Naomi Watts (b. 1968), actor and producer, moved to Hollywood after a promising start to her career in Australian television series such as Brides of Christ (1991). There she suffered a well-documented period of failed auditions and regrettable films including Tank Girl and Children of the Corn IV. Her break came with a mesmerising performance in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive in 2001. After roles in The Ring (2002), Le Divorce (2003) and Ned Kelly (2003), she became the first actress to be nominated for a Golden Globe, a BAFTA award and an Academy Award in the same year, for 21 Grams (2003). She won the Golden Globe. King Kong (2005) was followed by a string of films including The Painted Veil (2006), The Impossible (2012), for which she received her second Academy Award nomination, Birdman (2014), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, While We're Young (2014) and Ophelia (2018). In 2020 she starred in and co-produced Penguin Bloom.
When Peter Brew-Bevan photographed Watts in 2003, she was sick with the flu. 'We sat and chatted, running through my main concept of reproducing a Victorian painting style portrait. I discovered that [she was] very, very visually aware, understanding my concept instantly and then discussing lighting choice … What I am happy about most with this portrait is that I captured not only her innate beauty but her fragility.'
Gift of the artist 2004
© Peter Brew-Bevan courtesy of Sue Southam Management
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