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Annette Bening extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Annette Bening
Bening at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Annette Francine Bening May 29, 1958 (1958-05-29) (age 51) Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	J. Steven White (1984–1991) Warren Beatty (1992–present)

Annette Francine Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. Her break-through role in The Grifters was followed with critically acclaimed roles in films such as Bugsy and American Beauty. In 1992, she married American actor and director Warren Beatty, with whom she has four children.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External links

Early life

Bening was born in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Shirley, a church singer and soloist, and Grant Bening, a sales training consultant and insurance salesman.¹² Her parents, natives of Iowa, were practicing Episcopalians and conservative Republicans.³⁴ 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.

Career

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 (1986) opposite Tim Daly, and for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. 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. In 1994 she played opposite 87-year old acting legend Katharine Hepburn in Love Affair. 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 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.

Personal life

In 1985, Bening and her first husband, choreographer J. Steven White, moved to Denver, Colorado, to work at the Shakespeare Festival⁵ in Boulder, Colorado. They separated the following year.

She and Warren Beatty met on the set of Bugsy (1991), in which she played Virginia Hill, and the couple began a secret romance. They married in 1992. She and Beatty live in Los Angeles with their four children, Kathlyn Elizabeth Beatty (born January 8, 1992 in Los Angeles County, California), Benjamin MacLean Beatty (born August 23, 1994 in Los Angeles County, California), Isabel Ira Ashley Beatty (born January 11, 1997) and Ella Corinne Beatty (born April 8, 2000).

Bening is a supporter of the Democrats and was a political contributor to the presidential candidacy of Barack Obama in 2008.⁶ She is a student of Iyengar Yoga.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	The Great Outdoors	Kate Craig
1989	Valmont	Merteuil
1990	Postcards from the Edge	Evelyn Ames
	The Grifters	Myra Langtry	London Film Critics' Circle Award for Newcomer of the Year National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1991	Guilty by Suspicion	Ruth Merrill
	Regarding Henry	Sarah Turner
	Bugsy	Virginia Hill	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1994	Love Affair	Terry McKay
1995	Richard III	Queen Elizabeth
	The American President	Sydney Ellen Wade	Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1996	Mars Attacks!	Barbara Land
1998	The Siege	Elise Kraft/Sharon Bridger
1999	In Dreams	Claire Cooper
	American Beauty	Carolyn Burnham	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated — American Comedy Award for Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Nominated — Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated — Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2000	What Planet Are You From?	Susan Anderson
2003	Open Range	Sue Barlow	Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2004	Being Julia	Julia Lambert	Bangkok International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy National Board of Review Award for Best Actress Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated — Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated — Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2005	Mrs. Harris	Jean Harris	Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2006	Running with Scissors	Deirdre Burroughs	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2007	14 Women	Narrator
2008	The Women	Sylvie Fowler
2010	The Kids Are All Right	Nic
	Mother and Child	Karen	in post-production

References

External links

• Annette Bening at the Internet Movie Database
• Annette Bening at the Internet Broadway Database
• Annette Bening at Allmovie
• Roger Ebert "Movie Answer Man: Hail, Columbia! Mystery solved". Retrieved Aug. 27, 2005.

v • d • e Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Jodie Foster (1994) · Susan Sarandon (1995) · Frances McDormand (1996) · Helen Hunt (1997) · Gwyneth Paltrow (1998) · Annette Bening (1999) · Julia Roberts (2000) · Halle Berry (2001) · Renée Zellweger (2002) · Charlize Theron (2003) · Hilary Swank (2004) · Reese Witherspoon (2005) · Helen Mirren (2006) · Julie Christie (2007) · Meryl Streep (2008) · Sandra Bullock (2009)

v • d • e Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nicole Kidman (2001) · Renée Zellweger (2002) · Diane Keaton (2003) · Annette Bening (2004) · Reese Witherspoon (2005) · Meryl Streep (2006) · Marion Cotillard (2007) · Sally Hawkins (2008) · Meryl Streep (2009) Complete List · (1950–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

Persondata
NAME	Bening, Annette
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bening, Annette Carol
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	29 May 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH	Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH