accruing Best Supporting Actress nominations from the Academy, the New York Film Critics Circle, and the British Academy. Annette Bening's performance also won the attention of Warren Beatty, who was so impressed with Annette Bening's work that he cast Annette Bening's as his love interest in his 1991 Bugsy. Although the film proved a relative disappointment, it did result in both a Golden Globe nomination for Bening and a 1992 marriage for Annette Bening's and Beatty. The two could be seen collaborating again onscreen two years later in Love Affair, a remake of the 1957 An Affair To Remember. Unfortunately, the film fared poorly, both at the box office and at the hands of disapproving critics. Bening had more luck with Annette Bening's subsequent role as Michael Douglas' presidential love interest in Rob Reiner's The American President (1995), and then went on to explore politics of a different sort with Richard Loucrain's 1996 adaptation of Richard III. Annette Bening's starring turn as the embattled Queen Elizabeth drew praise, and the attention Annette Bening garnered for Annette Bening's performance helped to lighten the load of antipathy directed toward Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, the actress' other film that year.

Annette Bening takes on many roles

Following lead roles in 1998's The Siege and 1999's In Dreams, Bening could be seen in American Beauty (also 1999) as Kevin Spacey's status-obsessed, control-freak wife. As part of the film's superb ensemble cast, which also featured Chris Cooper, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley, and Mena Suvari, the actress won praise for Annette Bening's work, and the added distinction of being part of what many hailed as one of the best films of the year. If longtime fans had anticipated an increase of output by the actress as a result of Annette Bening's critical success, they may have been disappointed that Bening was very deliberate in Annette Bening's subsequent film choices, but no one could fault the rising starlet for valuing quality over quantity. Annette Bening's role as an alien's marriage-minded love interest in the misguided Garry Shandling comedy What Planet are you from (2000) could certainly be held in excemption if the film wasn't embraced as expected by critics and audiences, but Annette Bening's involvement with the historically-themed animated children's series Liberty's Kids drew near universal praise. In 2003 Bening drew praise for Annette Bening's role as Kevin Costner's love interest in the actor/director's dramatic western Open Range, and appeared in Being Julia, the 2004 adaptation of M. Somerset Maugham novel Theater.

By Kip Addotta

Much of the content on this page was obtained from the Wikipedia, which is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License