Look who's turning 65 this month
April 4 – Hugo Weaving, actor
British-Australian actor Hugo Weaving became a sci-fi and fantasy icon between 1999 and 2003 when he played prominent supporting roles in two of the era’s biggest hits: The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings franchises. He brought gravitas to both the villainous Agent Smith and the imposing Lord Elrond. He’s also well-known for playing V in 2005’s V for Vendetta alongside Natalie Portman. After taking on voice and screen roles in a couple of Marvel movies in the early 2010s, Weaving was quoted saying he had grown weary of blockbusters and decided to focus on his stage career and smaller productions. His extensive acting resume includes over 70 credits in film, television, video games, and the stage.
Weaving was born in Nigeria to British parents; his mother was a tour guide and his father was a seismologist. Today, his on-screen projects include Slow Horses, a British spy thriller currently in its sixth season.
British-Australian actor Hugo Weaving became a sci-fi and fantasy icon between 1999 and 2003 when he played prominent supporting roles in two of the era’s biggest hits: The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings franchises. He brought gravitas to both the villainous Agent Smith and the imposing Lord Elrond. He’s also well-known for playing V in 2005’s V for Vendetta alongside Natalie Portman. After taking on voice and screen roles in a couple of Marvel movies in the early 2010s, Weaving was quoted saying he had grown weary of blockbusters and decided to focus on his stage career and smaller productions. His extensive acting resume includes over 70 credits in film, television, video games, and the stage. Weaving was born in Nigeria to British parents; his mother was a tour guide and his father was a seismologist. Today, his on-screen projects include Slow Horses, a British spy thriller currently in its sixth season.
April 10 – Ruth E. Cater, costume designer
Ruth E. Carter has designed costumes for some of the most famous directors of the last half century, including Spike Lee and Steven Speilberg. Nominated four times for the Academy Award for Best Costume Design, she won twice, for both Black Panther movies. With those awards, she became the first African American to win the Oscar for Costume Design and the first Black woman to win multiple Oscars in any category. When creating the look of the costumes for the Black Panther films, Cater drew from the aesthetic of Afrofuturism and traveled to countries in southern Africa to source inspiration from traditional African designs including textile patterns of the Maasai and Ndebele peoples. Carter’s other costume design credits include Malcom X, Amistad, Do the Right Thing, Serenity, Selma, and Coming 2 America, for a total of 50 feature films. In 2021, she got her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
April 14 - Brad Garrett, actor and stand-up comedian
Brad Garrett started out as a stand-up comedian in the 80s, and he’s still a stand-up comedian today, performing regularly at his own comedy club at the District at MGM in Las Vegas. The website of the Brad Garrett Comedy Club https://bradgarrettcomedy.com/ advertises it at the #1 comedy club in Las Vegas. By any standard, that’s a pretty long-running and successful stand-up career. Garrett is also known as a TV personality, starting with his role as Robert Barone on the CBS sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. His other credits include leading roles as Jackie Gleason in the made-for-TV movie Gleason and Eddie Stark on the sitcom ‘Til Death. Viewers of the Night at the Museum movie trilogy may (or may not) recognize Garrett from his recurring role as the Easter Island Head. The three-time Emmy Award-winner is a California native and UCLA alum.
April 23 - Valerie Bartinelli, actor and TV personality
At age 15, Valerie Bertinelli joined the cast of One Day at a Time, and she went on to appear in 208 of the show’s 209 episodes between 1975 and 1984. She won two Golden Globes for her portrayal of Barbara Cooper. In the 90s and 00s, Bertinelli appeared in various TV shows and specials, joining the CBS drama Touched By an Angel for its last two seasons. She also became known for her Jenny Craig spokeswomanship and has published three memoirs on her weight-loss journey. Starting in 2015, Bertinelli worked with the Food Network as a host of four different baking and cooking shows, for which she won two Daytime Emmys. She was once married to and has a son with rock star Eddie Van Halen.
