Rene Russo Biography

With that sultry voice, sexy mane of red hair and youthful body, it's hard to believe Rene Russo was born in 1954. A talented and renowned film actress as well as a model, Italian-American Rene Russo has had her share of success in the world of acting.She was born on February 17 (1954) in California, the daughter of Nino Russo and Shirley Balocca and sister to Toni. She dropped out of Burroughs High School (where she attended with fellow classmate, future director Ron Howard) when she was only in Grade 10 to help out with her family's financial problems by working part time at various odd jobs, including restaurant hostessing, working at an eyeglass factory, working at a movie theatre and working as a cashier at Disneyland. Most of these jobs provided her with free benefits, such as free movies, food, Disneyland admission, etc.In 1972, when Rene was only 18, she was spotted as a potential model by the International Creative Management (via scout and manager, John Crosby) at a Rolling Stones concert, thrusting her into a major modeling career that lasted into the 1970s and 80s. She had signed a contract with Ford Modelling Agency. Later in the 80s, Rene began to study acting, appearing in several theater performances in L.A., and making her supporting role debut on T.V. in 1987 on Sable. Two years later, Russo appeared as Lynn Wells in her first film, Major League, with co-stars Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen. Rene went on to appear in films One Good Cop (1991) and Freejack (1992) before her breakthrough role in Lethal Weapon 3 in 1992, opposite Mel Gibson, Danny Glover and Joe Pesci.By this time, Rene decided to forgo modeling in favor of acting, choosing mostly thrillers, many of which were big successes at the box office. However, she has also appeared in some romantic comedies and lighter films. Some of her more notable films include In the Line of Fire (1993), with Clint Eastwood; Outbreak (1995), with Dustin Hoffman and Morgan Freeman; Tin Cup (1996), opposite Kevin Costner; Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (1999) with Pierce Brosnan; Big Trouble (2002), with Tim Allen; and in 2005, Two for the Money, alongside Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey, and Yours, Mine and Ours co-starring Dennis Quaid.Rene Russo married screenwriter Dan Gilroy on March 14, 1992 she was 38 and together they have one daughter, Rose.

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