In addition to acting, Bullock is the founder of the production companyFortis Films. She has produced some of the films in which she has starred, includingMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005) andAll About Steve (2009), and served as an executive producer on theABC sitcomGeorge Lopez (2002–2007), on which she made numerous appearances. Dubbed "America's sweetheart" by the media, Bullock was also named theMost Beautiful Woman byPeople magazine in 2015.
Early life and education
Bullock was born on July 26, 1964, inArlington County, Virginia,[1] to Helga Mathilde (née Meyer; 1942–2000), an opera singer and voice teacher fromGermany; and John Wilson Bullock[2] (1925–2018), anArmy employee and part-time voice coach fromBirmingham, Alabama.[3][4][5] Her father, who was in charge of theArmy's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed inNuremberg when he met her mother.[6] Her parents married in Germany. Bullock's maternal grandfather was a German rocket scientist from Nuremberg.[7] The family returned to Arlington, where her father worked with theArmy Materiel Command before becoming a contractor forThe Pentagon.[6][8][9] Bullock has a younger sister,Gesine Bullock-Prado, who served as president of Bullock's production company Fortis Films.[10]
For 12 years, Bullock lived inNuremberg, West Germany, andVienna andSalzburg, Austria,[11] and grew up speaking German.[12] She had aWaldorf education in Nuremberg.[13][11] As a child, while her mother went on European opera tours, Bullock usually stayed with her aunt Christl and cousin Susanne, the latter of whom later married politicianPeter Ramsauer.[14] Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child and frequently accompanied her mother, taking small parts in her opera productions.[15] In Nuremberg, she sang in the opera's children's choir.[16] Bullock has a scar above her left eye which was caused by a fall into a creek when she was a child.[17][18] While she maintains her American citizenship, she applied for German citizenship in 2009.[12]
In 1994, she played Annie Porter, a passenger eventually driving a bus that was rigged by a terrorist, in the smash-hit blockbusterSpeed alongsideKeanu Reeves. She was required to read forSpeed to ensure that there was the right chemistry between her and Reeves. She recalls they had to do "all these really physical scenes together, rolling around on the floor and stuff."[27]Speed received critical acclaim, withRotten Tomatoes calling it a "terrific popcorn thriller [with] outstanding performances from Keanu Reeves,Dennis Hopper, and Sandra Bullock",[28] grossed $350 million worldwide,[29][30] and helped establish Bullock as aHollywood actress. She wonBest Actress at the21st Saturn Awards andBest Female Performance andMost Desirable Female at the1995 MTV Movie Awards.
Bullock headlined the romantic comedyWhile You Were Sleeping (1995) as a lonelyChicago Transit Authority token collector who saves the life of a man. The film had a positive reception from critics, who felt that it was "assembled with such skill—and with such a charming performance from Sandra Bullock—that it gives formula a good name."[31] She received her first nomination for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The thrillerThe Net (also 1995), starred Bullock as a computer programmer who stumbles upon a conspiracy that puts her life and the lives of those around her in great danger.Owen Gleiberman, writing forEntertainment Weekly, complimented her performance, saying, "Bullock pulls you into the movie. Her overripe smile and clear, imploring eyes are sometimes evocative ofJulia Roberts".[32]While You Were Sleeping andThe Net made $182 million and $110.6 million, respectively.[33]
Worldwide recognition (1996–2007)
InA Time to Kill (1996), a legal drama based onJohn Grisham's 1989novel of the same name, Bullock portrayed a member of the defense team in the trial for the murder of two men who raped a young girl, oppositeSamuel L. Jackson,Matthew McConaughey andKevin Spacey. She received anMTV Movie Award nomination for Best Female Performance.[34] She subsequently received $11 million forSpeed 2: Cruise Control (1997), which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her next project,Hope Floats (1998).[35] Unlike the original film,Speed 2 was a critical and commercial flop that she later disparaged.[36] InHope Floats, she starred as an unassuming housewife whose life is disrupted when her husband (played byMichael Paré) reveals his infidelity to her on a talk show. CriticJames Berardinelli remarked that her "undisputed strength lies in a blend of light drama and comedy".[37] That film was a commercial success, grossing $81.4 million worldwide.[38]
Bullock starred in the comedyPractical Magic (1998) alongsideNicole Kidman as two witch sisters who face a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love. While the film opened atop the chart on its North American opening weekend, it flopped at the box office.[39][40] That year, she voiced Miriam in theDreamWorks Animation filmThe Prince of Egypt and wrote, produced, and directed the short filmMaking Sandwiches. She next played a free-spirited drifter who begins to talk to a writer (Ben Affleck) in the romantic comedyForces of Nature (1999), on whichBoxoffice Magazine remarked: "The combination of Affleck's deadpan by-the-book persona with the spontaneity of Bullock's character sparks with convincing chemistry."[41]Forces of Nature made $93 million worldwide.[42] Bullock took on the role of anFBI agent who must go undercover as a beauty pageant contestant in the comedyMiss Congeniality (2000), which became another financial success, with a global gross of $212 million.[43] It earned her a second nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. In28 Days (also 2000), a dramedy directed byBetty Thomas, Bullock starred as a newspaper columnist obliged to enter a rehabilitation program for alcoholism.[44]
Bullock starred in the psychological thrillerMurder by Numbers (2002) as a seasoned homicide detective.Roger Ebert awarded the film three stars out of a possible four, stating: "Bullock does a good job here of working against her natural likability, creating a character you'd like to like, and could like, if she weren't so sad, strange and turned in upon herself."[45] She teamed up withHugh Grant for the romantic comedyTwo Weeks Notice (also 2002), in which she starred as a lawyer who walks out on her boss.[46] Liz Braun, ofJam! Movies, found Bullock and Grant to be "perfectly paired", stating: "The script allows the two actors to be at their comedic best, even though the film as a whole is amateurish in many ways".[47]Two Weeks Notice made $199 million globally.[48] That year, she was presented with theRaul Julia Award for Excellence for helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry as the executive producer of the sitcomGeorge Lopez (2002–2007).[49] She also made several appearances on the show asAccident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages.[50]
As part of a large ensemble cast, Bullock played the wife of a district attorney in the dramaCrash (2004), which won theAcademy Award for Best Picture. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career to that point.[51] ForCrash, she received theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture along with the rest of the cast. She next received a $17.5 million salary forMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous,[52] which Roger Ebert called a "doubly unnecessary" sequel.[53] She was a co-recipient of the 2005Women in FilmCrystal Award.[54] In 2006, Bullock reunited withKeanu Reeves for the romantic dramaThe Lake House, although their characters were separated throughout the film and they were only on set together for two weeks during filming,[55] and playedHarper Lee inInfamous, a drama based onGeorge Plimpton's 1997 bookTruman Capote, alongsideToby Jones andDaniel Craig.[56]The Lake House was a financial success, whileInfamous received generally positive reviews.[57] Bullock headlined the supernatural thrillerPremonition (2007) as a housewife who experiences the days surrounding her husband's death in non-chronological order.[58] Despite negative reviews,[59] the film grossed $84.1 million worldwide.
In 2009, Bullock starred as a pushy editor-in-chief in the romantic comedyThe Proposal, oppositeRyan Reynolds, which grossed $317 million at the worldwide box office, making it her fourth-most successful picture to date.[30] She received her third nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.[60] That same year, the dramaThe Blind Side opened at number two behindNew Moon with $34.2 million, making it Bullock's second-highest opening weekend ever; it went on to gross over $309 million, making it her highest-grossing domestic film, her fourth-highest-grossing film worldwide, and the first one in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star.[61][62] Bullock portrayedLeigh Anne Tuohy, the adoptive mother ofMichael Oher, a role she had initially turned down three times due to discomfort in portraying a devout Christian.[63] She was awarded theAcademy Award,Golden Globe Award,Screen Actors Guild Award andCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress.[64]The Blind Side also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[65] Winning the Oscar also gave Bullock another unique distinction: the prior night, she won theRazzie Award for Worst Actress for her performance as an eccentriccrossword puzzle writer inAll About Steve (2009), becoming the only actor in history to win both awards for the same year.[66]
By 2010, Bullock was said to be "courted for virtually every female starring role Hollywood has to offer", according toEntertainment Weekly.[67]Ben Affleck, her co-star in the romantic comedyForces of Nature (1999), stated: "Every movie you hear about and every script I see, they say, 'We're going after Sandra Bullock for the woman'."[67] She decided to eschew "the torrent of offers" in favour of "quietly [putting] acting on hold" to focus on her personal life. She also became "more selective" with the projects that she accepted, on which she said: "As I've gotten older, I say 'No' a lot more. I've become a better fighter for my work. I didn't have the guts to do that before".[68] In 2010, she was theworld's highest-paid actress.[69] She would next star alongsideTom Hanks as a widow of theSeptember 11 attacks in the dramaExtremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011), a film adaptation based on thenovel of the same name.[70] Despite mixed reviews,[71] the film was nominated for numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Picture. Bullock was nominated for Favorite Actress Drama byTeen Choice Awards.[72]
In 2013, Bullock starred alongsideMelissa McCarthy in the comedyThe Heat as anFBI Special Agent who, along with a city detective, must take down a mobster inBoston.[73] It received positive reviews from critics,[74][75] and took in $230 million at the worldwide box office.[76] Bullock subsequently played an astronaut stranded in space in the sci-fi thrillerGravity, oppositeGeorge Clooney, which premiered at the70th Venice Film Festival and was released on October 4, 2013, to coincide with the beginning ofWorld Space Week.[77][78]Gravity received universal critical acclaim and a standing ovation in Venice.[79][77][80][81] The film was called "the most realistic and beautifully choreographed film ever set in space"[82] and certain critics considered Bullock's performance to be the best of her career.[81][83][84][85]Gravity grossed $716 million worldwide to become Bullock's second-most successful film.[30] For her role as Dr. Ryan Stone, Bullock was nominated for the Academy Award,[86] Golden Globe Award,[87]BAFTA Award,[88]Screen Actors Guild Award,[89] andCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress.[90] On her performance,Variety wrote: Bullock inhabits the role with grave dignity and hints at Stone's past scars with sensitivity and tact, and she holds the screen effortlessly onceGravity becomes a veritable one-woman show [...] the actress remains fully present emotionally, projecting a very appealing combo of vulnerability, intelligence and determination that not only wins us over immediately, but sustains attention all the way through the cathartic closing reels.[91] In 2014, she was Hollywood's highest-paid actress.[92]
Success with limited work (2015–present)
Bullock provided her voice for Scarlet Overkill, the villainous character, in the animated filmMinions (2015), which became her highest-grossing film to date with a worldwide gross of over $1.1 billion.[93] In 2015, she served as an executive producer and starred, as a political consultant hired to help win a Bolivian presidential election, in the dramaOur Brand Is Crisis, based on the2005 documentary film of the same name by Rachel Boynton. Peter Debruge ofVariety found Bullock's portrayal to be "easily one of the best female roles of the last 10 years",[94] but film had the worstwide release opening of her career.[95][96]
InOcean's 8 (2018), an all-female spin-off of theOcean's Eleven franchise directed byGary Ross,[97] Bullock played Debbie Ocean, the sister ofDanny Ocean, who helps plan a sophisticated heist of the annualMet Gala in New York City. Writing forThe Hollywood Reporter, Josh Spieger called the film a "welcome return to the big screen for Bullock" and observed: "She has reached a point in her career where she chooses her roles with care; beforeGravity, she'd only co-starred in a handful of films over the previous five years, including her Oscar-winning turn inThe Blind Side.Ocean's 8 is Bullock's first true franchise film in decades [...] and it suggests that her decision to be more selective in which projects she picks can pay off in dividends".[98]Ocean's 8 had the best debut for the franchise,[99] and ultimately made $297 million globally.[100]
Her next role was that of Malorie, a woman who must find a way to guide herself and her children to safety despite the potential threat from an unseen adversary, in theNetflix post-apocalyptic horror filmBird Box (2018), based on thenovel of the same name. She received acclaim for her performance,[101] withVariety andThe Wrap describing it as "wonderfully self-reliant",[102] and "fascinating and terrifying to watch,"[103] respectively.Bird Box was the most-watched film on Netflix within 28 days of its release until 2021.[104][105] In another production for Netflix,Nora Fingscheidt's dramaThe Unforgivable (2021), Bullock played a woman who is released from prison after serving a sentence for a violent crime.[106] It became the fifth most-streamed-film on the platform at the time of its release.[107]
She took on the role of a successful yet depressed best-selling romance novelist inParamount Pictures'The Lost City (2022), aRomancing the Stone-style romantic comedy–adventure film, directed byAdam and Aaron Nee, oppositeChanning Tatum andDaniel Radcliffe.[108][109] The film was favorably received by critics, who praised the chemistry between Bullock and Tatum,[110] and grossed $190.8 million globally,[111] which made Bullock "the first actress to have $100 million earners in live-action star vehicles over four different decades", according toForbes.[112] She also featured in theBrad Pitt-starring action thrillerBullet Train (2022), in a mostly vocal performance.[113]
She will reprise her role as Sally Owens inPractical Magic 2, set for release on September 18, 2026.[114]
Other endeavours
Business ventures
Bullock owns the production companyFortis Films, through which she has served as a producer for several of herstar vehicles, includingHope Floats (1998),Miss Congeniality (2000),Two Weeks Notice (2002) andMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005), as well as for the sitcomGeorge Lopez (2002–2007).[115] Her father, John Bullock, was the company's CEO[116] and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president.[117] The company is headquartered inAustin, Texas, andWest Hollywood, California.[118]
In November 2006, Bullock founded an Austin, Texas, restaurant named Bess Bistro which was located on West 6th Street.[119] She later opened another business, Walton's Fancy and Staple, across the street in a building she extensively renovated. Walton's is a bakery, upscale restaurant, and floral shop that also offers services including event planning.[120] After almost nine years in business, Bess Bistro closed on September 20, 2015.[121]
Bullock has been dubbed "America's sweetheart" by the media in reference to her "friendly and direct and so unpretentious" nature.[132] She was selected as one ofPeople magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the world in 1996,[133] 1999,[134] and 2011.[135] The publication named her as its Woman of the Year in 2010 as well as theMost Beautiful Woman in 2015.[136]
In 2010,Time magazine included Bullock in its annualTime 100 as one of the most influential people in the world,[137] andEntertainment Weekly named her The Most Powerful Actress in Hollywood.[67] In she joined other Hollywood legends at theTCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in making imprints of her hands and feet in cement of the theater's forecourt.[138] That year, she was named among The Most Powerful Women in Entertainment byThe Hollywood Reporter,[139] and Entertainer of the Year, due to her success withThe Heat andGravity, byEntertainment Weekly.[140] Bullock ranked #2 on the 2014Forbes' list of most powerful actresses[141] and was honored with the Decade of Hotness Award bySpike Guys' Choice Awards.[142]
On December 20, 2000, she was in a private jet crash on a runway from which she and the two crew escaped uninjured. Pilot error and blizzard conditions were responsible.[144] The crew were unable toactivate the runway lights during a night landing atJackson Hole Airport.[145]
Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas, home in October 2004. The jury ruled that the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt.[146][147] Daneshjou and his insurer later settled with Bullock for roughly half the awarded verdict.[148]
While Bullock was in Massachusetts on April 18, 2008, shootingThe Proposal, she and her then-husbandJesse James were in a vehicle that was hit head-on by a drunk driver. They were uninjured.[149]
Bullock married motorcycle builder andMonster GaragehostJesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present. In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former adult film actressJanine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.[153]
A scandal arose in March 2010 when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock.[154][155][156] Bullock canceled European promotional appearances forThe Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons".[157][158] On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded [...] beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment."[159] James declared, "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me." He asked that Bullock and their children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their "pain and embarrassment".[159] James' publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehabilitation facility to "deal with personal issues" and save his relationship to Bullock.[160] On April 23, 2010, Bullock filed for divorce inAustin, Texas.[161][162] Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.[163]
Bullock announced in 2010 that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a son born in January 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.[164] Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four months earlier. Bullock's son began living with them in January 2010 but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars ceremony that March. Given the pair's split and subsequent divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of her son as a single parent.[164] Bullock announced in December 2015 that she had adopted a second child and appeared on the cover ofPeople magazine with her then three-year-old new daughter.[165]
Bullock was in a relationship with photographer Bryan Randall[166] from mid-2015 until Randall's death due toALS on August 5, 2023.[167][168]
Stalking incidents
Beginning in 2002, Bullock was stalked across several states by a man named Thomas James Weldon. She obtained a restraining order against him in 2003, which was renewed in 2006. After the restraining order expired and Weldon was released from a mental institution, he again traveled through several states to find Bullock; she then obtained another restraining order.[169]
On April 22, 2007, a woman named Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James and Bullock's home inOrange County, California. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her car, got behind the wheel and tried to run him over. She was said to be an obsessed fan of Bullock.[170] Valentine was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking. Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years".[171][172] Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking.[173] She was subsequently convicted of stalking and sentenced to three years' probation.[174]
Joshua James Corbett broke into Bullock's Los Angeles home in June 2014. Bullock locked herself in a room and dialed 911. Corbett pleaded no contest in 2017 and was sentenced to five years' probation for stalking Bullock and breaking into her residence. He was then subject to a ten-year protective order that required him to stay away from Bullock. After Corbett missed a court date the previous month, police officers went to his parents' residence on May 2, 2018, where he lived in a guest house, to arrest him. He refused to leave and threatened to shoot officers. A SWAT team was called and, after a five-hour standoff, they deployed gas canisters and entered the house where they found Corbett had committed suicide. Corbett's death was the result of "multiple incised wounds" according to the Los Angeles County coroner.[175]
^Whipp, Glenn (January 20, 2007)."Dead or alive?".San Bernardino County Sun. Archived fromthe original on September 27, 2007. RetrievedFebruary 5, 2007.
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