The actress who is curious again with the "Wednesday" series: Who is Catherine Zeta-Jones?

Catherine Zeta-Jones was born on September 25, 1969 in Wales, England. She was born into the child of David Jones, whose father was the owner of a candy factory, and Patricia Fair, whose mother was a tailor. Her father is of Welsh descent and her mother is of Irish Catholic descent. Zeta-Jones has an older brother named David and a younger brother named Lyndon. A hyperactive child, Zeta-Jones was sent to the Hazel Johnson Dance School at the age of four. The family had a humble background, but they used the money they won in a bingo competition for Zeta-Jones' dance and ballet lessons, thus increasing their fortunes.

From an early age, Zeta-Jones participated in school stage shows and gained local media attention when she performed a Shirley Bassey song and won the 'Junior Star Trail' talent show. At the age of nine, she was selected to play July, one of the orphaned girls in the West End musical "Annie." Then, in her early teens, she became a national tap dancing champion. In 1981, she played the lead role in the musical "Little Orphan Annie" staged at the Swansea Grand Theatre.

At the age of thirteen, she got her first big break playing the lead role of Tallulah in the West End musical "Bugsy Malone". Two years later, Zeta-Jones dropped out of school and decided to live in London to pursue an acting career. Describing her teenage years in London, Zeta-Jones said she participated in many auditions. She then continued with Arts Education Schools in Chiswick, London for a three-year musical theater course.

In 1987, Zeta-Jones appeared in David Merrick's play "42nd Street" as the lead character of Peggy Sawyer, a chorus girl. Impressed by her acting talent, the producer also let her play the role for the next two years.

She made her film debut in 1990 as 'Scheherazade' in the French-Italian fantasy film "1001 Nights", an adaptation directed by Philippe de Broca. The movie did not perform well at the box office. 

She appeared in the comedy-drama television series "The Darling Buds of May", based on the novel of the same name, on ITV from 1991 to 1993.  The series was the highest-rated television show in the country at the time and gained widespread public recognition for her role in series.

She then took on the role of a duchess in "Splitting Heirs" (1993), a black comedy period drama film about two children separated at birth, directed by Robert Young. Zeta-Jones found her performance hilarious, even though the reviews for the film were negative. The following year, she appeared in the role of the melancholic Eustacia Vye in the television movie "The Return of the Native" based on the novel of the same name and in the television war drama series "The Cinder Path". She then appeared as the eponymous heroine in the television biopic "Catherine the Great" in 1995. Also that year, she starred with Sean Pertwee in "Blue Juice." The film was promoted as Britain's first surf film.

Horrified by her portrayal as the typical pretty girl in British movies, the actress decided to move to Los Angeles and start over. She also earned a role in the superhero movie "The Phantom" (1996), starring Billy Zane. Zeta-Jones was considered a standout in her role, but while the film received negative reviews, it grossed little at the box office. Also that year, she appeared in the CBS television miniseries "Titanic" as Isabella Paradine, opposite Peter Gallagher and George C. Scott. The movie was well received.

She then appeared as one of the leading roles in "The Mask of Zorro"(1998), directed by Martin Campbell, with Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas. While preparing for her role, Zeta-Jones learned how to dance, ride horses and sword fight, and took Spanish diction lessons. The film was well received by critics, grossing over $250 million worldwide. The role was a turning point for Zeta-Jones, and her performance was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Groundbreaking Performance.

She made her 1999 debut as a seductive insurance agent searching for an art thief in the heist movie "The Trap," in which she co-starred with Sean Connery. Despite the negative reviews against the film, it was a commercial success. Later that year, she co-starred with Liam Neeson and Lili Taylor in "The Haunting," a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, about a team of paranormal experts investigating strange events in an unfortunate mansion. While the film received generally poor reviews, it reached a significant audience around the world.

After taking the supporting role in the romantic comedy-drama movie "High Fidelity"(2000), starring John Cusack, she starred with Michael Douglas and Benicio del Toro in the crime drama movie "Traffic"(2000), directed by Steven Soderbergh. Highly profitable at the box office and critically acclaimed, the film earned a SAG Award for Best Actress and Zeta-Jones a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

She starred opposite Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy "America's Sweethearts" as a shrewd movie star in her only 2001 film. The following year, she played the role of villain nightclub singer Velma Kelly in "Chicago," a film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name directed by Rob Marshall. The film was critically acclaimed and its performance was praised. The film grossed $306 million worldwide and received the Academy Award for Best Picture. She received an Academy Award, SAG Award, and BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance, as well as other awards and nominations.

In 2003, Zeta-Jones co-starred with George Clooney in the black comedy romantic film "Intolerable Cruelty," directed by the Coen brothers. The film was a commercial success, with critics praising her onscreen chemistry with Clooney.

The following year, she co-starred with Tom Hanks and Stanley Tucci in the comedy-drama film "The Terminal," directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie, about a man who gets stranded at JFK International Airport when he is not allowed to enter the United States, did well commercially. Later, she worked with director Steven Soderbergh on the sequel "Ocean's Twelve" (2004). She also reunited with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts through the movie. Despite divisive and mixed reviews, the film grossed over $360 million worldwide.

She reprized her role in its sequel "The Legend of Zorro" (2005). Unlike the original, the film was a commercial disappointment as well as being disliked by critics. Zeta-Jones, who did not appear in any movie in 2006, appeared in the supernatural romance movie "Death Defying Acts" (2007), in which she starred with Guy Pearce the following year.

That same year, she starred as an ambitious chef in "No Reservations", the German romantic comedy drama film "Mostly Martha" remake, alongside Aaron Eckhart and Abigail Breslin. Zeta-Jones worked in the kitchen while preparing for her role. The film grossed $92 million globally. Praised for her performance, it was the actress's last commercial success of the decade.

Zeta-Jones then significantly reduced her workload over the next five years. Diagnosed with bipolar II disorder, Zeta-Jones chose to focus on her family and health. Her acting appearances continued, appearing in smaller scale and less successful productions. She co-starred with Justin Bartha in the romantic comedy movie "The Rebound" (2009). The film was released theatrically in markets outside the United States in 2009–10, but failed to open in theaters in the United States.

Zeta-Jones returned to the stage as Desirée Armfeldt, an aging actress, in a 2009 remake of the Stephen Sondheim musical "A Little Night Music," which made its Broadway debut. Zeta-Jones won a Tony Award for her performance and a Drama Desk Award for Best Actress in a Musical.

After taking a three-year leave from acting, she returned to the screen with "Lay the Favorite" (2012), a comedy-drama film starring Bruce Willis and Rebecca Hall. Reviews about the movie were negative. She then had a role in the musical comedy movie "Rock of Ages" starring Tom Cruise and Bryan Cranston. While the film received mixed reviews, it also failed commercially. She came with her final film, "Playing for Keeps," a romantic comedy with Gerard Butler that proved to be the third box office failure of the year.

The following year, she appeared in the crime thriller "Broken City," in which she co-starred with Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. As with several of her previous projects, this film did not receive much viewing and received bad reviews. Zeta-Jones then collaborated with Soderbergh for the third time in the critically acclaimed psychological thriller "Side Effects" (2013). She co-starred with Channing Tatum, Jude Law, and Rooney Mara in the movie. Zeta-Jones' performance was appreciated this time.

She appeared in the sequel action comedy "Red 2" (2013) as a seductive Russian double agent alongside Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker. The movie grossed $148 million worldwide, making it Zeta-Jones' most watched movie since "No Reservations". Then Zeta-Jones took another leave from acting.

Zeta-Jones returned to television in 2017, playing actress Olivia de Havilland in the first season of the anthology drama TV series "Feud." She was praised for her comeback and performance. In 2018, she starred in the Lifetime biographical crime drama television movie "Cocaine Godmother" as drug lord Griselda Blanco. Later, she played the lead role of fierce competition coach Vicki Ellis in the Facebook Watch comedy-drama series "Queen America." Her performance was also positively received.

In 2021, recurring in the second season of the Fox drama TV series "Prodigal Son," Dr. Appeared in her role as Vivian Capshaw. She later guest-starred as Morticia Addams in two episodes of the Netflix supernatural comedy horror TV series "Wednesday" (2022). The series managed to become the second most-watched English-language Netflix series within three weeks of its release. She then played the main antagonist in the Disney+ action-adventure TV series "National Treasure: Edge of History."

Private life

Her success on "The Darling Buds of May" made Zeta-Jones famous in Britain, while her private life has since come under the scrutiny of the media. In the early 1990s, her romantic relationships with television and radio host John Leslie, British singer David Essex and pop star Mick Hucknall were widely publicized by the British press. She was briefly engaged to Scottish actor Angus Macfadyen in the mid-1990s.

Zeta-Jones met American actor Michael Douglas at the Deauville American Film Festival in France in August 1998. The couple got engaged on December 31, 1999, and married on November 18, 2000, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. The ceremony was labeled the "wedding of the year" by the BBC. It was preferred that only one magazine publish photos of the ceremony with a £1 million deal, and the remaining magazines and press were not allowed entry. The couple has two children. These; they have a son named Dylan Michael (born in August 2000) and a daughter named Carys Zeta (born in April 2003). Zeta-Jones has been living with her family in rural New York state since 2016.

Besides acting, Zeta-Jones supports various charities and causes. She has also donated a substantial amount to the Longfields Day Center in Swansea, while being a foster for the disabled. In 2001, she auctioned off an outfit she wore in "The Mask of Zorro" to raise money for AIDS patients in Africa. In 2005, she became an ambassador for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, while supporting the Call to Stop to raise awareness of child abuse.

Additionally, Zeta-Jones is the founding host of "A Fine Romance," an annual charity program that helps raise money for the Film and Television Fund, and a member of the Cinema Foundation for Peace.

Zeta-Jones struggled with her singing career for a short time. In 1992, the actress voiced the character of Jean Simmons in "Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of Spartacus," a musical retelling of Jeff Wayne. In the following years, she released her first single, "In the Arms of Love". Later, in 1994, she sang the single "True Love Ways", a duet with David Essex.

Zeta-Jones was named a global ambassador for cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, Inc. in 2002. Also that year, a deal was signed by phone company T-Mobile, making her the highest-paid celebrity at the time. In 2017, she launched her own line of home decoration products called "Casa Zeta-Jones".

Zeta-Jones' beauty and sexual appeal placed her at number one on People magazine's "Most Beautiful People" list in 1998. She continued to be on this list from 2000 to 2004. In 2003, Esquire magazine declared her "the most beautiful woman on the planet". She was listed as "The Most Beautiful British Woman" in a 2011 survey. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire by the British Monarchy in 2010 for her film and charity work and was honored with the Freedom of the City of Swansea in 2019.