Biography

Sandra Annette Bullock was born on July 26, 1964 in Arlington County, Virginia to Helga D. Meyer, a German opera singer, and John W. Bullock, a Pentagon contractor. She is now one of the most successful actresses of her generation, with an estimated fortune of $85 as of last year. That makes Sandra Bullock the 14^th richest female celebrity today. Her success comes not only through her box office earnings, with her being a Golden Globe nominee and Screen Actors Guild winner also. Her biggest successes and introduction to fame came during the 1990s, and continues until today.

Bullock grew up in Germany, living in Nuremberg until she was age twelve. She also lived in other parts of Europe during her childhood, because she frequently accompanied her mother on her opera tours. And as for her, she used to sing in the opera children’s choir there, and also for the Straatstheater Nürnberg, as well as studying ballet and vocal arts as a child.

For her secondary education, she attended Washington-Lee High School , and participated in high school theatre productions there, as well as being a cheerleader. She graduated in 1982 and went on to East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She worked as a waitress at a restaurant during this time, and did not finish her studies, leaving school three credits short of graduating, so that she could pursue an acting career at the soonest possible time. She ended up in Manhattan and auditioned while holding down a variety of odd jobs, like most actresses starting out. She later found time to complete her coursework though, and eventually received a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University.

While she was in New York, she took more acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse, aside from appearing in student films and landing a role in an Off-Broadway play. She was then offered a part in the made-for-TV movie “Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman” by the movie’s director, who was impressed by her performance, and Bullock stayed in Los Angeles after filming to pursue her career there.

She went on to more small roles in independent films before landing the lead role in the short-lived TV series based on the movie “Working Girl”. Her next significant vehicle would be in 1992’s “Love Potion No. 9” opposite Tate Donovan, who would become her boyfriend for four years, and then “The Vanishing” and “The Thing Called Love” in 1993.

Then came 1993’s “Demolition Man”. Bullock received a lot of attention and good reviews for her humorous role in this hit sci-fi action movie, which led to her real breakthrough performance, which was in “Speed”, the following year. That blockbuster launched her career, making her an A-list star, along with the string of successes she had after that, like “While You Were Sleeping”, and “The Net”, both in 1995.

Buy this time, Sandra Bullock’s career was in high gear and she was doing 2 or three movies a year during this late 90s period. She became America’s girl-next-door in her many romantic comedies and chick flicks, like “Two If By Sea” (1996) and “Hope Floats” (1998), and she also thrilled audiences in various thrillers like 1996’s “A Time To Kill”, and the sequel to her breakthrough film, “Speed 2” (1997). It was on “A Time To Kill” that she and co-star Matthew McConaughey hooked up and dated for a while.

She was a bonafide Hollywood superstar by this time, appearing regularly in People’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World list, and reaching #58 in Empire magazine’s Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time. She also formed Fortis Films, her own production company, during this time, with “Hope Floats” as their first production. Her biggest film since her early hits, 2000’s “Miss Congeniality” was produced by her company, as well as the 2005 sequel “Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Dangerous”. Other notable films in her resume during the more recent years include the Oscar-winning “Crash”, where she received critical acclaim for her acting, and 2006’s “The Lake House”, with “Speed” co-star Keanu Reeves, which was another chick flick smash.

Sandra Bullock is now married to motorcycle builder and “Monster Garage” host Jesse James. They met when Bullock arranged for her then ten-year old godson to meet him as a Christmas present. They were married on July 16, 2005.

Bullock is also a philanthropist, having twice donated $1 million to the American Red Cross. Her first donation was for its Liberty Disaster Relief Fund, and her second $1 million was donated four years later in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami disaster.