Generous Bullock

Background:

"I love humor. I always will fall back on humor. That's something that I think you can't ever get enough of and if it's done well, it's great. When it's bad, it's horrible." Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock rose to stardom being cast as Annie Porter (costarring Keanu Reeves) in the huge hit bus movie Speed (1994). She also received wide recognition for her performances in the romantic comedies While You Were Sleeping (1995) and Miss Congeniality (2000).

Bullock stands 5' 7 1/2" inches tall, measures 33B-24-34 and was listed in People's 50 Most Beautiful in 1996 and 1999. On a personal note, she has been sweetly linked to blues guitarist Gut Forsythe, A Time to Kill playmate Matthew McConaughey, film producer Michael Mailer, Ryan Gosling and Monster Garage star Jesse James. Though she was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan (for 3 years), Bullock has never married. "The only reason I haven't married yet is because I take it too seriously." She added, "I've always been very skeptical about marriage, because I only want to do it once. I want to do it the right way."

Responding to the tsunami disaster in Asia, Bullock recently contacted the American Red Cross and donated over $1 million. She also contributed the same amount of money for the 2001 terrorist attacks in America. About Bullock's generosity, a Red Cross spokesperson stated, "Sandra continues to enable our lifesaving work and is a model for personal generosity."

Bright Way

Childhood and Family:

The eldest daughter in the family, Sandra Annette Bullock was born on July 26, 1964 to German mother Helga Bullock (opera singer, died April 4, 2000) and Alabamian father John Bullock (voice trainer). She was born in Arlington, Virginia, together with her sister Gesine Bullock-Prado (born in 1968, married assistant director Raymond Prado). In their childhood, due to their mother's profession, they often stayed in Europe.

The family resettled in Washington D.C., where Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School. While at high school, Bullock was an admired cheerleader and called "The Most Likely To Brighten Your Day." Nicknamed Sandy, Bullock has houses in Austin, Texas, Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Tybee Island, Georgia. Not bad for a "take-out meal" fan.

Speeding Bullock

Career:

"I've learned that success comes in a very prickly package. Whether you choose to accept it or not is up to you. It's what you choose to do with it, the people you choose to surround yourself with. Always choose people that are better than you. Always choose people that challenge you and are smarter than you. Always be the student. Once you find yourself to be the teacher, you've lost it." Sandra Bullock

With a B.A. in Drama in hand, Sandra Bullock decided to fly to New York to work on her acting career. In the Big Apple she took serious acting lessons, bartended, and attended castings and auditions. After studying with drama coach Sanford Meisner, Bullock began to land her first appearances in entertainment, which included a role in off-Broadway's No Time Flat.

Later Bullock moved to Los Angeles and received her first breaks when she was cast in Who Shot Patakango (1989) and played the pretty bionic woman in the TV's Bionic Showdown: The Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). She followed these with appearances in the short-lived Working Girl (1990, NBC), the romantic comedy Love Potion No. 9 (1992) and costarred with Sylvester Stallone in Demolition Man (1993). She also showed off her singing talent in The Thing Called Love (1993), in which she wrote and sang "Heaven Knocking On My Door".

In 1994 Bullock gained her ultimate breakthrough. Director Jan De Bont cast her in the female main role, Annie Porter, in the blockbuster bus movie Speed, costarring Keanu Reeves. Speed shot her to stardom and led her to star in movies like While You Were Sleeping (1995, she was nominated for a Golden Globe award), The Net (1995) and John Grisham's novel adaptation, A Time to Kill (1996, costarring Ashley Judd).

"Never in a million years did I think a bus movie would open every door I ever possibly wanted open." Sandra Bullock

However, Bullock has had down times. Roles in movies like Two If by Sea (1996), In Love and War (1996), A Farewell to Arms (1996) and the sequel Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) did little to further her career.

With her own production company, Fortis Films, Bullock debuted as Executive Producer for the film Hope Floats (1998, directed by actor Forest Whitaker). She also continued to act in several comedy and drama films, including Practical Magic (1998, opposite Nicole Kidman), The Prince of Egypt (1998, voice), Forces of Nature (1999, starring Ben Affleck), Gun Shy (2000) and 28 Days (2000). In 2001 she was nominated again for her delightful comic character in the movie Miss Congeniality (2000). Sandra also appeared in Bob Schneider's music video "Round and Round" (2000). In the following years, she was involved in Murder By Numbers (2002), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), Two Weeks Notice (2002, alongside Hugh Grant), Vapor (2003, with Ralph Fiennes) and Crash (2004).

Bullock added to her movie resume with the 2005 movies, Loverboy, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, and Every Word is True. Up next, Bullock will play the title role in Grace and reunite with Speed actor Keanu Reeves in the romantic Mare, II.

Awards:

• Virginia Film Award, from the University of Virginia's Culbreth Theatre, 2004
• People's Choice: Favorite Actress in a Motion Picture, 1999
• People's Choice: Favorite Actress in a Motion Picture, 1997
• People's Choice: Favorite Actress in a Motion Picture, 1996
• NATO/ShoWest: Female Star of the Year, 1996
• MTV Movie Award: Most Desirable Female, Speed, 1995
• MTV Movie Award: Best Onscreen Duo, Speed; shared with Keanu Reeves, 1995
• MTV Movie Award: Best Female Performance, Speed, 1995