Sandra Bullock

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Sandra Bullock was born in a Virginia suburb of Washington, DC, to a German opera singer and a voice teacher. She grew up on the road with her parents and younger sister. She often performed in the children’s chorus of whatever production her mother was in. That singing talent later came in handy for her role as an aspiring country singer.

The moment that she took over the steering wheel in Speed(1994) to help a busload of people deal with a mad bomber, Sandra Bullock sent her career into overdrive and became America’s Next Big Thing. The “new” Julia Roberts when Julia Roberts hit a temporary career roadblock, Sandra Bullock reached significant fame through movies like While You Were Sleeping(1995) and Miss Congeniality (2000).

 

 

Nick Name: Sandy

Star Sign: Leo

Bio

Sandra Bullock knew that she was destined for greatness the moment that she first started hearing voices -- singing voices. As the daughter of an opera singer and a vocal coach, she was surrounded by voices and spent the greater part of her childhood in Germany watching her mother regularly belt out operatic tones on stage. Sandra Bullock joined her mother's operas occasionally and got her first taste for the arts through dual training in ballet and choir practice. Upon returning to her home state of Virginia, she acted in school plays at Washington-Lee High School and -- like every future Hollywood girl next door -- she danced on the cheerleading squad.

East Carolina University was the next stop for Sandra Bullock. She studied drama all the way until her graduating year, but dropped out early, finding the lure of New York City and its many young, starving actors to be too strong to resist. She joined them as a part-time bartender and coat-check girl while she brushed up on her acting technique at the city's prestigious Neighborhood Playhouse. After earning a spot in an off-Broadway stage production, she got her first major screen role in the 1989 TV movie, Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman -- placing her alongside 1970s pop culture heroes, Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner.

Sandra Bullock In Speed And Crash

Sandra Bullock remained active in television in the early 1990s and even won the lead of her own TV series, Working Girl, which was based on the earlier Harrison Ford/Melanie Griffith movie of the same name. The show was a non-factor in prime-time TV, but in 1993, Sandra Bullock caught a major break when she was chosen to play the no-nonsense futuristic cop, Lt. Lenina Huxley in the testosterone-laced Sylvester Stallone/Wesley Snipescollaboration, Demolition Man. An effective supporting player in the action genre already, she became the coolest woman to ever drive a bus in 1994 when she teamed up with Keanu Reeves for the action blockbuster, Speed. Besides having displaying an amazing ability to help Keanu Reeves act better, she effortlessly exuded charisma and became an instant front-page name.

Building on her charm and likability, Sandra Bullock shifted to the romantic comedy genre for films like While You Were Sleeping,Miss Congeniality and Two Weeks Notice, showing the entertainment world that there could be life without Julia Roberts. While a few of her other efforts like Speed 2: Cruise Control(1997) and attempts at more serious fare like Murder By Numbersand 28 Days didn't attract audiences, they did little to hurt Sandra Bullock's overall career trajectory as it seemed like her next comedy hit was never that far away.

By 2004, though, Sandra Bullock was pushing 40 and there was some debate as to whether she might be growing a bit long in the tooth for her genre of choice. She fired back in the Oscar-winningCrash by playing completely against type as a yuppie whose racial hostilities boil to the surface after a carjacking incident. The performance won over the critics who previously thought she couldn't be credible in a serious film and breathed new life into her career.

Vital Stats

Date of Birth:  July 26, 1964

Birth Place: Washington, D.C

Trivia

Despite being born in the USA, her mother tongue was German. When she returned to the United States at age 13, she spoke English with a very strong German accent.