Australians in Hollywood : Biographical Notes

Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts (b. 1968) was born in England and came to Australia at the age of 14. After promising early work here – she was a radiant young Catholic in Brides of Christ (1991), and an infatuated uni student on the receiving end of Jimmy Smits's Gross Misconduct (1993) – she settled in Hollywood and suffered a well documented, near decade of obscurity, failed auditions and regrettable ventures: the big-screen flop Tank Girl (1995), the telemovie Children of the Corn IV (1996), the swiftly axed TV series Sleepwalkers (1997). Her break finally came with a virtuosic performance in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001), originally made as a TV pilot, and triumphantly reconceived as a feature film. She has since made The Ring (2002), Merchant-Ivory's Le Divorce (2003), and with Sean Penn 21 Grams (2003), as well as returning here for Ned Kelly (2003). She is rumoured to be in line for the Fay Wray/Jessica Lange role in the forthcoming remake of King Kong.

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