Sandra Bullock

Infobox actor

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imagesize =250px
caption = Sandra Bullock, May 2007
birthname = Sandra Annette Bullock
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1964|7|26|mf=y
birthplace = Arlington, Virginia
yearsactive = 1987 - present
spouse = Jesse G. James (2005 - present)
othername = Sandra
Sandy
occupation = Actress , producer
sagawards = Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture
2005 "Crash"
awards = Saturn Award for Best Actress (film)
1994 "Speed"

Sandra Annette Bullock (born July 26, 1964) is a Screen Actors Guild Award-winning and two-time Golden Globe Award-nominated American-Germancite web|url = http://portal.gmx.net/sidbabhdec.1215055223.28100.n1xw1bwogx.73.nls/de/themen/unterhaltung/klatsch-tratsch/4523394-Sandra-Bullock-Leonardo-DiCaprio-und-Co-Diese-VIPs-sind-made-in-Germany,page=1.html. |title = GMX - Sandra Bullock, Leonardo DiCaprio und Co: Diese VIPs sind "made in Germany" |accessdate = 2008-07-03|quote=Sandra Bullock not only has German roots but also has German citizenship.] 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 comedy hits like "Miss Congeniality" and "The Lake House" as well as 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. [ [http://www.999today.com/mediaandentertainment/news/story/5242.html "Winfrey tops female celebrity rich list"] . 999today.com. January 19, 2007.]

Early life

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. [ [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~battle/celeb/bullock.htm "Sandra Bullock genealogy"] . Rootsweb.com.] [ [http://www.filmreference.com/film/84/Sandra-Bullock.html "Sandra Bullock Biography (1964-)"] . FilmReference.com.] Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. On her father's side, she is descended from a prominent family in early Alabama history for whom Bullock County is named. Bullock lived in Nuremberg until age twelve, where she sang in the opera's children's choir at the "Staatstheater Nürnberg".cite web |title=Die Nette von nebenan |publisher=Kino.de |url=http://www.kino.de/mitwirk.php4?typ=filmstarportrait&nr=24935&PHPSESSID=79bcb28af46330971138e0880b77c9b7 |language=German |accessdate=2006-07-15] She frequently traveled with her mother on her opera tours, and lived in Germany and other parts of Europe for much of her childhood. She retains German citizenship. 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.imdb title|id=0685721|title=Revealed with Jules Asner #34: Sandra Bullock E! Channel Special (2000)] 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.cite web|last = White|first = Ken|title = Alumni Database |publisher=ECU School of Theatre and Dance |date=2006-11-02 |url=http://www.theatre-dance.ecu.edu:591/FMPro?-db=Alumni&-Format=Alumni_Database_List.Html&Valid=Yes&-SortField=Last+Name&-Max=All&-Find |accessdate=2007-02-05] She is fluent in German.

Career

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 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).

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. 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), and "Miss Congeniality". Bullock received 11 million dollars for "Speed 2" and 17.5 million dollars for "".

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 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellencecite web |last=Shor |first=Donna |title=Around Town |publisher=Washington Life Magazine |month=November | year=2002 |url=http://www.washingtonlife.com/backissues/archives/02nov/around_town.htm |accessdate=2007-02-05] 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. She also guest starred as Accident Amy in two episodes. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in the global hit "Two Weeks Notice".

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.Fact|date=December 2007 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.cite web |last=Topel |first=Fred |publisher=The Wave Magazine |title=Speed Demons |url=http://www.thewavemag.com/pagegen.php?pagename=article&articleid=25895 |accessdate=2006-06-17] 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.cite news |last= Whipp |first=Glenn |title=Dead or alive? |publisher=San Bernardino County Sun |date=2007-01-20 |url=http://www.sbsun.com/entertainment/ci_5046256 |accessdate=2007-02-05]

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. [Goldman, Lea and Kiri Blakeley. [http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/17/richest-women-entertainment-tech-media-cz_lg_richwomen07_0118womenstars_lander.html "The 20 Richest Women In Entertainment."] "Forbes.com". January 18, 2007.]

Entrepreneurship

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.cite web |title=Sandra Bullock |publisher=Yahoo! |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800018970/bio |accessdate=2007-02-05 ] 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.cite web |author=World Entertainment News Network |work=Movie/TV News |publisher=IMDb |title=Bullock Fires Back at "Million Dollar Baby" Reports |date=2005-03-08 |url=http://us.imdb.com/news/wenn/2005-03-08#celeb3 |accessdate=2006-05-25] 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.

Personal life

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 Fact|date=September 2008, 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 met when Bullock 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!"cite web |publisher=Vanity Fair|title=Sandra Bullock on Married Life |url=http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:DBreZpf2CCgJ:www.vanityfair.com/magazine/pressroom/+%22Sandra+Bullock%22+%22learned+about+a+human+being%22&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=2 |accessdate=2006-07-03]

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.cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/03/tsunami.bullock.ap/index.html|publisher=CNN|title=Sandra Bullock donates $1 mil for tsunami|month=January | year=2005]

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.cite web |last=Pearce |first=Garth |title=On the Move: Sandra Bullock |publisher=Times Online |date=2007-01-27 |url=http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,22750-2555280,00.html |accessdate=2007-02-05] 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, [ [http://www.bessbistro.com/ Bess Bistro.com.] ] 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. [Lee, Ken. [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20036964,00.html "Cops: Woman Tried to Kill Sandra Bullock's Husband."] People.com. April 26, 2007.] In May, Bullock won a three-year restraining order against the woman. Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking. [ [http://www.londonnet.co.uk/entertainment/2007/jun/6124_20070613.php Stalker denies attempt to run over Sandra Bullock's husband] , "LondonNet", June 13, 2007. Accessed on 2008-01-29.]

On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film "The Proposal", she and her husband were in an SUV that was hit head on by a drunken driver. There were no injuries. [ [http://www.thebostonchannel.com/entertainment/15931720/detail.html Sandra Bullock's Car Hit Head-On] , "WCVB TV Boston", April 19, 2008, Accessed on 2008-04-19.]

Filmography

Awards

References

External links

*imdb|0000113
*tvtome person|id=43646|name=Sandra Bullock

Persondata
NAME= Bullock, Sandra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES= Bullock, Sandra Annette
SHORT DESCRIPTION=
DATE OF BIRTH= 1964-7-26
PLACE OF BIRTH= Arlington, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=