Cate Blanchett Then & Now: Photos Of The Oscar Winner Through The Years

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May 14, 2022 5:30AM EDT

Cate Blanchett is an unmatched talent. Celebrate her birthday 53rd birthday with a look at her life in photos.

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Cate Blanchett: Through The Years

Cate Blanchett: Through The Years — Cate Blanchett is an undeniable acting talent. Born May 14, 1969 in Ivanhoe, Australia, the 2-time Oscar-winner got her start on Australian stages after graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art. She rose to international fame playing Queen Elizabeth I in the 1998 movie ‘Elizabeth’. From there, her star only continued to soar, appearing in the ‘Lord Of The Rings’ films as Galadriel. She won an Oscar in 2004 for portraying actress Katharine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s ‘The Aviator’ and another in 2013 for Woody Allen’s ‘Blue Jasmine’. Other Oscar-nominated roles include ‘Notes on a Scandal’ (2006), ‘I’m Not There’ (2007), ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ (2007), and ‘Carol’ (2015).

Through it all, her stage career has never waned. She has performed in over 20 theatre productions, including a Tony-nominated part in the 2017 production of Chekov’s ‘The Present’. She was also the artistic director of the Sydney Theatre Company with playwright husband Andrew Upton from 2008 to 2013.

Cate Blanchett has grown from a fresh-faced Aussie unknown to an Oscar-winning A-lister throughout her years in Hollywood. See the best photos of Cate, from her early days up to now, in our gallery here.

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Cate Blanchett In The 90s

Cate Blanchett In The 90s — Cate Blanchett poses in a vintage photo. Her white shirt and black vest combo was quite 90s.

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‘Elizabeth’

‘Elizabeth’ — Cate Blanchett earned her first Oscar nomination for 1998’s ‘Elizabeth’. The film is based on the early years of Elizabeth’s reign, where she is elevated to the throne after the death of her half-sister Mary I, who had imprisoned her

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Cate Blanchett In 1997

Cate Blanchett In 1997 — Cate Blanchett smiles during the 1997 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. She wore a beautiful dress with flowers embroidered upon a sheer back.

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Cate Blanchett After The 1999 Golden Globes

Cate Blanchett After The 1999 Golden Globes — Cate Blanchett beams while holding her Golden Globe trophy during Miramax’s post-awards party in LA on Jan. 24, 1999. She won the Best Actress honor for ‘Elizabeth’.

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Cate Blanchett & Gwyneth Paltrow In 1999

Cate Blanchett & Gwyneth Paltrow In 1999 — Golden girls! Cate Blanchett, left, and Gwyneth Paltrow pose together at the Governor’s Ball following the 71st Annual Academy Awards in 1999. Gwyneth won the Best Actress Oscar ‘Shakespeare in Love’, beating awards-season favorite Cate.

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Cate Blanchett At Cannes In 1999

Cate Blanchett At Cannes In 1999 — Cate Blanchett is radiant in a black beaded number during the 52nd annual Cannes Film Festival in 1999. She rocked a smokey eye and a chic updo as well.

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Cate Blanchett At The 2000 British Academy Film Awards

Cate Blanchett At The 2000 British Academy Film Awards — Cate Blanchett stuns in chunky silver sequins during the British Academy Film Awards in London in 2000. White and gold t-strap heels completed the look along with silver bangles.

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‘The Missing’

‘The Missing’ — Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett appear in a scene from the 2003 Ron Howard picture ‘The Missing’. The movie was set in 1885s New Mexico, following a frontier medicine woman as she forms an uneasy alliance with her estranged father when her daughter is kidnapped by an Apache brujo.

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‘The Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship Of The Ring’

‘The Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship Of The Ring’ — Cate Blanchett glows as elf leader Galadriel in ‘The Lord Of The Rings – The Fellowship Of The Ring’ (2001). It would become one of her more recognized roles.

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Cate Blanchett In 2004

Cate Blanchett In 2004 — Cate Blanchett is beautiful in blue during the premiere of ‘Missing’ at the Berlin Film Festival on Feb. 7, 2004. She was pregnant with son Roman at the time.

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‘The Aviator’

‘The Aviator’ — Leonardo Dicaprio wraps his arm around Cate Blanchett, as they play Howard Hughes and Katherine Hepburn in 2004’s ‘The Aviator’. Cate made history with the role, as the first actor in history to win an Academy Award for portraying another Academy Award-winning actor.

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Cate Blanchett Wins Her First Oscar

Cate Blanchett Wins Her First Oscar — Cate Blanchett beams while holding her Academy Award in the press room of the 2005 event. Her butter yellow dress was by Valentino.

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George Clooney & Cate Blanchett In 2006

George Clooney & Cate Blanchett In 2006 — George Clooney and Cate Blanchett share a moment during the LA premiere of ‘The Good German’ on Dec. 4, 2006. They were deep in conversation.

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‘The Good German’

‘The Good German’ — While in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, is pictured in a scene from the 2006 Steven Soderbergh film ‘The Good German’. The movie was about an American military journalist who is drawn into a murder investigation that involves his former mistress and his driver while in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference.

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Cate Blanchett In 2008

Cate Blanchett In 2008 — Cate Blanchett stuns in green during the 23rd Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Jan. 26, 2008. She was being honored at the event.

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Cate Blanchett At The 2010 Cannes Film Festival

Cate Blanchett At The 2010 Cannes Film Festival — Cate Blanchett turns heads in black and silver Alexander McQueen during the premiere of ‘Robin Hood’ at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival on May 12, 2010. Her gorgeous gown had an eagle holding up a rose garland upon it and a puff of white tulle at the bottom.

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Cate Blanchett In ‘Big and Small’

Cate Blanchett In ‘Big and Small’ — Cate Blanchett appears in the play ‘Big and Small’ in London on Apr. 14, 2012. The play, written in German in 1978, follows a woman named Lotte and her lonely journey through Germany.

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Cate Blanchett At The 2014 Golden Globes

Cate Blanchett At The 2014 Golden Globes — Cate Blanchett wows in black lace Giorgio Armani Prive during the 71st annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 12, 2014. Her hair was styled smooth and tucked behind her ears to reveal diamond earrings.

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Cate Blanchett At The 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival

Cate Blanchett At The 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival — Cate Blanchett wows in pale blue Marc Jacobs during the 2016 Palm Springs International Film Festival Gala on Jan. 2. Her long dress had a gold design which matched her gold bangle. White heels finished the look on a neutral note.

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Cate Blanchett In 2017

Cate Blanchett In 2017 — Cate Blanchett smolders in black leather Louis Vuitton during the French fashion house’s collection launch at Paris’ Lourve museum on Apr. 11, 2017. The event celebrated LV’s new line of bags and accessories created by US artist Jeff Koons. Famous paintings works by Da Vinci, Titian, Rubens, Fragonard and Van Gogh were transposed onto the canvas of bags.

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Cate Blanchett At Cannes 2018

Cate Blanchett At Cannes 2018 — Cate Blanchett looks ever-elegant in black one-shouldered Armani Privé as she poses for photographers at the 71st annual Cannes Film Festival. She was there for the May 12, 2018 premiere of her film ‘Girls Of The Sun’.

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Cate Blanchett At The 2019 British Academy Film Awards

Cate Blanchett At The 2019 British Academy Film Awards — Cate Blanchett brings pure glamour to the red carpet of the 72nd British Academy Film Awards, donning bejeweled Christopher Kane to the Feb. 10, 2019 event. Her hair was in a dark, shoulder-skimming chop and she played up her eyes with a touch of dark eyeshadow.

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‘Nightmare Alley’

‘Nightmare Alley’ — Cate Blanchett and Bradley Cooper appear in 2021’s ‘Nightmare Alley’. The Guillermo del Toro picture was about a con man (Cooper) posing as a medium who goes toe-to-toe with a psychiatrist (Blanchett) bent on exposing him.

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Cate Blanchett In 2022

Cate Blanchett In 2022 — Cate Blanchett wows in black Louis Vuitton at the 2022 Chaplin Award Gala on Apr. 25. She was the evening’s guest of honor.

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