Before Bridget Jones shot Renée Zellweger to global stardom, the Texan had made her screen debut in a handful of low-budget indies. She followed those up with small parts in ’90s classics Dazed and Confused, Reality Bites, and Empire Records, after which Jerry Maguire made her America’s sweetheart.
More success followed: Me, Myself & Irene, alongside Jim Carrey, who became her partner in the late ’90s; and Nurse Betty, the pitch-black comedy which earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy. But the Helen Fielding adaptation about the ultimate Frazzled Englishwoman marked a point of no return: after that came Oscar glory for 2003’s Cold Mountain, and her anointing as a Hollywood fixture.
To celebrate Zellweger’s 57th birthday today, we’re taking a look back at the earliest years of her career via the best vintage photos from the ’90s and early aughts. Think minimalist slips, naked dressing, and a few CBK-inspired staples.