Naomi Watts had already been a working actress for over a decade when she earned notice as a promising newcomer in David Lynch's Cannes Film Festival prizewinner Mulholland Drive (2001). Born September 28th, 1968, Watts began acting in her teens, landing her first film role in For Love Alone (1986). Watts subsequently appeared with future Hollywood headliners Nicole Kidman and Thandie Newton in John Duigan's disarming teen romance Flirting (1991). Watts's next film with Duigan, Wide Sargasso Sea (1992), was not so well received. After her first taste of Hollywood with Joe Dante's schlock movie homage Matinee (1992), Watts nabbed a starring role as Jimmy Smits's disturbed student in George Miller's little seen courtroom drama Gross Misconduct (1993). Watts then starred as Jet Girl to Lori Petty's Tank Girl (1995), but the science fiction fantasy suffered an ignominious box office fate. After a series of TV movies and thrillers, including Sleepwalkers (1997) and Children of the Corn IV (1996), Watts appeared in Marshall Herskovitz's high-toned Venetian courtesan costumer Dangerous Beauty (1998) and successful TV docudrama The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer (1999). Watts's breakthrough finally arrived when David Lynch cast her in his ABC pilot Mulholland Drive. Though ABC canceled the project in 1999 after Lynch turned in a typically mood-drenched work, StudioCanal financed its transformation into a feature that debuted to acclaim at Cannes in 2001. A Los Angeles dreamscape akin to Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive featured Watts as the blonde half of a female duo caught in a mystery of shifting identities. Drawing attention for her not-for-network TV love scene with co-star Laura Harring, Watts also earned praise as a rising "new" actress. Though ignored for an Oscar nomination, Watts's tour-de-force dual performance earned her numerous accolades and critics' awards, igniting her career. Working steadily in the wake of Mulholland Drive, Watts scored a box-office as well as critical success a year later with The Ring (2002), the Hollywood remake of the Japanese horror blockbuster. Starring Watts as an intrepid reporter investigating the origins of a lethal videotape, The Ring overcame studio doubts to become a sleeper hit, solidifying Watts's new star status. Watts subsequently donned period dress for the Showtime western The Outsider (2002), and to co-star alongside fellow Aussie Heath Ledger in The Kelly Gang (2003). Balancing her genre work with potentially headier fare guided by notable directors, Watts also appeared with Kate Hudson, Glenn Close and Stockard Channing in the Merchant-Ivory romantic comedy Le Divorce (2003), and won a leading role opposite formidable actors Sean Penn and Benicio Del Toro in Alejandro González Iñárritu's 21 Grams (2003).
Movie | Emmanuelle | 2025 | |
Movie | Periodical | Self | 2023-03-10 |
Movie | Goodnight Mommy | Mother | 2022-09-16 |
Series | The Watcher | Nora Brannock | 2022-10-13 |
Movie | Boss Level | Jemma Wells | 2021-02-19 |
Movie | This Is the Night | Marie Dedea | 2021-09-17 |
Movie | Polycephaly in D | (archive footage) | 2021-09-10 |
Movie | The Wolf Hour | June Leigh | 2019-01-26 |
Movie | Ophelia | Queen Gertrude / Mechtild | 2019-06-28 |
Movie | Luce | Amy Edgar | 2019-08-02 |
Series | The Loudest Voice | Gretchen Carlson | 2019-06-30 |
Movie | Terror Nullius | (Archive Footage) | 2018-03-20 |
Movie | Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal | Self (archive footage) | 2018-08-21 |
Movie | Vice | News Anchor (uncredited) | 2018-12-25 |
Movie | I Am Heath Ledger | Self | 2017-04-23 |
Series | FEUD | Babe Paley | 2017-03-05 |
Movie | Chuck | Linda Wepner | 2017-05-05 |
Movie | A Bloody Finger in Your Mouth | Self | 2017-12-05 |
Movie | The Book of Henry | Susan Carpenter | 2017-06-16 |
Movie | Do Not Pick Up Hitchhikers | Self | 2017-12-05 |
Movie | The Glass Castle | Rose Mary Walls | 2017-08-11 |
Series | Gypsy | Jean Holloway | 2017-06-30 |
Movie | Allegiant | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | 2016-03-09 |
Movie | 3 Generations | Maggie | 2016-10-27 |
Movie | The Sea of Trees | Joan Brennan | 2016-04-27 |
Movie | Shut In | Mary Portman | 2016-11-11 |
Movie | Insurgent | Evelyn Johnson-Eaton | 2015-03-18 |
Movie | Demolition | Karen Moreno | 2015-04-08 |
Movie | While We're Young | Cornelia Schrebnick | 2015-04-03 |
Movie | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) | Lesley Truman | 2014-10-17 |
Series | BoJack Horseman | Naomi Watts (voice) | 2014-08-22 |
Movie | St. Vincent | Daka Parimova | 2014-10-09 |
Movie | Movie 43 | Samantha (segment "Homeschooled") | 2013-01-24 |
Movie | Sunlight Jr. | Melissa | 2013-04-20 |
Movie | Adore | Lil | 2013-04-03 |
Movie | Diana | Princess Diana | 2013-09-19 |
Movie | Wide-Awake | The Makeup Artist | 2012-12-07 |
Movie | The Impossible | Maria Bennett | 2012-09-09 |
Movie | Dream House | Ann Patterson | 2011-09-29 |
Movie | J. Edgar | Helen Gandy | 2011-11-09 |
Movie | Woody Allen: A Documentary | Self | 2011-11-20 |
Movie | Fair Game | Valerie Plame | 2010-05-20 |
Movie | You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger | Sally | 2010-09-22 |
Movie | The International | Eleanor Whitman | 2009-02-03 |
Movie | Mother and Child | Elizabeth | 2009-11-07 |
Movie | Heath Ledger: A Tribute | Self | 2009-06-01 |
Movie | Funny Games | Ann Farber | 2008-03-14 |
Movie | Eastern Promises | Anna Ivanovna Khitrova | 2007-09-14 |
Movie | The Painted Veil | Kitty Fane | 2006-12-09 |
Movie | Recreating the Eighth Wonder: The Making of 'King Kong' | Self | 2006-11-14 |
Movie | Inland Empire | Suzie Rabbit (voice) | 2006-12-06 |
Movie | Ellie Parker | Ellie Parker | 2005-01-21 |
Movie | The Ring Two | Rachel Keller | 2005-03-10 |
Movie | Stay | Lila Culpepper | 2005-09-24 |
Movie | King Kong: Peter Jackson's Production Diaries | Self | 2005-12-13 |
Movie | King Kong | Ann Darrow | 2005-12-12 |
Movie | 21 Grams: In Fragments | Self | 2004-03-16 |
Movie | The Making of ‘Mulholland Drive’ | Self | 2004-04-05 |
Movie | The Assassination of Richard Nixon | Marie Bicke | 2004-05-17 |
Movie | I ♥ Huckabees | Dawn Campbell | 2004-09-10 |
Movie | We Don't Live Here Anymore | Edith Evans | 2004-08-13 |
Series | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Unknown | 2003-01-26 |
Movie | Ned Kelly | Julia Cook | 2003-03-22 |
Series | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Unknown | 2003-09-08 |
Series | Celebrities Uncensored | Unknown | 2003-06-04 |
Movie | 21 Grams | Cristina Peck | 2003-09-06 |
Movie | Le Divorce | Roxeanne de Persand | 2003-08-08 |
Series | Icons | Unknown | 2002-05-01 |
Movie | Rabbits | Suzie | 2002-06-09 |
Movie | The Outsider | Rebecca Yoder | 2002-11-10 |
Movie | Undertaking Betty | Meredith Mainwaring | 2002-12-04 |
Movie | The Ring | Rachel Keller | 2002-10-18 |
Movie | Never Date an Actress | The Shallow Girlfriend | 2001-01-01 |
Movie | Mulholland Drive | Betty Elms / Diane Selwyn | 2001-06-06 |
Movie | Down | Jennifer Evans | 2001-09-06 |
Movie | Ellie Parker | Ellie Parker | 2001-01-19 |
Movie | The Wyvern Mystery | Alice Fairfield | 2000-10-12 |
Series | The Early Show | Unknown | 1999-11-01 |
Movie | Strange Planet | Alice | 1999-10-06 |
Movie | Mulholland Dr. | Betty / Diane Selwyn | 1999-01-01 |
Movie | The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer | Holly Maddux | 1999-05-09 |
Movie | Dangerous Beauty | Giulia De Lezze | 1998-02-20 |
Movie | The Christmas Wish | Renee | 1998-12-06 |
Movie | Babe: Pig in the City | Additional Character Voices (voice) | 1998-11-25 |
Series | Sleepwalkers | Kate Russell | 1997-11-01 |
Series | The View | Unknown | 1997-08-11 |
Movie | Under the Lighthouse Dancing | Louise | 1997-10-15 |
Movie | Bermuda Triangle | Amanda | 1996-04-04 |
Series | The Daily Show | Unknown | 1996-07-22 |
Movie | Persons Unknown | Molly | 1996-12-27 |
Movie | Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering | Grace Rhodes | 1996-10-08 |
Movie | Timepiece | Mary Chandler | 1996-12-22 |
Movie | Tank Girl | Jet Girl | 1995-03-31 |
Series | Inside the Actors Studio | Unknown | 1994-08-14 |
Movie | The Custodian | Louise | 1994-03-17 |
Movie | Matinee | Shopping Cart Starlet | 1993-01-29 |
Movie | Gross Misconduct | Jennifer Carter | 1993-07-29 |
Movie | Wide Sargasso Sea | Fanny Grey | 1993-04-16 |
Series | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Unknown | 1993-09-13 |
Series | The Tonight Show with Jay Leno | Unknown | 1992-05-25 |
Series | Brides of Christ | Frances Heffernan | 1991-09-04 |
Movie | Flirting | Janet Odgers | 1991-03-20 |
Series | Twin Peaks | Jane-Y Jones | 1990-04-08 |
Series | LIVE with Kelly and Mark | Unknown | 1988-09-05 |
Series | Hey Dad..! | Belinda Lawrence | 1987-02-11 |
Movie | For Love Alone | Leo's Girlfriend | 1986-05-22 |
Series | The Oscars | Naomi Watts | 1953-03-19 |
Series | Today | Unknown | 1952-01-14 |