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Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts

Birthday: 1968-09-28 | Place of Birth: Shoreham, Kent, England, UK

Naomi had already been a working actress for over a decade when she earned notice as a promising newcomer in David Lynch's Cannes Film Festival prizewinner Mulholland Drive (2001). Born September 28th, 1968, Watts began acting in her teens, landing her first film role in For Love Alone (1986). Watts subsequently appeared with future Hollywood headliners Nicole Kidman and Thandie Newton in John Duigan's disarming teen romance Flirting (1991). Watts's next film with Duigan, Wide Sargasso Sea (1992), was not so well received. After her first taste of Hollywood with Joe Dante's schlock movie homage Matinee (1992), Watts nabbed a starring role as Jimmy Smits's disturbed student in George Miller's little seen courtroom drama Gross Misconduct (1993). Watts then starred as Jet Girl to Lori Petty's Tank Girl (1995), but the science fiction fantasy suffered an ignominious box office fate. After a series of TV movies and thrillers, including Sleepwalkers (1997) and Children of the Corn IV (1996), Watts appeared in Marshall Herskovitz's high-toned Venetian courtesan costumer Dangerous Beauty (1998) and successful TV docudrama The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer (1999). Watts's breakthrough finally arrived when David Lynch cast her in his ABC pilot Mulholland Drive. Though ABC canceled the project in 1999 after Lynch turned in a typically mood-drenched work, StudioCanal financed its transformation into a feature that debuted to acclaim at Cannes in 2001. A Los Angeles dreamscape akin to Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive featured Watts as the blonde half of a female duo caught in a mystery of shifting identities. Drawing attention for her not-for-network TV love scene with co-star Laura Harring, Watts also earned praise as a rising "new" actress. Though ignored for an Oscar nomination, Watts's tour-de-force dual performance earned her numerous accolades and critics' awards, igniting her career. Working steadily in the wake of Mulholland Drive, Watts scored a box-office as well as critical success a year later with The Ring (2002), the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror blockbuster. Starring Watts as an intrepid reporter investigating the origins of a lethal videotape, The Ring overcame studio doubts to become a sleeper hit, solidifying Watts's new star status. Watts subsequently donned period dress for the Showtime western The Outsider (2002), and to co-star alongside fellow Aussie Heath Ledger in The Kelly Gang (2003). Balancing her genre work with potentially headier fare guided by notable directors, Watts also appeared with Kate Hudson, Glenn Close and Stockard Channing in the Merchant-Ivory romantic comedy Le Divorce (2003), and won a leading role opposite formidable actors Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003).

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2022
The Desperate Hour

as    Amy Carr

2022
Infinite Storm

as    Pam Bales

2021
Boss Level

as    Jemma Wells

2021
This Is the Night

as    Marie Dedea

2021
Penguin Bloom

as    Sam Bloom

2019
Luce

as    Amy Edgar

2019
The Wolf Hour

as    June Leigh

2019
Ophelia

as    Queen Gertrude / Mechtild

2017
Gypsy

as    Jean Holloway

2017
Chuck

as    Linda Wepner

2017
3 Generations

as    Maggie

2017
The Glass Castle

as    Rose Mary Walls

2017
I Am Heath Ledger

as    Self

2017
2017
The Book of Henry

as    Susan Carpenter

2016
Allegiant

as    Evelyn Johnson-Eaton

2016
The Sea of Trees

as    Joan Brennan

2016
Shut In

as    Mary Portman

2015
While We're Young

as    Cornelia Schrebnick

2015
Insurgent

as    Evelyn Johnson-Eaton

2015
Demolition

as    Karen Moreno

2014
St. Vincent

as    Daka Parimova

2013
Adore

as    Lil

2013
Sunlight Jr.

as    Melissa

2013
Diana

as    Princess Diana

2012
The Impossible

as    Maria Bennett

2011
Dream House

as    Ann Patterson

2011