Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts Headshot

Actress

Birth Date: September 28, 1968

Age: 55 years old

Birth Place: Shoreham, Kent, England, UK

Spouses: Billy Crudup

Partners: Liev Schreiber, Heath Ledger

British actress Naomi Watts rebounded from early career doldrums to enjoy a successful run in a diverse array of films in the 2000s, including Oscar-nominated turns in "21 Grams" (2003) and "The Impossible" (2012), as well as such popular features as "The Ring" (2002), "I Heart Huckabees" (2004), "King Kong"(2005) and "While We're Young" (2014). Born Naomi Ellen Watts on September 28, 1968 in Kent, England, she was the daughter of Peter Watts, a road manager and sound engineer for the UK rock band Pink Floyd, and Welsh costume and set designer Myfanwy Edwards. Her parents split when Watts was four years of age, and her father died three years later of an apparent heroin overdose, which left Edwards to raise Watts and her older brother, Ben, through acting and design jobs. The family relocated several times during Watts's childhood before settling in Australia during her teenage years; there, after failing to graduate from school and then dabbling in modeling, marketing and magazine editorial work, she decided to follow her childhood interest in acting. Her first screen role came at the age of 18 in the 1986 Australian feature "For Love Alone," but it would be five more years before she earned a follow-up, thanks largely to fellow actress Nicole Kidman, whom she had befriended while the two pursued modeling jobs as teenagers. Kidman introduced her to director John Duigan at the premiere of her 1991 thriller "Dead Calm," and Watts was subsequently cast alongside Kidman and Thandie Newton in his 1991 film "Flirting." After roles in several Australian television projects, Watts accepted Kidman's request to come to Los Angeles, but the trip proved largely fruitless, save for a minor role in Joe Dante's sci-fi/comedy "Matinee" (1993). She then returned to Australia for supporting turns in several films, including Duigan's "Wide Sargasso Sea" (1993), before deciding to make Los Angeles her permanent home, but again, film projects proved elusive. Watts enjoyed a starring role in "Tank Girl" (1995), a sci-fi comedy based on the UK comic series of the same name. It failed to connect with audiences, and Watts spent much of the next five years in a largely negative cycle of underwhelming projects, like "Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering" (1996) and voice work in "Babe: Pig in the City" (1998), and failing to land roles in "The Devil's Advocate" (1997) and "Meet the Parents" (2000). But in 1999, Watts was cast in a television pilot for David Lynch called "Mulholland Drive"; the surreal, psychological thriller failed to secure pick up for series, but with backing from French investors, he completed the project as a feature film. "Mulholland" proved to be a huge critical success, with Watts reaping much of the praise, as well as a Best Actress Award from the National Society of Film Critics. More importantly, the film was a springboard for Watts's move into starring roles, beginning in 2002 with "The Ring," an American remake of the Japanese horror film about a cursed videotape. A huge box office hit, Watts followed "Ring" with an eclectic array of projects: she reunited with Lynch for a series of short films under the umbrella title of "Rabbits" (2002), then teamed with Heath Ledger for a remake of the Australian western "Ned Kelly" (2003) before moving into arthouse territory for "Le Divorce" (2003), a drama by James Ivory and Ismail Merchant. It proved to be a box office disappointment, but its follow-up, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "21 Grams" (2003), was not only a critical hit but also a personal success for Watts. As a grieving wife who convinced schoolteacher Sean Penn, who received her late husband's heart in a transplant, to avenge his murder, Watts earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Again, the success of the film led to a wave of projects for the actress, including the indie "We Don't Live Here Anymore" (2004) and David O. Russell's comedy "I Heart Huckabees" (2004), before moving into blockbuster territory with Peter Jackson's remake of "King Kong" (2005), for which she played the monster's unrequited love, a role originated by Fay Wray in the original 1933 version. Its colossal success allowed Watts to devote her energies to films and directors that intrigued her, which led to collaborations with David Cronenberg in "Eastern Promises" (2007), German director Michael Haneke in a 2007 English language remake of his excruciatingly tense thriller "Funny Games", Tom Twyker on "The International" (2009), and Clint Eastwood on his biopic "J. Edgar" (2010). She would then net a second Oscar nomination as a woman struggling to find her family in the wake of a tsunami in J.A. Bayona's "The Impossible" (2012), but subsequent projects would vary wildly in terms of quality and response. She shared a Screen Actors Guild Award with her castmates for Inarritu's Oscar-winning "Birdman" (2012), and was featured in "Insurgent" (2015) and "Allegiant" (2016), the second and third entries in the popular "Divergent Series" of science fiction thrillers. But indies like "Adore" (2013) and "St. Vincent" (2014) were met with tepid reviews, while her turn as Princess Diana in 2013's "Diana" and Gus Van Sant's "Sea of Trees" (2015) received critical brickbats, a fate which also befell "Shut In" (2016) and her Netflix series "Gypsy" (2017), with Watts as a therapist who became intimately involved with her patients. But her next television effort, "The Loudest Voice," which cast her as news journalist Gretchen Carlson opposite Russell Crowe's Roger Ailes, was a critical hit, and Watts was soon announced as part of HBO's prequel series to "Game of Thrones" (2011-2019).

Credits

Screen Actors Guild Awards

Self
Awards
2024

Feud: Capote Vs. The SwansStream

Actor
Babe Paley
Series
2024
86%

Feud: Capote Vs. The SwansStream

Executive Producer
Series
2024
86%

The Chef Indonesia Test

Actor
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2023

Live with Kelly and MarkStream

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2023

The WatcherStream

Actor
Nora Brannock
Series
2022
54%

The WatcherStream

Executive Producer
Series
2022
54%

Infinite Storm

Actor
Pam Bales
Movie
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Infinite Storm

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Movie
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Goodnight MommyStream

Actor
Mother
Movie
2022
37%

Goodnight MommyStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2022
37%

Boss Level

Actor
Jemma Wells
Movie
2021

This Is the Night

Actor
Marie Dedea
Movie
2021

This Is the Night

Executive Producer
Movie
2021

Lakewood

Actor
Amy Carr
Movie
2021

Lakewood

Producer
Movie
2021

The Drew Barrymore ShowStream

Guest
Talk
2020

Secrets of the Zoo: Down UnderStream

Narrator
Series
2020

Penguin BloomStream

Actor
Sam
Movie
2020
67%

Penguin BloomStream

Producer
Movie
2020
67%

The Loudest VoiceStream

Actor
Gretchen Carlson
Docudrama
2019
55%

The Loudest Voice: Extras

Actor
Gretchen Carlson
Show
2019

Today With Hoda & Jenna

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2019

LuceStream

Actor
Amy Edgar
Movie
2019
90%

The Wolf Hour

Actor
June Leigh
Movie
2019

Today 3rd Hour

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2018

The Jess Cagle Interview

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2018

OpheliaStream

Actor
Gertrude/Mechtild
Movie
2018

The Sunday Project

Guest
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2017

GypsyStream

Actor
Jean Holloway
Series
2017
40%

GypsyStream

Executive Producer
Series
2017
40%

Twin PeaksStream

Actor
Janey-E Jones
Series
2017

Live with Kelly and Ryan

Guest
Talk
2017

The Book of Henry

Actor
Susan Carpenter
Movie
2017

I Am Heath Ledger

Self
Movie
2017

The Glass CastleStream

Actor
Rose Mary
Movie
2017
52%

Today's Take

Guest
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2016

The Divergent Series: Allegiant

Actor
Evelyn
Movie
2016

Shut InStream

Actor
Mary
Movie
2016
4%

The Bleeder

Actor
Linda
Movie
2016

The Late Show With Stephen ColbertStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Late Late Show With James CordenStream

Guest
Talk
2015

The Divergent Series: Insurgent

Actor
Evelyn
Movie
2015

About Ray

Actor
Maggie
Movie
2015

About Ray

Executive Producer
Movie
2015

Demolition

Actor
Karen Moreno
Movie
2015

The Sea of TreesStream

Actor
Joan Brennan
Movie
2015
17%

Late Night With Seth MeyersStream

Guest
Talk
2014

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonStream

Guest
Talk
2014

St. VincentStream

Actor
Daka
Movie
2014
77%

BirdmanStream

Actor
Lesley
Movie
2014
91%

While We're YoungStream

Actor
Cornelia Srebnick
Movie
2014
84%

The Impossible: Extras

Actor
Show
2013

DianaStream

Actor
Princess Diana
Movie
2013
7%

AdoreStream

Actor
Lil
Movie
2013
33%

AdoreStream

Executive Producer
Movie
2013
33%

Movie 43

Actor
Samantha
Movie
2013

Sunlight Jr.

Actor
Melissa
Movie
2013

Katie

Guest
Talk
2012

Live! With Kelly and Michael

Guest
Talk
2012

Entertainment Studios.TV

Guest
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2012

CBS This Morning

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Show
2012

The ImpossibleStream

Actor
Maria
Movie
2012
82%

LIVE with Kelly

Guest
Talk
2011

Dream House

Actor
Ann Patterson
Movie
2011

J. EdgarStream

Actor
Helen Gandy
Movie
2011
43%

ConanStream

Guest
Talk
2010

Between Two Ferns with Zach GalifianakisStream

Guest
Talk
2010

You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Actor
Sally
Movie
2010

Fair Game

Actor
Valerie Plame
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2010

ES.TV

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Show
2009

The Project

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2009

Watch What Happens Live With Andy CohenStream

Guest
Talk
2009

Late Night With Jimmy Fallon

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Talk
2009

The International

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Eleanor Whitman
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2009

Majka I Dijete

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2009

Mother and Child

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Elizabeth
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2009

Eastern PromisesStream

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Anna
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2007
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Funny Games

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Anna Farber
Movie
2007

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Executive Producer
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2007

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2006

The Painted Veil

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2006

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2006

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2006

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Series
2005

Entertainment Tonight Canada

Guest
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2005

ET Canada

Guest
Show
2005

Ellie Parker

Actor
Ellie Parker
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2005

Ellie Parker

Producer
Movie
2005

The Ring Two

Actor
Rachel Keller
Movie
2005

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2005

King KongStream

Actor
Ann Darrow
Movie
2005
84%

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Actor
Edith Evans
Movie
2004

We Don't Live Here Anymore

Producer
Movie
2004

I Heart HuckabeesStream

Actor
Dawn Campbell
Movie
2004
64%

The Assassination of Richard Nixon

Actor
Marie Byck
Movie
2004

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

Guest
Talk
2003

Jimmy Kimmel Live!Stream

Guest
Talk
2003

Ned KellyStream

Actor
Julia Cook
Movie
2003
55%

Le DivorceStream

Actor
Roxeanne Walker
Movie
2003
36%

21 GramsStream

Actor
Cristina Peck
Movie
2003
81%

The RingStream

Actor
Rachel Keller
Movie
2002
71%

The Outsider

Actor
Rebecca Yoder
Movie
2002

Undertaking Betty

Actor
Meredith
Movie
2002

Live With Regis and Kelly

Guest
Show
2001

Mulholland DriveStream

Actor
Betty Elms
Movie
2001
84%

Down

Actor
Jennifer Evans
Movie
2001

The Wyvern Mystery

Actor
Alice Fairfield
Movie
2000

The Early Show

Guest
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1999

The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer

Actor
Holly Maddux
Show
1999

The Daily Show With Jon StewartStream

Guest
Talk
1999

The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer

Actor
Holly Maddux
Movie
1999

Strange Planet

Actor
Alice
Movie
1999

Kickin' It: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1998

Dangerous BeautyStream

Actor
Guila De Lezze
Movie
1998
70%

The Christmas Wish

Actor
Renee
Movie
1998

Sleepwalkers

Actor
Show
1997

The View

Guest
Talk
1997

Under the Lighthouse Dancing

Actor
Louise
Movie
1997

Access Hollywood

Guest
News
1996

Bermuda Triangle

Actor
Amanda
Movie
1996

Persons Unknown

Actor
Molly
Movie
1996

Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering

Actor
Grace Rhodes
Movie
1996

Timepiece

Actor
Mary Chandler
Movie
1996

Tank GirlStream

Actor
Jet Girl
Movie
1995
42%

Entertainers: With Byron Allen

Guest
Show
1994

Late Show With David Letterman

Guest
Talk
1993

The Custodian

Actor
Louise
Movie
1993

Gross Misconduct

Actor
Jennifer Carter
Movie
1993

El Vigilante

Actor
Movie
1993

The Tonight Show With Jay Leno

Guest
Talk
1992

Charlie RoseStream

Guest
Talk
1991

Hey Dad..!

Actor
Show
1987

Entertainment Tonight

Guest
News
1981

Mystery!

Actor
Series
1980

CBS News Sunday Morning

Guest
News
1979

Good Morning America

Guest
News
1975

Sesame StreetStream

Guest Star
Series
1969

Today

Guest
News
1952

News aboutNaomi Watts

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