Actress Cate Blanchett was born on May 14, 1969, in Melbourne, Australia. She dropped out of the University of Melbourne to study acting at the prestigious Australian National Academy of Dramatic Art. She graduated in 1992 and began her career as a stage actress. She made her film debut in Police Rescue in 1994 and entered Hollywood in 1996. She played Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 film Elizabeth, for which she won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award, quickly becoming a top star. In 2001, she played Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings series, appearing in six films to date. In 2004, she played Katharine Hepburn in The Aviator, winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has since appeared in films such as Notes on a Scandal (2006), I'm Not There (2007), and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, for which she has received numerous awards.

At this year's Academy Awards, she won her first Best Actress award for her performance in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine. The film has been hailed as the finest performance of her career, and she swept over 20 film awards.

She currently serves as a global ambassador for fashion brand Giorgio Armani and skincare brand SK-II. In her personal life, she married playwright Andrew Upton in 1997 and has three sons.