Bridget Jones’s Diary was released in 2001 and to this day, remains one of the most beloved rom coms of all time.
The all-time classic follows a thirty-something singleton who vows to take control of her life, and does so by keeping a diary to chronicle her attempts to stop smoking, stop drinking, lose weight, and find her Mr. Right.
Based on Helen Fielding’s novel of the same name, the hilarious staple is a modernization of Jane Austen’s classic novel Pride and Prejudice .
Starring Renée Zellweger as leading lady Bridget Jones, down-on-her-luck Bridget eventually finds herself caught between two men who are vying for her affection, portrayed by Hollywood icons Colin Firth and Hugh Grant.
As the gleefully chaotic classic turns 21 on April 13, Daily Star have looked at what the star-studded cast are up to now.
Renée Zellweger
(Image: Universal Pictures / Free to Use)
Bridget Jones will forever remain Renée Zellweger’s career defining role, but over 20 years later, she has continually proved why she will always be one of the greatest.
Two years after Bridget Jones, the actress won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Cold Mountain.
In 2010, the 52-year-old took a break from the limelight and had a six-year break from acting.
The leading lady triumphantly returned for the third instalment of the Bridget Jones saga – Bridget Jones’s baby.
(Image: NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
In 2019, she starred as Judy Garland in the biopic Judy and took home the Best Actress gong at the 2020 Oscars.
In her love life, Renee had a four month marriage to music star Kenny Chesney before it was annulled on the grounds of “fraud”.
She was also linked to Bradley Cooper and The White Stripe’s Jack White and is now in a relationship with TV presenter Ant Anstead.
Colin Firth
(Image: Getty Images for BFI)
Similar to his co-stars, Colin Firth went on to have a stellar career in Hollywood and has since starred in an impressive range of movies.
From Mamma Mia! to The King’s Speech, for which he won an Oscar for Best Actor, the 61-year-old has cemented himself as one of the most versatile actors around.
The Hollywood A-Lister’s career has by no means slowed down and more recently, he has starred in action spy film series The Kingsman and critically acclaimed war film 1917 alongside Richard Madden and Benedict Cumberbatch.
The actor has three children and in 2019, divorced his wife Livia Giuggiolo after 22 years of marriage.
Hugh Grant
(Image: Getty)
Hugh Grant is often considered the King of romantic comedies, dominating the genre since the 90’s.
Having starred in the beloved Notting Hill and Christmas classic Love Actually, the 61-year-old established himself as among the greatest leading men in Hollywood.
Over the years, he has taken on a variety of different roles that have achieved great critical success, including films like action comedy The Gentlemen and 2016 biopic Florence Foster Jenkins, which he starred opposite Meryl Streep.
He turned down the chance to reprise his role as Daniel Cleaver for Bridget Jones’ Baby, saying at the time: “I decided not to do [the next sequel].
“But I think they’re going to go ahead and do it without Daniel. The book’s excellent, by the way, but the script is completely different — well, the script as I last saw it a few years ago.”
In 2018, the acclaimed actor married Swedish television producer Anna Eberstein who is mother to three of his five children.
Gemma Jones
(Image: PA)
After starring as Bridget Jones’ eccentric mother, Pamela, Gemma Jones took on the role of Madame Pomfrey in the Harry Potter franchise alongside on screen husband Jim Broadbent.
The actress had a hugely successful career before Bridget Jones and this continued after.
Jones went on to win a BAFTA TV Award in 2015 for Best Supporting Actress after starring in the BBC film Marvellous (2014).
In recent years, the now 79-year-old played Elton John’s grandmother in musical biopic Rocketman and Molly in 2020 romantic drama film Ammonite alongside Kate Winslet.
Jim Broadbent
(Image: Getty Images)
After Bridget Jones, Jim Broadbent followed in his on screen wife’s footsteps and decided to take a dive into the world of magic, starring as Horace Slughorn in the later Harry Potter movies.
The now 72-year-old actor has an abundance of movies under his belt, dating back to the 80’s.
More recently, the acting legend starred in 2015’s Brooklyn, the Paddington films and in 2020 took on the role of Charlie in British war film Six Minutes to Midnight alongside Dame Judi Dench.
Since 1987, Broadbent has been married to painter and former theatre designer Anastasia Lewis.
James Faulkner
(Image: Getty Images)
After starring as Bridget Jones’s “creepy” uncle Geoffrey, British actor James Faulkner continued his aptitude for unlikeable characters and went on to play Randyll Tarly in cultural phenomenon Game of Thrones.
Similar to his other Bridget Jones co-stars, the actor’s career has spanned decades and he has acted in both film and television, including Downton Abbey and The Alienist.
He has also made appearances in X-Men: First Class (2011), Underworld: Blood Wars (2016), and Atomic Blonde (2017).
His most recent role to date was game show host Jonathan Robbins in 2021 American drama film All Those Small Things.
Sally Phillips
(Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Bridget Jones’s best friend Shazza was portrayed perfectly by actress and comedian Sally Phillips.
After the first film, the presenter went on to pick up a recurring role as Tilly in comedian Miranda Hart’s show Miranda and later co-wrote the film The Decoy Bride starring David Tennant and Alice Eve in 2011.
It seems the 51-year-old couldn’t shake Pride and Prejudice from her life as in 2016 she played Mrs Bennett in comedy horror Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
The comedian married Andrew Bermejo in 2003 and the pair welcomed three sons before divorcing in 2017.
Celia Imrie
(Image: WireImage)
Following her appearance as a friend of Bridget Jones’s mother, Celia Imrie won the Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical for her part in Acorn Antiques: The Musical alongside Julie Walters in 2006.
The 69-year-old has plenty of brilliant roles under her belt and her most famous films include Calendar Girls, Nanny McPhee, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and 2018’s Malevolent.
More recently, she appeared in Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (2016), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018) and Nativity Rocks! This Ain’t No Silent Night (2018).
Alongside her glistening film career, the actress is also a Sunday Times bestselling author and has written six novels – her most recent novel, Orphans of the Storm, was published last year and is based on the RMS Titanic.
The British actress shares a son with fellow actor Benjamin Whitrow who passed away in 2017 aged 80.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
