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Renee Zellweger On Where She’s Been For The Past 6 Years And Why She Looks So Different

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:02 PST, Sep 12, 2016

Renee Zellweger surprised everyone by taking a break from her professional career and embarking on an unusual journey when she was at the height of her career in 2010. In fact, Renee’s last movie that played on the big screen was My Own Love Song back in 2010.

The Chicago actress had earlier won accolades for her critically acclaimed work in the Bridget Jones’s Diary series. Renee portrayed the fictional Bridget Jones with such passion that for many people, she was the real life incarnation of the fictional single working woman who was based on the novel written by Helen Fielding.

Despite being an American, Renee Zellweger went to significant efforts to play the role of the British “singleton” to perfection, and, in fact, many would agree that the actress played the role with such conviction that the two are now intertwined with each other.

While playing her famous role, the Texas-born American actress sounded entirely British by successfully speaking in a distinctly posh accent that is typical of the fictional English character. According to The Guardian, Beeban Kidron, the director of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, revealed the reason why Renee Zellweger can play Bridget Jones with such panache.

“Renée is not only a great comedienne but also a heartbreakingly touching actress. Which is why she can channel Bridget with all the impossible contradictions that she holds.”

The Nurse Betty actress’s self-imposed exile from the world of cinema not only made her lose touch with the character she recurrently portrays, but the long break also changed her looks in a noticeable way. When Renee Zellweger resurfaced in Hollywood while attending a red carpet event in 2014, many people speculated that the actress had undergone plastic surgery to give her aging face a more youthful appearance.

Additionally, the media also attributed her changed look to various wrong decisions she may have taken concerning her glamorous lifestyle. Rumors suggested that Renee Zellweger’s failing marriage, alcohol problems, and eating disorders had taken the wind out of her sails, and the actress had gone under the knife for skin rejuvenation. However, Chron reports that the Jerry Maguire star has quelled the rumors regarding her supposed plastic surgery by revealing that her worn-down look was because she had spent an entire month attending to her friend who was diagnosed with a progressive disease of the nervous system.

In fact, the actress admitted that she didn’t pay much attention to her looks as she was too preoccupied with the thoughts of her ailing friend, even while walking down the red carpet for the first time since her Hollywood hiatus. Additionally, the actress claims to have no regrets about her long career break, and she says it allowed her to explore other venues outside the glamorous world of cinema.

Despite the lucrative film offers that kept coming during the height of her fame, Renee Zellweger purposely ventured out to do other things that helped her to grow more as a person. According to People magazine, the Me, Myself and Irene actress left herself open to different opportunities to learn and grow outside the film industry.

In her educational pursuits, Renee Zellweger volunteered to work in countries that included Thailand, Cambodia, and Liberia, where she actively worked for the welfare of downtrodden women who were fighting for their rights. More specifically, the actress offered her volunteer skills by partnering with the charity, The Great Initiative, which organizes campaigns for gender equality. The actress particularly loved working with the Liberian women, and according to News Australia, Renee Zellweger admits to being impressed with the artistic skills of the Liberian women, who reside in a world far away from the glamor of Hollywood.

“Their nails and jewelry were beautifully done, their dresses were immaculate, and I think I appreciated that because that is, of course, part of a woman’s power.”

[Photo by Clemens Bilan/Getty Images]

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