Childhood

Catherine Zeta-Jones ( pronounced ZEE-tah ) was born in Swansea, West Glamorgan, Wales, on September 25, 1969.

Her name stems from two different grandmothers named ''Catherine'' and "Zeta," named after a ship that Catherine's grandfather sailed on.

She is the only daughter of working-class parents. My mother's Irish and my father's Welsh," she says for her family. But, we've tried to track our family back, and we're blocked. We're at a crossroads down there after my great-great-grandfather, and no one seems to know anything."

She is the middle child, surrounded by older brother David (born 1967) and younger brother Lyndon (born 1972). Lyndon works at Catherine's production company, Milkwood Films.

Catherine showed interest in the entertainment industry right from her childhood. She sang and danced her way to local stardom before she was ten years-old, as a part of a Catholic congregation's performing troupe. She later performed on stage in 'Annie', 'Bugsy Malone', and 'The Pajama Game'. At the age of 17 she took the lead role of a Wet End production of 42nd Street when both the star and the understudy of the show bowed out and Catherine delivered a show-stopping turn as chorus girl Peggy Sawyer. Luckily for Catherine the show's producer just happened to be in the audience that night and immediately insisted that she be made the star - thus Catherine did eight shows a week for the rest of the run.

Career

Catherine's big break happened in 1991, when she became a regular on the hugely popular British television series The Darling Buds of May. Her role as the eldest daughter of a farm family increased her star status in the UK, which of course, led to her becoming a tabloid favorite.

In 1993 Catherine appeared in the film Splitting Heirs and followed this with a role in the TV mini-series The Cinder Path. After The Darling Buds of May finished in 1994, Catherine returned to the stage to a role in Street Scenes with the English National Opera. She then returned to television in with The Return of the Native (1994) and Catherine the Great (1995).

It wasn't until she played the role of Isabella Paradine in the TV mini-series Titanic in 1996 that she was spotted by Steven Spielberg who recommended her to director Martin Campbell for the female lead in The Mask of Zorro (1998).

It was her role as Elena in The Mask of Zorro that caught the attention of the public.

The film, also starring Antonio Banderas, gave Catherine the opportunity to show off her dancing talents and to learn new talents such as fencing and horse riding.

In 1999 Catherine starred with legend Sean Connery in the action film Entrapment, and with Liam Neeson, Lili Taylor, and Owen Wilson in the thriller, The Haunting. She went on to act in High Fidelity (2000) and Traffic (2000). Catherine starred in America's Sweethearts (2001), alongside Julia Roberts, Billy Crystal and John Cusack.

She starred as Velma Kelly in the huge smash, Chicago (2002).