Annette Bening

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Annette Bening
Bening at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
Born
Annette Carol Bening

(1958-05-29) May 29, 1958 (age 65)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Education
OccupationActress
Years active1980–present
WorksFull list
Spouses
  • J. Steven White
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1984; div. 1991)​
  • ​
    (m. 1992)​
Children4
AwardsFull list

Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for

Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards, making her one of few artists nominated for the Triple Crown of Acting
without winning.

A graduate of

Golden Globe for Best Actress. Bening's performance as the title character in the British television film Mrs. Harris (2005) earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie
.

In following decades, Bening received two additional Oscar nominations for her leading roles as a lesbian mother in The Kids Are All Right (2010) and swimmer Diana Nyad in the Netflix biographical film Nyad (2023), the former of which also won her a Golden Globe. She returned to Broadway in the revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons (2019) earning another Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Her other roles during this period include in the films 20th Century Women (2016), Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017), Captain Marvel (2019) and Death on the Nile (2022), and the miniseries Apples Never Fall (2024).

Bening serves as Vice Chair on the board of trustees for

The Actors Fund. In 1992, she married actor Warren Beatty
, with whom she has four children.

Early life and education

Annette Carol Bening

Episcopalians and conservative Republicans. She is of mostly German and English descent.[6][7]

The youngest of four children, she has an older sister Jane, and two older brothers Bradley and Byron. The family moved to Wichita, Kansas, in 1959, where she spent her early childhood. When Bening was in elementary school, her father relocated the family to San Diego, California, where she spent the remainder of her youth.[8]

She began acting in junior high school, playing the lead in

Theatre Arts at San Francisco State University.[9]

Career

1986–1999: Initial work, breakthrough and rise to prominence

Bening in 1999

Bening began her career on stage with the

Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play[11] and receiving a Theatre World Award for her performance in Coastal Disturbances. Bening made her film debut in The Great Outdoors (1988), starring Dan Aykroyd and John Candy. Her next role was as the Marquise de Merteuil in Valmont (1989) opposite Colin Firth
.

Bening achieved her breakthrough with the neo-noir crime thriller

The Siege (1998), a thriller with Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis
.

Bening garnered acclaim for her starring role in Sam Mendes' directorial debut film, American Beauty (1999). She starred opposite Kevin Spacey in the dark comedy-drama about a man suffering a mid-life crisis in 90s American suburbia. The film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. For her performance as the materialistic wife Carolyn Burnham, Bening earned the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, in addition to her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress[13] and her second nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.[14]

In 1999, Bening returned to the stage for the first time in 10 years playing the title role in Hedda Gabler at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times praised her performance saying "Bening uses her vocal instrument to fine effect, without throwing it around... In the movies you don't always hear what Bening can do with that voice, especially when she's playing virtuous, "sensible" types... But Ibsen's antiheroine—thwarted sensualist, a woman wrestling with her inner troll, belle of a ball that never comes—is neither virtuous nor sensible. She's no easy-to-read villain, either, nor a mere vindictive brat, though plenty of actresses have reduced her thus. Bening lays into the venomous sarcasm mighty heavily, but she's cagey enough to avoid reductive extremes."[15]

2000–2014: Established actress

Bening starred in other films, including

UCLA's Freud Playhouse.[18] She received positive reviews for her performance in the independent film Mother and Child (2009).[19]

In 2010, she starred in The Female of the Species, Joanna Murray-Smith's comedy, at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.[20] Later that year, Bening received critical acclaim for her performance in The Kids Are All Right; a reviewer said that she "deserves an Oscar" and another praised her "sublime" performance.[21] For her role, Bening won her second Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.[14] She also received nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, in addition to her third nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.[22]

In 2012, Bening's audiobook recording of

Shakespeare in the Park. It marked her first New York stage appearance in twenty years.[23][24] Bening starred in Dan Fogelman's 2015 American comedy drama Danny Collins, with Al Pacino
.

2016–present: Later career

Olivia Wilde, Bening, Mandy Patinkin, Olivia Cooke, Laia Costa at the TIFF premiere for Life Itself in 2018

In 2016, Bening starred in Mike Mills's comedy drama 20th Century Women alongside Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, and Billy Crudup.[25] Bening played a chain-smoking first-wave feminist struggling to raise her teenage son. Sheila O'Malley of Roger Ebert.com declared, "Bening has one of the best performances of the year (and one of Bening's personal best as well)".[26] For her performance, she was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead and the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress, in addition to her fifth nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.

The following year, she portrayed Gloria Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool (2017) alongside Jamie Bell, Vanessa Redgrave, and Julie Walters. Peter Bradshaw critic from The Guardian praised her performance declaring, "Bening is excellent as Grahame: imperious, vulnerable, romantic, sexually excited about her younger man, wanly aware of secrets she cannot share with him".[27] She received her third nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in the film. The following year, she starred as Irina Arkadina in The Seagull and as Dr. Cait Morris in Life Itself (2018).

In 2019, Bening returned to the

American Airlines Theatre. The play opened on April 4, 2019, and closed on June 23, 2019.[28] She was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance.[29] The following year, she portrayed Senator Dianne Feinstein in the political drama film The Report (2019) for which she earned her first nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture.[14]

Bening joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe playing Dr. Wendy Lawson in Captain Marvel (2019) alongside Brie Larson. The film was a financial box-office hit. In 2022, she acted in Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile and the comedy Jerry & Marge Go Large opposite Bryan Cranston. That same year, she filmed Nyad alongside Jodie Foster, where Bening portrayed long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad. The film was distributed by Netflix and premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.[30] Her performance earned high critical acclaim,[31][32][33] and earned her a fourth nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.[34]

She next starred in Liane Moriarty's Apples Never Fall, based on the bestselling thriller which was adaptated by Peacock and also features Sam Neill. The limited series premiered with all episodes immediately available to stream on March 15, 2024.

She serves as Vice Chair on the board of trustees for

The Actors Fund.[35]

Personal life

She has been married to actor Warren Beatty since March 3, 1992. They have four children.[36]

Acting credits and accolades

Main articles: List of Annette Bening performances and List of awards and nominations received by Annette Bening

Bening has received numerous accolades, including a

Tony Awards.[11][29]

She has also received five Academy Award nominations, for the following films:

References

  1. ^ "#83 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: A Third Set of Ten Hollywood Figures (or Groups Thereof), with a Coda on Two Directors". AmericanAncestors.org. April 18, 2008. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  2. ^
    FYI/A&E Networks). Archived
    from the original on July 3, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
  3. ^ "Public Record of Shirley Bening". FamilySearch. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  4. ^ "Putting 'Real Life' First Makes Bening A Better Actress". Nl.newsbank.com. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
  5. ^ "Annette Bening Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on January 20, 2013. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  6. ^ Dutka, Elaine (February 21, 1999). "The Aura of Annette; If She Makes the Merging of Career and Family Appear Effortless, It's an Illusion". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2008.
  7. ^ Thomson, Desson (October 24, 2004). "Annette Bening, Acting on Her Maternal Instincts". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 3, 2010.[dead link]
  8. ^ Whipp, Glenn (January 17, 2017). "Annette Bening wonders: Can kids and parents ever truly know one another?". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022.
  9. ^ Zack, Jessica (November 17, 2020). "Annette Bening, S.F. State and ACT alum, can't wait to 'get back into the theater'". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on February 21, 2022.
  10. ^ "Love's Labour's Lost (1980 Colorado Shakespeare Festival)". Internet Shakespeare Editions. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  11. ^ a b "Nominations - 1987". Tony Awards. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "The 63rd Academy Awards (1991)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  13. ^ a b "The 72nd Academy Awards (2000)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  14. ^
    Golden Globes, LLC
    . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  15. ^ Phillips, Michael (March 26, 1999). "'Hedda': A Woman Always on the Verge". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 26, 2020. Retrieved May 3, 2020.
  16. ^ a b "The 77th Academy Awards (2005)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  17. ^ a b "Annette Bening - Awards & Nominations". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  18. ^ "UCLA Live's new season: Annette Bening stars in world premiere". Los Angeles Times. June 3, 2009. Archived from the original on May 21, 2014. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  19. ^ Scott, A. O. (May 7, 2010). "In a Melancholy Los Angeles, 'La Ronde' of Motherhood". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  20. ^ "She's So Under the Gun, She Can't Leave Her Desk". The New York Times. March 1, 2010. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  21. ^ "At the Movies: The Kids Are All Right". ABC Australia. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  22. ^ a b "The 83rd Academy Awards (2011)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  23. ^ Gordon, David (May 20, 2014). "Annette Bening, Jessica Hecht, and More Will Join John Lithgow in Shakespeare in the Park's King Lear". TheaterMania.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  24. ^ "Annette Bening, Jessica Collins, Jessica Hecht Will Be John Lithgow's Daughters in King Lear". Playbill. May 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 30, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  25. ^ McNary, Dave (May 14, 2015). "Annette Bening, Greta Gerwig, Elle Fanning Join '20th Century Women'". Variety. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  26. ^ "20th Century Women". Rogerebert.com. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  27. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (September 2, 2017). "Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool review – Annette Bening and Jamie Bell in stranger-than-fiction love story". Guardian. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  28. ^ "Arthur Miller's All My Sons". Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  29. ^ a b "Nominations - 2019". Tony Awards. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  30. ^ "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders 'Dumb Money', 'The Holdovers', 'Rustin'; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood. July 24, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  31. ^ Reed, Rex (October 23, 2023). "If There's Any Justice, 'NYAD' Will Be Remembered When Awards Season Rolls Around". Observer. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  32. ^ Travers, Peter (October 20, 2023). "Review: You'll cheer like crazy after seeing 'Nyad'". ABC News. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  33. ^ Maltin, Leonard (December 21, 2023). "My Favorite Films of the Year". Leonardmaltin.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  34. ^ a b "The 96th Academy Awards (2024)". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  35. ^ "Board of Trustees". Actors Fund. February 11, 2016. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
  36. ^ "'In real life, people aren't heroic': Annette Bening and Bill Nighy on why marriages implode". the Guardian. August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2022.
  37. ^ "Film - Actress in a Leading Role (2000)". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  38. ^ "The 6th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved January 26, 2024.

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