ANNETTE BENING
Name: Annette Carol Bening
Born: 29 May 1958 Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Screen
Actors Guild Award-winning American actress.
Bening was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Shirley and Grant Bening, an
insurance salesman. Her sister and two brothers are Jane Bening (born 1953),
Bradley Bening (born 1955) and Byron Bening (born 1957). The family moved to
Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. In 1965, her
father took a job with a company in San Diego, California, and they moved there.
She began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in The Sound of Music.
She studied drama at Patrick Henry High School.
She then spent a year working as a cook on a charter boat taking fishing parties
out on the Pacific Ocean, and scuba diving for recreation. She attended San
Diego Mesa College, then completed an academic degree in theatre arts at San
Francisco State University. Bening joined the acting company at the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while studying acting as part of the
Advanced Theatre Training Program. During this time she established herself as a
formidable acting talent in roles like Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
Bening moved to New York City, where she debuted off-Broadway at Second Stage
Theatre (McGinn-Cazale Theatre) in the role of 'Holly Dancer' in Tina Howe's
widely acclaimed Coastal Disturbances (1987) opposite Tim Daly. However, despite
the praise and recognition, it took some time for that success to translate to
her film career. Her television debut was with the made-for-TV movie Manhunt for
Claude Dallas (1986). Her first major role in a theatrical feature was in The
Great Outdoors (1988) playing 'Kate Craig' opposite Dan Aykroyd and John Candy.
Her next role was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989) opposite Colin
Firth.
Bening's next major feature, Stephen Frears's The Grifters (1990) starring
Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, met with critical acclaim. She received an
Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Grifters. She
followed that with her appearance in Bugsy. Bening was offered the role as
Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992), but after she became pregnant, the role went
to Michelle Pfeiffer. Bening was paid $3 million to play the role of 'Elise
Kraft/Sharon Bridger' in The Siege (1998) co-starring Denzel Washington and
Bruce Willis. Her next role, in the 1999 film American Beauty, would give her
the highest-profile role of her career thus far. Bening played a real-estate
agent in three different movies: Regarding Henry, American Beauty, and What
Planet Are You From?. She has appeared in three different Mike Nichols' movies:
Postcards From The Edge, Regarding Henry, and What Planet Are You From?
She was originally cast as the mother in Disney's Freaky Friday, but dropped out.
She replaced Julianne Moore in her most recent appearance, Running with Scissors,
playing Deirdre Burroughs in the film adaptation of the Augusten Burroughs book.
On December 9, 2006, Bening hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guests Gwen
Stefani and Akon.
Bening is a council member for the California Arts Council.
Name: Annette Carol Bening
Born: 29 May 1958 Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and Screen
Actors Guild Award-winning American actress.
Bening was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Shirley and Grant Bening, an
insurance salesman. Her sister and two brothers are Jane Bening (born 1953),
Bradley Bening (born 1955) and Byron Bening (born 1957). The family moved to
Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. In 1965, her
father took a job with a company in San Diego, California, and they moved there.
She began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in The Sound of Music.
She studied drama at Patrick Henry High School.
She then spent a year working as a cook on a charter boat taking fishing parties
out on the Pacific Ocean, and scuba diving for recreation. She attended San
Diego Mesa College, then completed an academic degree in theatre arts at San
Francisco State University. Bening joined the acting company at the American
Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while studying acting as part of the
Advanced Theatre Training Program. During this time she established herself as a
formidable acting talent in roles like Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth.
Bening moved to New York City, where she debuted off-Broadway at Second Stage
Theatre (McGinn-Cazale Theatre) in the role of 'Holly Dancer' in Tina Howe's
widely acclaimed Coastal Disturbances (1987) opposite Tim Daly. However, despite
the praise and recognition, it took some time for that success to translate to
her film career. Her television debut was with the made-for-TV movie Manhunt for
Claude Dallas (1986). Her first major role in a theatrical feature was in The
Great Outdoors (1988) playing 'Kate Craig' opposite Dan Aykroyd and John Candy.
Her next role was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989) opposite Colin
Firth.
Bening's next major feature, Stephen Frears's The Grifters (1990) starring
Anjelica Huston and John Cusack, met with critical acclaim. She received an
Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for The Grifters. She
followed that with her appearance in Bugsy. Bening was offered the role as
Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992), but after she became pregnant, the role went
to Michelle Pfeiffer. Bening was paid $3 million to play the role of 'Elise
Kraft/Sharon Bridger' in The Siege (1998) co-starring Denzel Washington and
Bruce Willis. Her next role, in the 1999 film American Beauty, would give her
the highest-profile role of her career thus far. Bening played a real-estate
agent in three different movies: Regarding Henry, American Beauty, and What
Planet Are You From?. She has appeared in three different Mike Nichols' movies:
Postcards From The Edge, Regarding Henry, and What Planet Are You From?
She was originally cast as the mother in Disney's Freaky Friday, but dropped out.
She replaced Julianne Moore in her most recent appearance, Running with Scissors,
playing Deirdre Burroughs in the film adaptation of the Augusten Burroughs book.
On December 9, 2006, Bening hosted Saturday Night Live with musical guests Gwen
Stefani and Akon.
Bening is a council member for the California Arts Council.