Sandra Bullock Biography

news-details Born to an opera singer mother Helga Meyer and an American voice teacher John Bullock, on July 26, 1964 in Arlington, Virginia, USA, Sandra Arnette Bullock, well known as Sandra Bullock, first of all started her career by performing in the children chorus in her mother's operas. There, in Germany where her mother originally comes from, she became a child singer and studied ballet as well. Graduated from Washington-Lee High School where she became a cheerleader, the young lady subsequently attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina, majored in drama. Decided to try her luck, she jumped start her career and, with the approval of her parents, left university three credit short before acquiring her degree, packed up and moved to New York. In the Big Apple, Bullock took acting classes at the renowned Neighborhood Playhouse and took time taking bartending job to earn some money. She did the bar-work for three years whilst worked hard at achieving her dream of becoming an actress. She later completed her coursework though and was awarded a bachelor's degree from East Carolina University.

Went to every casting call and audition she could, it was not until the year 1988 that Bullock got her first real break, playing the role of a sassy Southern belle in the off-Broadway production of "No Time Flat" that appeared to capture the attention of a critic named John Simon who made a positive comment about her acting talent. With the positive reviews, she got herself an agent and was offered a part by director Alan J. Levi in the made-for-TV movie "Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman" (1989). After some stint in TV, Bullock moved to LA and was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films before later on landed her first starring role in NBC's adaptation of the movie "Working Girl" (1990). Sadly, the show only lasted for six episodes and her next roles would not be so juicy as well. Desperate yet determined, Bullock tried hard to boost her career, took a role in the 1992 romantic comedy "Love Potion No. 9." The movie itself was a flop, but did lead the actress to find her first love in co-star Tate Donovan, whom she stayed with in Los Angeles for three years.

Acting offers came slowly afterwards, with Bullock managed to land herself five film roles during the year 1993, one most noticeable was the science fiction-action "Demolition Man," also starring notable co-stars Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. It was the film's producer Joel Silver that introduced her to his friend and colleague, director Jan De Bont who latter gave Bullock the female lead in the 1994 blockbuster "Speed" alongside Keanu Reeves that appeared to bring a breakthrough to her acting career. The film went success, won an Academy Award for Best Sound and Best Sound Effects. So where did the ride to stardom begin for the actress, making her a high-level movie star in the late 1990s, such predicate that proved to get her more film roles, including that in the 1995 romantic comedy "While You Were Sleeping," where she was billed to replace Demi Moore, and in the John Grisham's 1996 best-seller "A Time to Kill," for which she began earning a seven digit salary.

Unfortunately, Bullock's acting career experienced a little slump afterwards with her appearances in numbers of not so successful films, naming some were Richard Attenborough's "In Love and War" (1996), the romantic comedy "Two If by Sea" (1996), "A Farewell to Arms" (1996), and the sequel to "Speed," "Speed 2: Cruise Control" (1997). Began her own production company, Fortis Films, her first project was the 1998 "Hope Floats" which wasn't too success, yet helped Bullock to secure another part in "Practical Magic" (1998), co-starred with Nicole Kidman as sisters who use witchcraft to solve their romantic problems. Her part in the flick, indeed, led her to another huge hit when she was billed to provide the voice of Miriam in the 1998 animated biblical saga "The Prince of Egypt." Next she starred in the romantic comedy "Forces of Nature" (1999), opposite Ben Affleck and "28 Days" (2000) in which she plays a recovering alcoholic. Proven good in impressing moviegoers with her starring role, Bullock starred in again another romantic comedy "Miss Congeniality" (2000), being in the same scene with Benjamin Bratt.

After the latest movie, came the 2002 thriller "Murder by Numbers" where she and Ben Chaplin were homicide detectives chasing two smart and murderous young students. Went back to her romantic comedy roots, Bullock went on starring with Hugh Grant in the 2002 "Two Weeks Notice" which saw her portraying the role of a smart but neurotic lawyer. It did a hit, after which the well-known actress reprised her role in "Miss Congeniality" sequel, "Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous" (2005), while kept adding more film projects into her already long filmography, including "Crash" (2004), "The Lake House" (2006), and "Infamous (2006)."

Her love life, sad to say, is fairly complex. Back in the single saddle again following her break up from longtime boyfriend Tate Donovan, Bullock dated football player Troy Aikman, blues guitarist Guy Forsythe, actor Steve Buscemi, and Austin musician Bob Schneider. She split from then boyfriend Ryan Gosling, 15 years her junior, whom she met on the set of "Murder by Numbers," and was briefly linked to Matthew McConaughey. The year 2004 saw her dated her future husband, motorcycle builder and TV show "Monster Garage" host Jesse G. James, whom she married with on July 16, 2005.

Marking year 2007 with another thriller movie entitled "Premonition," Bullock smoothly continued moving on her path in Hollywood film industry for couple years ahead. Up to 2009, she has already had three acting stints in her schedule, each for "All About Steve", "One of the Guys", and "Kiss & Tango", all being comedic features which she also produced.