Catherine Zeta Jones

Catherine Zeta Jones acting career has been meteoric considering that less than fifteen years ago the A-list movie star was only a fresh young face on the popular British TV drama ‘The Darling Buds of May’.Making her prime time debut as the demure and sweet ‘Mariette’, very few would have predicted then that the pretty actress would eventually become one of the most bankable faces in the movie world. Jones’marriage to actor Michael Douglas in 2000, enshrined her in one of Hollywood’s most famous movie families and cemented her status as Superstar.

Born in a working class area of Swansea, West Glamorgan, Catherine Zeta Jones interest in performing began early when a pre-teen Catherine would invite friends and family to watch her sing and dance on the living room table. Like a Welsh version of Bonnie Langford, she high-kicked and sang favourite Broadway tunes for the amusement of neighbours and proud family members. The fortunes of the Catholic Jones’ family itself took an upturn when her parents won £100,000 on Bingo, prompting a move to a more middle-class neighbourhood.

Catherine Zeta Jones was an unremarkable student leaving her school years behind without any qualifications. But what she lacked in academic proficiency she made up for in talent and ruthless determination to become a star. She changed her name, deciding to make herself sound more glamorous by taking her great-grandmother’s name Zeta as a middle-moniker.

Early stage beginnings were humble as a ten-year-old Zeta Jones performed as part of a Catholic congregation-performing troupe. But it wasn’t long before the adolescent would-be actress was appearing in West End shows such as ‘Annie’ and ‘Bugsy Malone’.There is little doubt that her exotic beauty brought her the attention she needed to win parts. In 1987 she starred in a London production of ‘42nd Street’ and shortly afterwards she made her first feature film, ‘1001 Nights’ for French film director Phillippe De Broca.

Despite a brief hiccup in the form of a misjudged singing career, Zeta-Jones’ career trajectory continued steadily upwards in a series of low budget and unmemorable films. A testament to her talent was that no matter how bad or pedestrian the productions were, the young actress was able to make an impression on the screen, if not with scintillating dialogue then certainly with her radiant beauty.