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Toni Collette was born Antonia Collette on November 1, 1972 in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. She is the daughter of Bob and Judy Collette, a truck driver and customer-service agent respectively. She grew up with two younger brothers and a household full of animals, which kept her in the Australian outdoors and behaving like a tomboy.
Collette, is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television, and film, as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish.
Toni discovered her knack for acting when she was 11 years old when she pretended to
Toni Collette was born Antonia Collette on November 1, 1972 in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. She is the daughter of Bob and Judy Collette, a truck driver and customer-service agent respectively. She grew up with two younger brothers and a household full of animals, which kept her in the Australian outdoors and behaving like a tomboy.
Collette, is an Australian actress and musician, known for her acting work on stage, television, and film, as well as a secondary career as the lead singer of the band Toni Collette & the Finish.
Toni discovered her knack for acting when she was 11 years old when she pretended to have appendicitis. In fact, her performance was so persuasive that doctors had her appendix removed. Toniās aptitude for acting continued into her teenage years and in 1986, she took part in a school performance of Godspell. At 14 years old, Toni had found her professional calling.
Toni Collette was 16 when she decided to leave school to enter the National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) in 1988. Her parents gave their full approval on the decision, but Toni left NIDA after a year and a half to take her first acting job in Spotswood (1992). The film was led by Sir Anthony Hopkins, but it was rising-star Russell Crowe who caught her eye.
Collette and Crowe hung out on and off set during the filming of the movie, and the actor ended up taking her under his wing. "Russell took me out," she says, "got me drunk, gave me pot and wiped up the vomit when I couldn't handle it. He's really sweet.ā The role won Collette a Best Supporting Actress nomination from the Australian Film Institute.
After Spotswood, Toni found solace in theatrical performance. In 1992, she won a Sydney Criticsā Circle Award for Best Newcomer as Sonya in Anton Chekhovās Uncle Vanya. She continued to work with the Sydney Theatre Company as she auditioned for the title role in Murielās Wedding (1994). Toni nabbed the role of the Abba-loving dreamer and worked with a dietician to gain 40 pounds to play the part. Her name became synonymous with Abba following the success of the film. Toni also earned a Golden Globe nomination for the role.
Murielās Wedding solidified Toni Colletteās career as an actress, but it was only the beginning: She averaged two films per year throughout the remainder of the '90s and the beginning of the 21st century. Her work was heavily recognized by the Australian Film Institute, which honored her with Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards for Murielās Wedding (1994), Lilianās Story (1995), The Boys (1998), and Japanese Story (2003).
But a personal side to Toniās life was beginning to develop. In 1998, while working on Velvet Goldmine with Ewan McGregor and Christian Bale, Toni began an off-screen relationship with costar Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The partnership lasted about a year and it would be her last link to getting involved with someone she worked with on a film.
Toni made her U.S. debut in The Pallbearer (1996) and she is also known for the quirky Clockwatchers (1998), but it wasnāt until M. Night Shyamalan directed her in The Sixth Sense (1999) that American audiences were able to see her onscreen talent. In the movie, Toni played the mother of Haley Joel Osment and shared the screen with Bruce Willis. The film earned her a 2000 Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress which she lost to Angelina Jolie for Girl, Interrupted (1999). After this success, Toni became an internationally celebrated figure in the entertainment business.
On January 11, 2003, Toni married Dave Galafassi. The two secured homes in Australia and the Republic of Ireland, but Collette didnāt allow marriage to break her stride in her work as an actress. In 2005, she appeared opposite Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine in the comedic drama In Her Shoes. Although Toni made a promise not to gain weight for another role after putting on her 40 pounds for Murielās Wedding, director Curtis Hanson encouraged her to put on 25 pounds for her part as Rose Feller. Toni agreed to the weight-gain because she felt it was a necessary element of the character.
In 2006, Toni Collette teamed up with Greg Kinnear and Alan Arkin to make Little Miss Sunshine (2006), a film about a familyās undying willingness to get its daughter to a beauty pageant final. Toni played in five other films that were slated for release in 2007, including The Dead Girl, Hey, Hey, Itās Esther Blueburger, and Evening.
Toni has a busy lineup, but she finds ways to relax if her work starts to interfere with her living. āWhen it gets too much, I just walk the beaches of Sydney and get calm again,ā she says. āYou just grab your surfboard, splash in those waves and feel happy to be alive. Thatās what really matters.ā
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Tags: Actress (40), Australian (15), Female (7), Blonde (6), Born 1972 (5), Beautiful (3), Hot (3), Beautiful Hair (2), Oscar Nominee (2), Aussie (2), Beautiful Eyes (2), Nice Butt (2), Vegetarian (2), Pretty (2), Great Smile (2), Ugly (2), Gorgeous (2), Scorpio (2)
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