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Naomi Watts is a British actress and producer known for her work in Australian and American film, television and video games. Watts emigrated with her family to Australia from the UK at the age of 14, and made her debut in the 1986 Australian film For Love Alone.[1] She then pursued a brief career in the fashion industry, first as a model and later as a fashion editor. After attending a drama workshop, Watts quit her editing job and pursued acting as a career.[2] She appeared in the sitcom Hey Dad..! (1990), and the soap opera Home and Away (1991). Her first lead role was in the 1993 thriller Gross Misconduct, where Watts played a student who seduces her teacher, and then accuses him of rape.[1][3]
She transitioned to Hollywood productions in the mid to late 1990s[1] starring in the science fiction film Tank Girl (1995), horror film Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996), and biographical drama Dangerous Beauty (1998). Watts played an aspiring actress in David Lynch's neo-noir film Mulholland Drive (2001), which was her breakthrough role and garnered her international recognition.[1][4] She then starred as journalist Rachel Keller in the horror remake The Ring (2002), and reprised the role in its sequel The Ring Two (2005). Watts portrayed a grief-stricken mother with a history of substance abuse in the Alejandro González Iñárritu-directed 21 Grams (2003),[5] for which she garnered nominations for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, British Academy Film Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards.[6][7][8]
Watts played Ann Darrow in Peter Jackson's monster film remake King Kong (2005), for which she won the Saturn Award for Best Actress.[9] She also reprised her role voicing Darrow in the video game adaptation, for which she was nominated for a Spike Video Game Award for Best Performance by a Female.[10] Five years later, she portrayed CIA officer Valerie Plame in the biographical drama Fair Game (2010) with Sean Penn. In 2011, Watts played FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's secretary Helen Gandy in the biographical drama J. Edgar with Leonardo DiCaprio. The following year, she starred as a doctor who is caught up by the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami with her family in The Impossible (2012).[11] For her performance, Watts received nominations for Best Actress at the Oscars and Golden Globe Awards.[12][13]
She reteamed with Iñárritu on the 2014 black comedy Birdman. In 2017, Watts starred in the third season of Lynch's television series Twin Peaks and as a psychologist in the psychological thriller series Gypsy which she also executively produced. She played Queen Gertrude and Mechthild in the romantic drama Ophelia (2018). Two years later Watts portrayed Fox News journalist Gretchen Carlson in the miniseries The Loudest Voice (2019).[14]
Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1986 | For Love Alone | Leo's girlfriend | [15][16] | |
1991 | Flirting | Janet Odgers | [17][18] | |
1993 | Matinee | Shopping Cart Starlet | [4] | |
1993 | Wide Sargasso Sea | Fanny Grey | [19][20] | |
Gross Misconduct | Jennifer Carter | [21] | ||
The Custodian | Louise | [22] | ||
1995 | Tank Girl | Jet Girl | [23] | |
1996 | Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering | Grace Rhodes | [24] | |
Persons Unknown | Molly L. Chenoweth | [25] | ||
1997 | Under the Lighthouse Dancing | Louise | [26] | |
1998 | A House Divided | Amanda | Short film | [27] |
Dangerous Beauty | Giulia De Lezze | [28][29] | ||
Babe: Pig in the City | Additional voice | [4] | ||
1999 | Strange Planet | Alice | [30][31] | |
2001 | Never Date an Actress | Shallow Girlfriend | Short film | [32] |
Ellie Parker | Ellie Parker | Short film; also producer | [33] | |
Down | Jennifer Evans | [34] | ||
Mulholland Drive | Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn[a] | [35] | ||
2002 | Rabbits | Susie | Short film series | [36] |
The Ring | Rachel Keller | [37] | ||
Plots with a View | Meredith Mainwaring | [38] | ||
2003 | Ned Kelly | Julia Cook | [39] | |
Le Divorce | Roxeanne de Persand | [40] | ||
21 Grams | Cristina Peck | [41] | ||
2004 | We Don't Live Here Anymore | Edith Evans | Also producer | [42] |
The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Marie Andersen Bicke | [43][44] | ||
I Heart Huckabees | Dawn Campbell | [45] | ||
2005 | Ellie Parker | Ellie Parker | Also producer | [33] |
The Ring Two | Rachel Keller | [46] | ||
Stay | Lila Culpepper | [47] | ||
King Kong | Ann Darrow | [48] | ||
2006 | Inland Empire | Susie | [49][50] | |
The Painted Veil | Kitty Fane | Also producer | [51] | |
2007 | Eastern Promises | Anna Khitrova | [52] | |
Funny Games | Ann Farber | Also executive producer | [53][54] | |
2009 | The International | Eleanor Whitman | [55] | |
Mother and Child | Elizabeth | [56] | ||
2010 | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Sally | [57] | |
Fair Game | Valerie Plame | [58] | ||
2011 | Dream House | Ann Patterson | [59] | |
J. Edgar | Helen Gandy | [60] | ||
2012 | The Impossible | Maria Bennett | [61][62] | |
2013 | Movie 43 | Samantha | Segment: "Homeschooled" | [63] |
Adoration | Lil | Also executive producer | [64][65] | |
Sunlight Jr. | Melissa | [66] | ||
Diana | Diana, Princess of Wales | [67] | ||
The Last Impresario | Herself | Documentary; also associate producer | [68] | |
2014 | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Lesley Truman | [69] | |
St. Vincent | Daka | [70] | ||
While We're Young | Cornelia Schrebnick | [71][72] | ||
2015 | The Divergent Series: Insurgent | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | [73] | |
The Sea of Trees | Joan Brennan | [74][75] | ||
Demolition | Karen Moreno | [76][77] | ||
3 Generations | Maggie | Also executive producer | [78][79][80] | |
2016 | The Divergent Series: Allegiant | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | [81] | |
Chuck | Linda Wepner | [82][83] | ||
Shut In | Mary Portman | [84] | ||
2017 | The Book of Henry | Susan Carpenter | [85] | |
The Glass Castle | Rose Mary Walls | [86] | ||
2018 | Ophelia | Queen Gertrude and Mechthild | [87] | |
Vice | Fox News Anchor | Uncredited cameo | [88] | |
2019 | Luce | Amy Edgar | [89] | |
The Wolf Hour | June Leigh | Also executive producer | [90] | |
2020 | Penguin Bloom | Sam Bloom | [91][92] | |
2021 | Boss Level | Jemma Wells | [93] | |
The Desperate Hour | Amy Carr | Also producer | [94][95] | |
This Is the Night | Marie Dedea | Also executive producer | [96][97] | |
2022 | Infinite Storm | Pam Bales | Also producer | [98] |
Goodnight Mommy | Mother | Also executive producer | [99][100] | |
2024 | The Friend | Iris | Also executive producer | [101] |
Emmanuelle | Margot | [102] | ||
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year(s) | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1990 | Hey Dad..! | Belinda Lawrence | 2 episodes | [103] |
1991 | Brides of Christ | Frances Heffernan | 5 episodes | [104] |
1991 | Home and Away | Julie Gibson | 19 episodes | [105][106] |
1996 | Secrets of the Bermuda Triangle | Amanda | Television film | [107] |
1996 | Timepiece | Mary Chandler | Television film | [108] |
1997–1998 | Sleepwalkers | Kate Russell | 9 episodes | [103] |
1998 | The Christmas Wish | Renee | Television film | [109] |
1999 | The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer | Holly Maddux | Television film | [110] |
2000 | The Wyvern Mystery | Alice Fairfield | Television film | [111] |
2002 | The Outsider | Rebecca Yoder | Television film | [112] |
2011 | Sesame Street | Herself | Episode: "Goodbye Pacifier" | [113] |
2014 | BoJack Horseman | Herself (voice) | Episode: "One Trick Pony" | [114] |
2017 | Twin Peaks | Janey-E Jones | 10 episodes | [115] |
2017 | Gypsy | Jean Holloway | 10 episodes; also executive producer | [116][117] |
2019 | The Loudest Voice | Gretchen Carlson | 7 episodes | [117] |
2019 | Bloodmoon | Unknown | Unaired pilot | [118][119] |
2020 | Secrets of the Zoo: Down Under | Narrator (voice) | 10 episodes | [120] |
2022 | The Watcher | Nora Brannock | 7 episodes; also executive producer | [121] |
2024 | Feud: Capote vs. The Swans | Babe Paley | Season 2; also executive producer | [122] |
TBA | All's Fair † | TBA | Main role; upcoming series Also executive producer |
[123] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Peter Jackson's King Kong | Ann Darrow (voice) | Based on the film | [10][124] |
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