You might know her as "America's Sweetheart," but Sandra Bullock has
definitely proved she's more than just that. Her roles haven't always come easily to her,
and she's had a unique journey to stardom. This is the stunning transformation of Sandra Bullock.
Entertainment definitely runs in Sandra Bullock's family. Her mother was a German professional opera
singer, while her father was a vocal coach. Young Sandra grew up traveling back and forth
between the United States and Germany each opera season to attend shows, so she was constantly
surrounded by the theatrical world. She never sang herself, though. As she told Vanity Fair in 1995,
"I spent most of my time hanging out in the costume department."
In true performer fashion, Bullock's mom would always tell her to be
original when she was growing up. As she noted to InStyle in 2018,
"Which made no sense to me because the last thing you want to do as
a teenager is be original. You want to blend in. […] But in retrospect,
I get exactly what she was saying because that’s who I am as an adult.
Now if I do things like somebody else, I’m like, 'No, no, no, I want to be different.'"
That makes sense, as Bullock's unique down-to-earth personality is certainly
one of the reasons that she's one of the most influential actresses of her time!
After witnessing firsthand while growing up what the entertainment industry had to offer,
Bullock ultimately decided to pursue an acting career herself.
She studied the dramatic arts at East Carolina University,
where she got her acting career going in plays such as Peter Pan and Three Sisters.
Bullock held various small jobs to make money while pursuing her showbiz career,
which is fairly typical for a young actor. But she also had one theatrical
job in particular throughout college that seems to surprise everyone she meets.
When asked about it in 2018 on The Late Late Show with James Corden,
she revealed that she used to open up as a dancer for drag queens while living in North Carolina.
"I wasn't hired 'cause I was good. I believe I was hired because I was very enthusiastic,
and, um, they made it rain for me."
It sounds like Bullock's always been up for a new adventure,
but little did she know at the time what adventures awaited her.
Bullock's portrayal of Annie Porter in the 1994 action flick Speed is the role that's typically
credited for catapulting her career. As she told the Today Show at the time of the movie's release,
"It was probably one of the hardest roles I had to do."
She explained how action was at the forefront of the fast-paced film, which didn't give her as much
time throughout the story to focus on developing her character on-screen as she was used to.
"You have to get across an emotion within, like, two seconds and have everyone believe you."
Bullock also developed a bit of a crush on her co-star Keanu Reeves during filming, which made
it difficult to act seriously in front of him. As she admitted on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018,
"I think about how sweet Keanu Reeves was and how handsome he was."
The two never officially dated, but Reeves also eventually admitted to having a crush on Bullock,
which perfectly explains why they had such great chemistry on the big screen.
As he put it succinctly to Ellen DeGeneres,
"It was nice to go to work."
In order to have more control over the films she was a part of and move forward with her
own creative vision for them, in 1995 Bullock decided to start up her own production company
called Fortis Films. She named her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, as president.
The company was named after the Greek term for "strength," and it was a key part in producing
Practical Magic and Miss Congeniality, two of the most iconic starring vehicles of Bullock's career.
With Bullock racking up executive producer credits, she's been more easily able to control
the stories unfolding onscreen that she has a part in creating. As her sister explained to Variety,
"[Sandra] wanted to find things [that were] not coming her way
and develop things that she wants to do — as well as passion projects."
Sandra Bullock earned her very first Oscar nomination – and win – for the 2009 sports biopic
The Blind Side. Based on the true story of former NFL player Michael Oher, the film starred
Bullock as a mother who takes in a homeless teenager to help him get back on his feet.
Bullock's competition in the Lead Actress category included Meryl Streep, Carey Mulligan,
Helen Mirren, and Gabourey Sidibe. Bullock acted absolutely stunned as she took the
stage when her name was announced as the winner. In true "America's Sweetheart"
fashion, she took the time to call out each nominated actress in her acceptance speech,
as she expressed her admiration for each and every one of them
and their unique talents that they brought to the screen. She also made sure to note,
"I would like to thank what this film was about for me,
which are the moms that take care of the babies and the children no matter where they come from."
Bullock had always dreamed of being a mother, and she realized that that dream could come true after
she fell in love with TV personality Jesse James. Shortly after they married, they decided to adopt
a child. But that was when one of the toughest chapters of her life began. Her personal life
was plastered across tabloids that claimed James had had multiple affairs while they were married.
Shattered by the reality of it all, she filed for divorce. She later told The Independent,
"I feel like it had to happen in order for me to fully understand what family was about."
After her split from James, Bullock worried that her dream of becoming a mother had passed her by.
But she eventually had a realization that she shared during an interview on Today.
"The beautiful thing that I was constantly told was,
'The perfect child will find you. You will find your child.'"
But that advice was much easier said than done, as Bullock would constantly ask herself, "Where is
my family?" After seeing the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, she suddenly had a deep feeling
that her child was in New Orleans. So in 2010, four years after initially beginning the adoption
process with James, she finally started her own little family. She became the proud parent to
her son Louis, and a few years later, she adopted her daughter Laila, who was also from Louisiana.
"I finally realize, 'Oh, this is what I was supposed to do when I grew up.
Not be an actress, to be a mom."
When Bullock was first pitched the idea for the 2013 sci-fi thriller Gravity, she just knew that
she had to be a part of it. She recalled being drawn to the emotion behind the story and really
understanding why director Alfonso Cuarón wanted to make it. As she told Rotten Tomatoes in 2013,
"I connected with him immediately, and I had wanted to work with him for so long."
Gravity's story follows two astronauts who must survive being suddenly trapped in outer space.
As Bullock saw it, the idea behind the film is that a person never really knows how much
time they have left. She related to her character Ryan's sense of rebirth and
felt that she had experienced instances of that in her personal life as well,
particularly in terms of motherhood. As she explained to Rotten Tomatoes,
"I have the gift of a little person that is reminding me on a daily basis
how fast time is going by."
Bullock's performance in Gravity won over plenty of audiences,
which was clear when she was nominated for her second Oscar.
Sandra Bullock was rocking it as an independent single mother, but eventually she was spotted
with her new boyfriend, photographer Bryan Randall, shortly after adopting her daughter
Laila. When she announced to the world via a People Magazine cover the addition of the
little one to her family in 2015, Randall was actually the one that snapped the adorable photo.
Bullock and Randall's relationship has mostly been tucked away from the public eye, and the
fact that the actress is not on social media may have something to do with that. She's admitted
that she's not ignoring what's going on online, though. As she explained to InStyle in 2018,
"I'm just lazy. But I'm going to get on it and troll my friends. Once my kids are using it,
I'll know how to navigate it. I don't want to be naïve."
And when asked about Randall, she divulged,
"For the kids he's sort of No. 1, and
I'm No. 2. But I get it because he's more fun and has better treats."
Sandra Bullock's role in the 2018 heist film Ocean's 8 was monumental,
though it took years for the movie to come together, as it had to work around
eight A-list actors' busy schedules. When it finally arrived in theaters,
it seemed as though it couldn't have come at a better time. Female empowerment was a hot topic
in the media, and audiences applauded the fact that eight women were starring in action-packed
roles more typically given to men. And notably enough, the movie ended up having the highest
opening weekend box office in the entire Ocean's franchise. That year, Bullock told InStyle,
"I always said I want what the guys get to have — whether I'm doing an action movie,
a comedy, or a sexy heist film."
When Refinery29 asked the Ocean's 8 cast how they felt about releasing the movie at a time
that was so relevant for women and society, they noted that the timing was coincidental
and explained how they just wanted it to be recognized as a fun film. As Bullock noted,
"There's been groups of women making movies. I did one, [Practical Magic], about witches!"
Bullock usually doesn't like scary movies, but she just knew that she had to be a part
of the 2018 Netflix film Bird Box from the moment that she read the script. The
thriller follows Bullock's character, Malorie, who will do anything in her power to protect
her two small children against a monster. Even though it was rated R, Bullock has
said that she made the film for her own kids. As she revealed during an interview on Today,
"This came about when my kids said, 'Why don't you make something for us?'"
"I now realize they were talking about, you know, animated or Marvel, but when I read it"
When winning the award for Most Frightened Performance at the 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards,
Bullock explained how she would do anything to protect her children
just like Malorie did in Bird Box. As she put it,
"What you saw in that movie is what your mommy would do for you.
I was put on this earth to protect you."
So what has Sandra Bullock been up to in the few years since Bird Box? As it turns out,
her production company Fortis Films has been staying busy. In June 2019,
Deadline broke the news that Bullock would revisit the TV world almost 20 years after she worked as
an executive producer on the ABC sitcom George Lopez. She signed on as EP on a series for Amazon
alongside producers John Legend and Akiva Goldsman. Based loosely on Bullock's college
years, the dramedy follows a young woman in the American South during the 1980s
who refuses the cultural expectations set for her and is on a mission to find her true self.
The show's story will cover such topics as drag culture,
mental health, and the AIDS epidemic, while focusing on a group of young outcast characters.
If the series is even just a little bit close to what Bullock has experienced throughout her life,
it's sure to be inspirational! Even though she's busy producing, that doesn't mean that Bullock is
done with acting. She's set to star as a woman getting out of prison in the upcoming drama
The Unforgivable, and on the schedule for 2022 is the adventure comedy The Lost City,
in which she'll play a reclusive romance novelist alongside Channing Tatum.
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