Catherine Zeta-Jones was born on September 25, 1969, in Swansea, Wales, where she was raised in the nearby town of Mumbles, as the only daughter of Patricia Fair and David James "Dai" Jones, who owned a sweet factory. She attended Dumbarton House School in Swansea.
Her father, the son of Bertram and Zeta Davies Jones, was of Welsh descent, while her mother, the daughter of William and Catherine O'Callaghan Fair, had English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry. Catherine has two brothers, David Jones, a development executive, and Lyndon Jones, who works at her production company.
Initially, Catherine's birth name was simply Catherine Jones, but she added her paternal grandmother's name, "Zeta", to stand out from other young women with the same name.
Catherine's interest in entertainment began early, and she starred on stage in productions such as "Annie", "Bugsy Malone", and "The Pajama Game". At 15, she took on the lead role in the British revival of "42nd Street", after the original star and understudy fell ill.
She first gained recognition in the early 1990s, starring in the Yorkshire Television comedy-drama series "The Darling Buds of May", which made her one of the United Kingdom's most popular television actresses.
Catherine then appeared in supporting roles in several films, including "Christopher Columbus: The Discovery", "Catherine the Great", and "The Phantom", before landing her breakthrough role as Elena in "The Mask of Zorro" opposite Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas.
She went on to star in big-budget blockbusters like "Entrapment", "The Haunting", and "Traffic", earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Traffic". She won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Velma Kelly in the musical comedy "Chicago".
Catherine has also appeared in films like "Intolerable Cruelty", "Ocean's Twelve", and "The Legend of Zorro", reprising her role in the sequel.
In November 2000, Catherine married actor Michael Douglas, with whom she has two children, Dylan Michael and Carys. She was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.
