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Sandra Annette Bullock (born July 26, 1964) is an American Golden Globe Award-nominated and SAG-winning film actress. She came to fame in the 1990s, after roles in successful films such as Speed and While You Were Sleeping, and has since established her career as a well-known leading Hollywood actress, with the box office comedy hit Miss Congeniality and one of her most recent film roles, in 2004's Crash, having received critical acclaim. She was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of $85 million in early 2007. One of Hollywood's leading contenders for the coveted title of "America's Sweetheart" in the mid-1990s, the unconventionally beautiful, raven-haired Sandra Bullock first gained widespread attention as Sylvester Stallone's partner in the satirical sci-fi actioner "Demolition Man" (1993). The daughter of a German opera singer mother and an American voice coach father, she began performing on stage as a child extra in her mother's operas. After college, Bullock landed some Off-Broadway roles and a part in the TV-movies "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" (NBC, 1989) and "The Preppie Murder" (1989) before nabbing the lead in the short-lived TV sitcom version of "Working Girl" (NBC, 1990). Bullock was born in Arlington County, Virginia, the daughter of Helga D. Meyer, a German opera singer, and John W. Bullock, a Pentagon contractor, executive and part-time vocal coach from Alabama. Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. Bullock lived in Nuremberg until age twelve, where she sang in the opera's children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. She frequently traveled with her mother on her opera tours, and lived in Germany and other parts of Europe for much of her childhood. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions. Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School where she was a cheerleader, participated in high school theater productions and dated a football player. She graduated in 1982 and enrolled in East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. During this time, she worked as a waitress at a restaurant. She later left school during her senior year (Spring 1986), only three credits short of graduating, to pursue an acting career. She went on to Manhattan to pursue auditions and supported herself with a variety of odd jobs (bartender, cocktail waitress, coat checker). Bullock later completed her coursework and was awarded a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University. She is fluent in German. However, she prefers to speak English when appearing on German TV shows, although the TV hosts speak German. After snagging the female lead in a small indie "Who Shot Patakango?" (1989), Bullock saw her feature career began to excel. She co-starred in the romantic comedy "Love Potion No. 9" and delivered a superb performance as a cynical feminist artist in "When the Party's Over" (both 1992). "Demolition Man,” coupled with her appearance as an aspiring country & western singer in Peter Bogdanovich's ill-fated "The Thing Called Love" (1993), introduced her to a wider audience, paving the way for her first taste of movie stardom as Annie, the reluctant bus driver opposite Keanu Reeves, in the blockbuster "Speed" (1994). Her innate wit, intelligence and general likeability helped elevate what could have been a standard "girl" role, allowing her to drive off with the film's best notices. While in New York, Bullock took acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse. She had appeared in several student films and had later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the made-for-TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). After filming the TV movie, Bullock had stayed in Los Angeles, California, and was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She had later appeared in several films such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon (where she agreed to appear topless if the camera did not show that much, she covered herself with duct tape which apparently was somewhat painful to take off). In a part originally intended for the overpriced Demi Moore, Bullock headlined the romantic comedy "While You Were Sleeping" (1995), a surprise hit co-starring Bill Pullman and Peter Gallagher as the other points of a love triangle. Now a full-fledged movie star, she was equally adept in a Julia Roberts-type role as a hapless computer operator stumbling onto a major conspiracy in "The Net" (1995). Bullock rebounded from the pallid caper comedy "Two If By Sea" (1996, opposite Denis Leary) with a dramatic supporting turn as a law student who finds herself attracted to a married Southern lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) she is assisting in Joel Schumacher's feature version of the John Grisham's best-seller "A Time to Kill" (1996). One of Bullock's first notable movie appearances was in the science-fiction/action movie, Demolition Man (1993), which had starred Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. This role then led to her break-through performance in Speed the following year. Bullock wrote, produced, directed and co-starred in (opposite McConaughey who shared producing duties) "Making Sandwiches" (1997), a 40-minute short screened at the Sundance Film Festival. As executive producer of "Hope Floats" (1998), she proved she had an eye for the type of Everywoman role that had earned her kudos in the past. The film garnered generally favorable reviews and generated a respectable box office. Later that year, the actress lent her vocal talents to the character of Miriam in DreamWorks animated biblical tale "The Prince of Egypt" and co-starred with Nicole Kidman as sisters who use witchcraft to solve their romantic problems in "Practical Magic" (which she also co-executive produced). Bullock continued to prove her savvy by teaming with Ben Affleck in the romantic road movie "Forces of Nature" (1999). She became a high-level movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping (replacing actress Demi Moore, who was originally scheduled to star), Miss Congeniality and Two Weeks Notice. Bullock received 11 million dollars for Speed,and 17.5 million dollars for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous. While prior and subsequent producing efforts were successful, Bullock and co-star Liam Neeson couldn't save the awkward and unfunny crime comedy "Gun Shy" (2000). She returned to form later that year as a NYC writer and party girl sentenced to "28 Days" of rehab. Here the actress capably portrayed both the often hard-to-watch human weakness as well as humor of her addict character. She next impressed moviegoers (if not many critics) with a turn as a tomboyish streetwise FBI agent posing as a polished beauty queen in the romantic comedy "Miss Congeniality". Paired with Benjamin Bratt, Bullock further proved to be a delightful comedic actress, flaunting her character's newfound grace with the appropriate gracelessness she revised the role for the 2005 sequel, "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" (2005), this time posing as a Las Vegas showgirl. An active producer and actress, Bullock went forth into the new millennium with many projects on her plate, including strangely appropriate mentions for such iconic heroine roles as Wonder Woman and Lois Lane. Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raul Julia Award for Excellence for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom The George Lopez Show, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. In 2002, she starred as a homicide detective in "Murder by Numbers," and as a southern playwright in the film adaptation of "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood." She next went back to her romantic comedy roots, starring with Hugh Grant in the underwhelming "Two Weeks Notice" (2002), with the actress playing the aide-de-camp to a reckless mogul who doesn't appreciate the doting care she gives him. At this point in her career, Bullock was entering dangerous Doris Day territory, playing winsome, klutzy roles that were better suited for someone younger. However, her very brief turn in the racially charged, multi-plot drama "Crash" (2005) was a step in the right direction, with Bullock playing a middle aged white L.A. woman of privilege who, after a traumatic carjacking, angrily acts out on all of her worst prejudices and racial fears. In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career. The actress then played To Kill a Mockingbird author Nelle Harper Lee opposite Toby Jones as Truman Capote in the biopic "Infamous" (2006)—not to be confused with "Capote" (2005) starring Catherine Keener and Philip Seymour Hoffman in the same roles—as they become involved with convicted killer Perry Smith (Mark Ruffalo) in a film based on Gore Vidal's oral biography. Bullock next reunited with her "Speed" co-star Keanu Reeves for "The Lake House" (2006), as a doctor and an architecture school dropout who live in the same house two years apart and fall in love via letters they exchange through a mailbox that mysteriously bridges time. Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming. The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also stars in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007. Bullock received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 24, 2005. In January 2007, Bullock was named the 14th richest woman in entertainment by Forbes, with a net worth of $85 million. Bullock currently runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is president of the company and her father, John Bullock, is its CEO. She was an executive producer of George Lopez which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked Bullock some $10 million. She also made sporadic "cameo" appearances in the show as "Accident Amy," a factory worker prone to accidents in the workplace. Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story Million-Dollar Baby, but couldn't interest studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually filmed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, will produce her next movie, All About Steve. In the meantime, she tends to her Austin restaurant, Bess Bistro, and its first merchandising tie-in, a line of organic candles. Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9. Their relationship lasted four years. She had previously dated football player Troy Aikman, blues guitarist Guy Forsythe, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years) and film co-stars, Ryan Gosling and Matthew McConaughey. McConaughey and Bullock met each other while filming A Time to Kill and became friends, dating for a while. Some notable celebrity friends include Heather Burns and Hugh Grant. Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They had met while Bullock had arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present. On her husband and her marriage, Bullock has commented: "So basically through a courtship of letters... I learned about a human being. It was not something I wanted, needed, or looked for, but because he was a stronger person than I was, spiritually and on a tolerance level, I was lucky enough that he educated me... I always thought of marriage as a death sentence, that there'd be a ball and chain, and you'd be told, "You need to stop doing these things and become a good little wife." Now people say "Oh my God you're going to have sex with one person the rest of your life!" I hope I have sex with him for the rest of my life - because I like it!" Bullock is stepmother to Chandler, Jesse Jr., and Sunny. On December 20, 2000, Bullock survived the crash of a chartered business jet at Jackson Hole Airport. The aircraft hit a snowbank instead of the runway, resulting in both the nose gear and nose cone being ripped off, the right wing partially separated from the aircraft and the left wing bent back. When the September 11, 2001 attacks occurred, Bullock was staying at the Soho Grand hotel, twelve blocks from the World Trade Center. She saw the attacks from her hotel bedroom window and went to a nearby hospital to offer help. As all phone lines in New York City were down, she spent the rest of the day using her Palm Pilot to send e-mails on behalf of patients wanting to contact their families. Bullock has twice donated $1 million to the American Red Cross, first to its Liberty Disaster Relief Fund and four years later in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin Texas mansion; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt, and her Porsche 911 Turbo replaced by a Toyota Prius. Bullock also owns a house on Tybee Island, Georgia, which is a few miles from Savannah, Georgia. After four years of preparation, Bullock's first restaurant, Bess, opened in November 2006 in Austin, Texas. She has a scar in the corner of her left eye which she received as a child when she fell into a lake and cut her head on a rock. On April 22, 2007, a woman was lying outside James and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran inside her 2004 silver Mercedes and tried to run him over 3 to 4 times. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock. The woman, Marcia Diana Valentine, was arrested on investigation of assault with a deadly weapon. In May, Bullock won a three-year restraining order against the woman. Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking. On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, the SUV she and her husband were in was hit head on by a drunken driver. There were no injuries. |
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