\n<\/p>\n
Before Bridget Jones shot Ren\u00e9e Zellweger to global stardom, the Texan had made her screen debut in a handful of low-budget indies. She followed those up with small parts in \u201990s classics Dazed and Confused<\/em>, Reality Bites<\/em>, and Empire Records,<\/em> after which Jerry Maguire<\/em> made her America\u2019s sweetheart.<\/p>\n More success followed: Me, Myself & Irene<\/em>, alongside Jim Carrey, who became her partner in the late \u201990s; and Nurse Betty<\/em>, the pitch-black comedy which earned her a Golden Globe for best actress in a musical or comedy. But the Helen Fielding adaptation about the ultimate Frazzled Englishwoman marked a point of no return: after that came Oscar glory for 2003\u2019s Cold Mountain<\/em>, and her anointing as a Hollywood fixture.<\/p>\n To celebrate Zellweger\u2019s 57th birthday today, we\u2019re taking a look back at the earliest years of her career via the best vintage photos from the \u201990s and early aughts. Think minimalist slips, naked dressing, and a few CBK-inspired staples.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n