Naomi Watts had already been a working actress for over a decade when she earned notice as a promising newcomer in David Lynch's Cannes Film Festival prizewinner Mulholland Drive (2001). Born September 28th, 1968, Watts began acting in her teens, landing her first film role in For Love Alone (1986). Watts subsequently appeared with future Hollywood headliners Nicole Kidman and Thandie Newton in John Duigan's disarming teen romance Flirting (1991). Watts's next film with Duigan, Wide Sargasso Sea (1992), was not so well received. After her first taste of Hollywood with Joe Dante's schlock movie homage Matinee (1992), Watts nabbed a starring role as Jimmy Smits's disturbed student in George Miller's little seen courtroom drama Gross Misconduct (1993). Watts then starred as Jet Girl to Lori Petty's Tank Girl (1995), but the science fiction fantasy suffered an ignominious box office fate. After a series of TV movies and thrillers, including Sleepwalkers (1997) and Children of the Corn IV (1996), Watts appeared in Marshall Herskovitz's high-toned Venetian courtesan costumer Dangerous Beauty (1998) and successful TV docudrama The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer (1999). Watts's breakthrough finally arrived when David Lynch cast her in his ABC pilot Mulholland Drive. Though ABC canceled the project in 1999 after Lynch turned in a typically mood-drenched work, StudioCanal financed its transformation into a feature that debuted to acclaim at Cannes in 2001. A Los Angeles dreamscape akin to Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive featured Watts as the blonde half of a female duo caught in a mystery of shifting identities. Drawing attention for her not-for-network TV love scene with co-star Laura Harring, Watts also earned praise as a rising "new" actress. Though ignored for an Oscar nomination, Watts's tour-de-force dual performance earned her numerous accolades and critics' awards, igniting her career. Working steadily in the wake of Mulholland Drive, Watts scored a box-office as well as critical success a year later with The Ring (2002), the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror blockbuster. Starring Watts as an intrepid reporter investigating the origins of a lethal videotape, The Ring overcame studio doubts to become a sleeper hit, solidifying Watts's new star status. Watts subsequently donned period dress for the Showtime western The Outsider (2002), and to co-star alongside fellow Aussie Heath Ledger in The Kelly Gang (2003). Balancing her genre work with potentially headier fare guided by notable directors, Watts also appeared with Kate Hudson, Glenn Close and Stockard Channing in the Merchant-Ivory romantic comedy Le Divorce (2003), and won a leading role opposite formidable actors Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003).
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Movie | Vice | News Anchor (uncredited) | 2018-12-25 |
Movie | Terror Nullius | (Archive Footage) | 2018-03-20 |
Movie | Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal | Self (archive footage) | 2018-08-21 |
Movie | I Am Heath Ledger | Self | 2017-04-23 |
Movie | Chuck | Linda Wepner | 2017-05-05 |
Series | FEUD | Babe Paley | 2017-03-05 |
Movie | Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers | Self | 2017-12-05 |
Movie | The Glass Castle | Rose Mary Walls | 2017-08-11 |
Movie | The Book of Henry | Susan Carpenter | 2017-06-16 |
Movie | A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth | Self | 2017-12-05 |
Series | Gypsy | Jean Holloway | 2017-06-30 |
Movie | Allegiant | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | 2016-03-09 |
Movie | 3 Generations | Maggie | 2016-10-27 |
Movie | Shut In | Mary Portman | 2016-11-11 |
Movie | The Sea of Trees | Joan Brennan | 2016-04-27 |
Movie | Insurgent | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | 2015-03-18 |
Movie | While We're Young | Cornelia Schrebnick | 2015-04-03 |
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Movie | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Lesley Truman | 2014-10-17 |
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Movie | Woody Allen: A Documentary | Self | 2011-11-20 |
Movie | Fair Game | Valerie Plame | 2010-05-20 |
Movie | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Sally | 2010-09-22 |
Movie | Mother and Child | Elizabeth | 2009-11-07 |
Movie | The International | Eleanor Whitman | 2009-02-03 |
Movie | Heath Ledger: A Tribute | Self | 2009-06-01 |
Movie | Funny Games | Ann Farber | 2008-03-14 |
Movie | Eastern Promises | Anna Ivanovna Khitrova | 2007-09-14 |
Movie | Killers Kill, Dead Men Die | The Skirt | 2007-03-13 |
Movie | The Eighth Blunder of the World | Self | 2006-11-14 |
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Movie | 21 Grams: In Fragments | Self | 2004-03-16 |
Movie | The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’ | Self | 2004-04-05 |
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Movie | We Don't Live Here Anymore | Edith Evans | 2004-08-13 |
Movie | The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Marie Bicke | 2004-05-17 |
Series | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Unknown | 2003-01-26 |
Movie | Ned Kelly | Julia Cook | 2003-03-22 |
Series | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Unknown | 2003-09-08 |
Movie | 21 Grams | Cristina Peck | 2003-09-06 |
Movie | Le Divorce | Roxeanne de Persand | 2003-08-08 |
Series | Celebrities Uncensored | Unknown | 2003-06-04 |
Series | Icons | Unknown | 2002-05-01 |
Movie | Undertaking Betty | Meredith Mainwaring | 2002-12-04 |
Movie | The Outsider | Rebecca Yoder | 2002-11-10 |
Movie | Rabbits | Suzie | 2002-06-09 |
Movie | The Ring | Rachel Keller | 2002-10-18 |
Movie | Mulholland Drive | Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn | 2001-06-06 |
Movie | Down | Jennifer Evans | 2001-09-06 |
Movie | The Wyvern Mystery | Alice Fairfield | 2000-10-12 |
Movie | Mulholland Dr. | Betty / Diane Selwyn | 1999-01-01 |
Series | The Early Show | Unknown | 1999-11-01 |
Movie | Strange Planet | Alice | 1999-10-06 |
Movie | The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer | Holly Maddux | 1999-05-09 |
Movie | Babe: Pig in the City | Additional Character Voices (voice) | 1998-11-25 |
Movie | Dangerous Beauty | Giulia De Lezze | 1998-02-20 |
Movie | The Christmas Wish | Renee | 1998-12-06 |
Series | Sleepwalkers | Kate Russell | 1997-11-01 |
Series | The View | Unknown | 1997-08-11 |
Movie | Under the Lighthouse Dancing | Louise | 1997-10-15 |
Movie | Bermuda Triangle | Amanda | 1996-04-04 |
Series | The Daily Show | Unknown | 1996-07-22 |
Movie | Persons Unknown | Molly | 1996-12-27 |
Movie | Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering | Grace Rhodes | 1996-10-08 |
Movie | Timepiece | Mary Chandler | 1996-12-22 |
Movie | Tank Girl | Jet Girl | 1995-03-31 |
Movie | The Custodian | Louise | 1994-03-17 |
Series | Inside the Actors Studio | Unknown | 1994-08-14 |
Movie | Matinee | Shopping Cart Starlet | 1993-01-29 |
Movie | Gross Misconduct | Jennifer Carter | 1993-07-29 |
Movie | Wide Sargasso Sea | Fanny Grey | 1993-04-16 |
Series | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Unknown | 1993-09-13 |
Series | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Unknown | 1992-05-25 |
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Series | Brides of Christ | Frances Heffernan | 1991-09-04 |
Series | Twin Peaks | Janey-E Jones | 1990-04-08 |
Series | LIVE with Kelly and Mark | Unknown | 1988-09-05 |
Series | Hey Dad..! | Belinda Lawrence | 1987-02-11 |
Movie | For Love Alone | Leo's Girlfriend | 1986-05-22 |
Series | The Oscars | Unknown | 1953-03-19 |
Series | Today | Unknown | 1952-01-14 |