"Extra" is highlighting the 2011 Academy Award nominees, starting with the Best Supporting Actress category. Jacki Weaver is nominated for her outstanding performance as Janine "Smurf" Cody in the crime thriller, "Animal Kingdom."
The actress, born Jacqueline Ruth "Jacki" Weaver, is an Australian theatre, film and television star.
Find out more about Jacki!
Oscar Nominee Trivia File: Jacki Weaver
After discovering she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Weaver exclaimed, "I'm elated to the point of euphoria. I feel like I'm in a walking dream," adding, "I'm so relieved that all those millions of Australians that wanted me to get this nomination aren't disappointed. Happy Australia Day."
Before Hitting the Big Screen
Weaver was born in Sydney on May 25, 1947. Her father, Arthur, was a salesman and her mother, Edith, was originally from England.
Impressive Collection of Nominations
Although Jacki has been acting since the early 1970s, she is best known for portraying the matriarch of a criminal family in "Animal Kingdom." Weaver has already received a remarkable 11 nominations for this film, including her Academy Award nod.Academy AwardBroadcast Film Critics AssociationChicago Film Critics AssociationChlotrudis AwardDallas-Fort Worth Film Critics AssociationDetroit Film Critics Society
Golden Globe AwardHouston Film Critics SocietyOnline Film Critics SocietySan Diego Film Critics Society
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
What Is It Like Playing a Dreadful Person?
"If you are playing bad people, you mustn't make outside judgments of them, otherwise it's going to be too hard to get into their skin. You've got to just concentrate on working out what motivates them rather than making a moral judgment. But then afterward, when you let go of it and you watch it up there on the screen, I think she's just despicable. I can't stand her. She's horrible. I hope I never meet someone like that." - Jacki to PopEater.com
Weaver's Career Before Her Oscar Nomination
Although Jacki has done mostly television work, she is well-known for acting in the cult film, "Picnic at Hanging Rock" by Peter Weir. Weaver, 28 at the time, gave a flawless performance in the haunting mystery that subsequently received "two thumbs up" from movie critics Siskel and Ebert
In 1976, Jacki received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Great Depression movie, "Caddie." The film focused on the life of a young woman struggling to raise two children after separating from her husband. Weaver played the supporting role of Josie.
'Abra Cadabra' - Jacki Does 3D!
In 1983, before 3D cinema went mainstream, Jacki starred in an animated film about a space boy and his friends called, "Abra Cadabra." The film was theatrically released in 3D and also in its regular version, but never released on VHS or DVD.
Weaver Shows Off Her Singing Chops
In one of her more lighthearted films, Jacki played the role of Cherry, in Australian comedy musical called, "Cosi." Starring alongside Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths, the film takes place in a mental hospital and involves the patients in an elaborate production of the Mozart opera, "Cosi Fan Tutte."
Jacki's Original Crime Drama
Partaking in crime-filled movies is not new to the actress. In 1987, she starred in "Squizzy Taylor," a film about a 1920s Melbourne gangster with a fearsome reputation.
Memorable Jacki Weaver Quote
In an interview with PopEater, Jacki admitted, "I'm 63 years old, I've been acting for 48 years. I've never been out of work, but I've never been known in America and it's not something that was ever on my agenda. I'm trying not to think about it too much, in case I get disappointed."
