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Biography #2 (for Connie & Carla)

Academy and Tony Award nominee Toni Collette, was born and raised in Australia; Collette continues to make an indelible impression on Hollywood. She gained instant recognition for her portrayal of the hopeless and desperate Muriel Heslop in P.J. Hogan's 1994 film, Muriel's Wedding, and has gone on to become one of the most respected actresses of her generation. Proving her amazing ability to transform into the character that she is playing, Collette has since starred in a variety of diverse roles.

Most recently, Collette has begun shooting In Her Shoes, opposite Cameron Diaz and Shirley MacLaine. In the film, which is directed by Curtis Hanson, Collette plays Rose, the uptight lawyer who is forced to house her unemployed party girl sister Maggie (Diaz).

Collette was most recently seen in the critically acclaimed Japanese Story. In the film, Collette stars as Sandy, a geologist whose encounter with a Japanese businessman in the middle of the Australian desert changes her life forever. Her performance has garnered a Best Actress award from both the Australian Film Institute and the Film Critics Circle of Australia, and in the U.S., a Golden Satellite nomination for Best Actress as well.

This fall, she stars opposite Alec Baldwin, Matthew Broderick and Calista Flockhart in writer/director Jeff Nathanson's comedy The Last Shot.

In 2002, Collette starred in the Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning picture The Hours. Collette portrayed a '50s housewife forced to confront her own mortality opposite Julianne Moore, who was also dealing with a personal crisis. The film was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in the category of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.

Collette also starred in the touching Universal Pictures comedy, About a Boy. For her portrayal as a struggling single mother opposite Hugh Grant's self-involved playboy, she has received a BAFTA nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role. Additionally, in 2002, Collette appeared with Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Affleck in the critical favorite Changing Lanes, helping Ben Affleck's character through a moral crisis.

Collette first starred opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the much talked about Shaft. Her breakthrough American film paired her with Bruce Willis in the worldwide box office phenomenon The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan. In the film, Collette portrays a mother from South Philadelphia who was forced to cope with the physical and emotional distress surrounding her young son's paranormal powers. Her mesmerizing performance garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

In theater, Collette received her first Tony Award nomination in the spring of 2000 for her role as Queenie while making her New York stage debut in Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe's Tony Award-nominated musical, The Wild Party.

Additional film credits include HBO's Dinner with Friends, with Dennis Quaid, Greg Kinnear and Andie MacDowell; The Boys, a film by Australian director Rowan Woods, which was adapted from Gordon Graham's play; Todd Haynes' Velvet Goldmine; the 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma, co-starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Ewan McGregor; Hotel Splendide; The James Gang; Clockwatchers; The Pallbearer; Lilian's Story; and Mark Joffe's Spotswood and Cosi.

Collette, who was student at Australia's prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), has performed on the Australian stage as well. Her credits include performances for the Belvoir Street Theater and the Sydney Theater Company.

When she is not working, Collette resides in Australia.

Bio courtesy Universal Pictures for "Connie & Carla" (06-Jun-2004)