Cate Blanchett

Cate Blanchett popped into the world on May 14, 1969, in Melbourne, with a Texas-tied dad and an Aussie mom. She lost her father young—just ten, yeesh—and her gran swooped in to help her mom raise Cate and her siblings. Fast-forward to ’92: she’s out of Australia’s National Institute of Dramatic Art, and honestly, Cate hit the ground sprinting. Within a year, she’s collecting awards left and right—first with “Top Girls,” then nabbing the Newcomer Award for “Kafka Dances,” and snatching the Rosemont Best Actress Award for “Oleanna.” The Sydney theatre scene basically couldn’t get enough of her. Her TV gigs started popping up too: “Heartland,” “Bordertown,” “G.P.,” and “Police Rescue.” By ’97, she’s finally on the big screen with “Paradise Road.” Oh, and that same year? She marries Andrew Upton. Funny story—they didn’t even like each other at first, but a wild poker game later and bam, married three weeks after he proposed. “Elizabeth” (1998) was her big breakout, with a Golden Globe win and her first Oscar nod—though Gwyneth Paltrow edged her out. The early 2000s were nuts: “Bandits,” “The Shipping News,” Galadriel in “Lord of the Rings,” and juggling motherhood with her first two sons. Then she nailed Katharine Hepburn in “The Aviator” (Oscar win!), and kept racking up nominations with “Notes on a Scandal,” “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” and even as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There.” She and Upton ran the Sydney Theatre Company for a bit, bought a killer house, and raised their kids mostly in Australia. Post-“Blue Jasmine” (huge Oscar win), she slowed down, adopted a daughter in 2015, and, honestly, just kept being Cate.