Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton Were Engaged Within 3 Weeks of Dating

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Cate Blanchett’s widely considered one of the best actresses of our times. Her intense but balanced focus on characters, stunning beauty, poise, and commanding voice are just some of the qualities most apparent. But behind the scenes is a man who has held and nurtured the Oscar-winner’s heart. Meet Andrew Upton, Cate Blanchett’s supportive and loving husband of over 30 years.

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Cate Blanchett’s Early Career

Cate Blanchett was born in Melbourne, Australia on May 15, 1969. She is the middle child of three. Blanchett’s mother was an Australian native and teacher and her father was an American Naval officer from Texas. After her father tragically died of a heart attack, Blanchett and her siblings were raised by their single mother. Cate has said she went through a rebellious teenage phase that included once shaving her head.

Cate Blanchett attended all girls’ schools until her college years and then enrolled in the University of Melbourne. She left after one year to go backpacking around the world. While visiting Egypt, she met a Scottish casting director. He cast her as a blonde cheerleader in a boxing movie called Kaboria, a minor role which Blanchett has called “boring” and embarrassing.” However, the experience inspired her to return to Sydney, where she enrolled at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. It was there that she became involved in the theatre arts and the classical acting styles that would later enrich her film work. One year after graduating, Blanchett received the Sydney Theatre Critics’ Best Newcomer Award.

From Elizabeth to 4-Time Golden Globe Winner

Blanchett continued to do work in theatre, including Shakespeare plays. She was nominated for the Green Room Award for her role as Ophelia in Hamlet. Then came TV and small film roles, based in Australia. Blanchett worked with stars like Frances McDormand, Kenneth Branagh, and Hugo Weaving. She landed her first leading film role in Oscar and Lucinda in 1997. Her first international starring role was as Elizabeth I in Elizabeth, for which she won a Golden Globe and received two Oscar nominations.

It was all uphill from there. Blanchett played the illustrious Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Her appearances are nearly always iconic, and her distinct voice has made her a sought-after voice actor (she was Kaa in Mowgli, Spazzatura in Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and has narrated films like Sweet Tooth and Homemade as well as many popular video games). Blanchett portrayed the classical composer Lydia Tár in Tár and the titular character in Carol alongside Rooney Mara. She has over 90 film and TV credits under her belt and 5 forthcoming. So far, Blanchett has won 4 Golden Globes, 2 Oscars, 3 BAFTAS, and 3 Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Andrew Upton Was a Playwright by Age 16

Andrew Upton, like Cate Blanchett, hails from Australia. He was born on February 1, 1966, in Sydney. Upton attended The King’s School, Parramatta and University of Sydney and had written his first play by age 16. He’s known for his very specific and methodical creative playwriting and screenwriting formats, which focus on five acts.

Like Blanchett, Upton has worked extensively with the Sydney Theatre Company. Although he has done some acting, he usually works with the symbolic pen and paper. Some of Upton’s play adaptations include Cyrano de Bergerac, Platonov, Uncle Vanya, and Children of the Sun. He has written screenplays including for the short film Bangers, Stories of Lost Souls, Gone, and The Turning.

He and Blanchett have a film production company together called Dirty Films. Upton has also executive produced film and TV productions including Carol (which starred his wife), Apples, Stateless, and Shayda. He has three forthcoming projects for which he served as producer. Additionally, Upton has a talent for editing and continuity and has worked behind the scenes on numerous productions to ensure that everything looks seamless.

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton Were Engaged Within 3 Weeks of Dating

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton met in 1997 on the theatrical set of Chekhov’s The Seagull. She told Vanity Fair that they were slightly repelled by each other.

“He thought I was aloof, and I thought he was arrogant. And it just shows how wrong you can be. But once he kissed me, that was that” she said. At the time of the Vanity Fair interview, she and Upton had only been together for two years. They lived together in a Sydney apartment and were already married.

In fact, the two actually became engaged within weeks of dating. Cate Blanchett told Ellen DeGeneres that she knew he was meant for her just three days into their relationship, as they were lying in bed.

“We were in bed, as you are after three days, and he said, ‘Cate,’ and I thought, ‘S— he’s gonna ask me to marry him and I’m gonna have to say yes,” she said (via People). But instead, Andrew said, “I’m hungry, do you want to go get something to eat?”

However, her intuition was still on point. He proposed to her three weeks later after she made what she describes as a horrible meal.

“I cooked him the worst meal. I somehow decided that to stuff a trout with walnuts and goat’s cheese would be a good idea,” she said. “He ate it and then he asked me to marry him, so clearly he was, I don’t know, hallucinating. He realized I couldn’t cook.”

They Have 3 Sons and 1 Daughter

The two have been going strong ever since. They have three sons, Dashiell (21), Roman (18) and Ignatius (15), and an adopted daughter, Edith (7). Apart from having incredibly unique names, Blanchett and Upton’s kids seem to be pretty down to earth. She told Page Six that they have no interest in their mother’s fame, which she thinks is better in the long run.

“They have no idea, no idea,” the Don’t Look Up actress said. She added that they are “disinterested” but “in the best possible, healthiest way.”

Upton and Blanchett Are Business Partners

Blanchett has opened up about her life with Upton, saying that he is both a great lover and business partner.

“It’s been a great creative partnership with my husband and also a great love affair,” Blanchett once told E! News. “Working together, running a creative company in Australia. It’s been fantastic.”

Andrew Upton agrees. He told People that their chemistry translates to both work and family.

“We’ve always worked together in a way,” he said. “You have your odd, ‘no, no, no, we have to do this,’ but in the end you can say: ‘Oh, all right, I’ll fight for that next year, then. That collaborative approach is a really important part of theatre — it’s compromise that adds, not detracts.”

Cate Blanchett and Andrew Upton seem pretty down to earth, too. Speaking with the Mirror, Blanchett said that he gives her appliances for their anniversary. And in a moment of humanness, she admitted that the lockdown was difficult for her mental health.

“It was like we were in deep space and could not get off the spaceship. I was frightened someone was going to eat someone,” she said. But she added that she found solace through researching vegetable cultivation on her phone.

“I have been growing herbs and doing pretty basic things… I am in bed by 10pm.”

Read More: Jessica Chastain Met Her Husband The Day She Found About Her Oscar Nomination

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  1. Blanchett is a fine actress by far. She has played many unusual parts in her acting career. She puts in strategically noted innuendos which stand out to those who know her tendencies to do just that. Types of characters do not pose her difficulties in fulfilling her role to its’ best. Would love to see her In romantic role for a middle aged single woman. She should also play in a sitcom as a lead.. she is so versatile…

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