- Renne Zellweger is an Oscar winning actress
- She’s had a number of high-profile romances with famous men
- As of July of 2023, she is two years into dating TV host Ant Anstead
Renée Zellweger is one of the most famous actresses in the world, even though the star is quite a private person. The 53-year-old Texas native landed on everyone’s radar when she took on roles in such cult classics like Dazed and Confused and Reality Bites. Soon she was starring in such big box office bits like Jerry Maguire, Bridget Jones Diary and Chicago. Worldwide fame followed with her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Cold Mountain in 2003. Sixteen years later, she cemented her name as one of the Hollywood’s top stars when she took home the Academy Award for Best Actress in Judy, playing icon Judy Garland.
With the tendency to shy away from the spotlight, however, Renee often keeps her love life to herself, even though she had dated some high-profile beaus. In fact, in July of 2023, a report by The Sun claimed the couple were already engaged and planning a “low-key” wedding, though HollywoodLife confirmed that the report was not true.
Keep reading to find out all about the Hollywood men Renee has dated, below.
Jim Carrey
Renee met comedian and lauded actor Jim Carrey on the set of their movie Me, Myself, and Irene in 1999 and their ensuing romance came as a bit of a surprise to the actress. “I liked him, a lot, but you’re not going [to the set] for the love connection,” she told CNN in 2000. “‘And then I went home … and I went, ‘God, I do miss him.'” Jim felt the same way, as he told ET at that time, “She thinks having a good time is renting a U-Haul and taking furniture to Texas … and I absolutely love it.”
Although the pair were only an item for about a year, the relationship was clearly held dear to the Sonic the Hedgehog actor. “She definitely was special to me, very special, I think she’s lovely,” Jim revealed on The Howard Stern Show in 2020. As for any regrets about the breakup, Jim added, “I don’t regret, I don’t have those things, but I do appreciate the people that have come through my life for the good that they gave me.”
Jack White
Musician/actor Jack White had a small role in 2003’s Cold Mountain where he struck up a relationship with Renee. The “Seven Nation Army” singer was her sweetheart for almost two years. After news broke that the pair were no longer a couple, Renee’s publicist told People that the couple broke up in September 2004 but “remain good friends. No scandal. No new relationships.”
Kenny Chesney
In 2005, Renee reportedly met country music star Kenny Chesney at NBC’s “Concert of Hope” tsunami aid telethon. In a move that surprised fans of both the stars, the couple got married three months later on May 9, 2005. Four months later, Renee filed for divorce, citing “fraud” as the reason. The word “fraud” started rumors about Kenny’s sexual orientation, which prompted the former couple to clarify why they chose it. “The miscommunication of the objective of their marriage at the start is the only reason for this annulment,” the pair released in a statement. “Renée and Kenny value and respect each other and are saddened that their different objectives prevent the success of this marriage.”
Bradley Cooper
Renee ended up working with fellow Oscar winner Bradley Cooper on the film Case 39 in 2009. The pair never formally announced they were an item; however, they were snapped on several occasions hanging out together after filming wrapped. Bradley did gush about his co-star at the time, but only on a professional level, telling ET, “I can’t say enough about her. I just love her. I [loved] coming to work I love acting with her. I can learn so much from her.” Renee was in the same boat, detailing to the outlet, “He’s a great, great actor. I just got so excited, not believing that I was going to go to work with him.”
Doyle Bramhall II
Although they first met in college in Texas back in the 90s, Renee and her musician beau Doyle Bramhall II didn’t spark up a romance until 2012. “Isn’t he cute? He’s a very sweet man,” Renee told People in 2015. “I’m very, very happy right now.” Despite it being the longest public relationship for Renee, the couple didn’t last, breaking up in 2019.
Ant Anstead
Renee revealed the origin story of her red-hot romance with boyfriend Ant Anstead in March. She opened up about the “serendipitous” meeting between her and the British television host, 42, in 2021 that ended up igniting their love for each other. While the introduction was undoubtedly an adorable meet-cute, there was also a shadow of sadness to it, as Renee was grieving the loss of her good friend and publicist Nanci Ryder, who passed away in June 2020 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
As the The Thing About Pam star told Bazaar for its April issue, she was thinking about how to celebrate the two nurses — twin brothers named Jerome Cowan and Jerald Cowan — who cared for Nanci before her death when she happened upon an HGTV show called Celebrity IOU, where a famous person pays tribute to someone in their life by renovating the person’s home. “It was around Judy,” Renee explained, saying she was working on her Oscar-winning role of Judy Garland at the time. “Late night, and I remember I watched the Property Brothers with Brad Pitt.” With a spinoff in the works — Celebrity IOU: Joyride hosted by Ant — Renee signed up to give back to Jerome and Jerald.
Production on the new show began in June 2021, bringing Renee and Ant together for the first time, and gifting Jerome and Jerald a pair of gorgeous classic cars. With the actress and the car enthusiast still going from strength to strength since the fateful meeting, Renee was asked if she thinks Nanci somehow had a hand in the couple’s matchmaking. “Yeah, we do joke about that,” Renee agreed. “She’s always doing her best. It made me smile. It made me smile to think on this, yeah, the serendipity of it all.”
After Renee and Ant began dating, they kept their budding romance relatively private before the pair attended their first public event together in August 2021 when they went to a Radford Motors gala in California. In September, they darling duo made it Instagram official. Ant opened up about their romance during his interview with PEOPLE at the time, revealing that he was “grateful” for the relationship. “Everyone knows that Renee and I are dating,” he said. “I’m really grateful to the show because these amazing things happen in your world and sometimes when things collide, they collide at the most obscure times when you least expect them.” Ant added, “And that’s what happened in this case. I’m grateful for that.”