Annette Bening

Annette Bening is an Academy Award-nominated actress known for her work in films including American Beauty, The Kids Are All Right and Being Julia. Bening spent her early years in California, where she attended San Diego Mesa College before transferring to San Francisco State University to study theater arts.

Bening started her career on stage, earning recognition with the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She made her film debut in 1988’s The Great Outdoors and quickly gained attention for her role as Myra Langty in 1990’s The Grifters, which earned her her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Her early success established her as a leading actress in Hollywood throughout the ’90s.

She went on to star in a range of acclaimed films, including American Beauty (1999), which earned her a BAFTA Award, and Being Julia (2004), for which she won a Golden Globe. Throughout her career, she’s acted in projects including The Kids Are All Right (2010), 20th Century Women (2016), Captain Marvel (2019) and Nyad (2023). In 2026, she appeared alongside Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale in The Bride!

Bening was previously married to J. Steven White from 1984 to 1991. She married Warren Beatty in 1992, and the couple share four children: Stephen Ira Beatty (born in 1992), Benjamin Beatty (born in 1994), Isabel Beatty (born in 1997) and Ella Beatty (born in 2000).