Universal Pictures

Over the course of Rene Zellweger's decades-long film career, the 50-year-old actress has been gracing screens with quirky, flawed, and eminently relatable women. Each performance is a gift. Zellweger's characters don't tend to be picture-perfect Hollywood creations. Rather, they seem like real people, caught in oftentimes extraordinary situations, and that's what makes them so memorable. Incredibly, two of Zellweger's most iconic parts, Bridget Jones of Bridget Jones's Diary and Jerry Maguire's Dorothy Boyd, almost never happened. Dorothy was supposed to go to Winona Ryder, and Bridget was supposed to go to a Britnot a woman from Katy, Texas. Co-star Hugh Grant had to defend Zellweger amid serious casting controversy: "Shes very funny, and shes been living in England a long time now, mastering the accent. Itll be a triumph. I know it will," Grant told Entertainment Weekly in 2000. Now, it's difficult to imagine anyone else being able to capture Bridget's brand of hot mess-meets-endearing, or the strength of Dorothy's emotional vulnerability. Not to mention her role in Cold Mountain, which won her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. As Zellweger is currently a frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in Judy, let's take a stroll through her career highlights with this list of Rene Zellweger's best movies.

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1 Love and a .45 (1994)

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Zellweger's Texas accent is out in full force as Starlene Cheatham, a small-town criminal whose schemes with her boyfriend, the equally well-named Watty Watts (Gil Bellows), spiral out of control. Love and a .45 is a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde story, marrying illegal activity with romance.

2 Jerry Maguire (1996)

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First, show me the moneythen show me how many times you've rewatched Jerry Maguire. Today, Tom Cruise and Rene Zellweger are instantly iconic as the sleek sports agent and the single mom who becomes his sole employee (and the love of his life). To think: The parts were originally written for Tom Hanks and Winona Ryder! Zellweger's character, Dorothy Boyd, says one of the most romantic movie lines: "You had me at hello."

3 The Whole Wide World (1996)

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After watching Zellweger fall in love in Jerry Maguire, watch her fall in love again in this bewitching period piece based on a true story. Zellweger plays Novalyne Price Ellis, a schoolteacher in 1930s Texas who meets pulp fiction writer (and creator of Conan the Barbarian) Robert E. Howard (Vincent D'Onofrio) when he moves to town. Sparks fly.

4 Nurse Betty (2000)

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Betty (Rene Zellweger) is on the run from the men who killed her husband. But she's chasing her delusions all the way to California, where her favorite soap actor (Greg Kinnear) lives. Morgan Freeman and Chris Rock round out the cast of this acclaimed dark comedy. You may recall, when Zellweger won the Golden Globe for Best Actress, she was in the bathroom.

5 Me, Myself, and Irene (2000)

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It takes a strong actress to not be overshadowed by Jim Carrey's larger-than-life comedic style, but Zellweger pulls it off. Irene Waters (Zellweger) is trapped on a long road trip with Charlie Baileygates (Jim Carrey), a state trooper whose recent psychotic break led to the creation of a newand erraticpersonality.

6 Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

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Why didn't Rene Zellweger win an Academy Award for Bridget Jones's Diary? It's a question we'll be asking forever. Bridget (Zellweger) is irresistibly charming in this comedy. And she's endearing enough to think that you, too, might also find yourself caught between Cleaver (Hugh Grant) and Darcy (Colin Firth).

7 White Oleander (2002)

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Following her streak of comedies, Zellweger had a supporting role in the drama White Oleander, a movie about a troubled woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) who murders her boyfriend, leaving her daughter (Alison Lohman) adrift in the foster system. Zellweger plays one of the teenager's foster mothers.

8 Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004)

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Bridget Jones strikes back in the sequel to Bridge Jones' Diary. Bridget and Darcy (Colin Firth) are happily coupled up. Now, the challenge is staying that way. Like the first movie, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is an essential installment of the golden age of rom-coms.

9 Cold Mountain (2003)

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Jude Law and Nicole Kidman have so much chemistry in this Civil War-era epic that they could light a match. It's up to Zellweger's character, Ruby, to keep Ada Monroe (Kidman) surviving until she can reunite with Inman (Law). Ruby also provides a welcome burst of energy in the movie. She won the best support actress Oscar for her performance.

10 Down With Love (2003)

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It's the ultimate oddball literary rom-com. In 1962, Barbara Novak (Zellweger) writes an incendiary new self-help book: Down With Love, Not With Sex. Catcher Block (Ewan McGregor) is determined to prove her wrong by seducing her, and exposing the flaw in her plan.

11 Chicago (2003)

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Chicago is a movie-musical that needs no introduction. Winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, Chicago showcases Zellweger and Catherine Zeta Jones as locked-up women who manipulate public interest to get free.

12 Cinderella Man (2005)

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It's an underdog story for the ages. James J. Braddock (Russell Crowe) had given up his boxing career after breaking his hand. During the Great Depression, he rejoins the ring, much to his wife, Mae's (Zellweger) chagrin. Still, if he's the champion, then she's going to be his biggest champion.

13 New in Town (2009)

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Lucy Hill (Zellweger) is transferred from Miami to Minnesota in this rom-com, which manages to be warm-and-fuzzy despite the freezing cold it depicts. Hired to oversee a local manufacturing plant, she's at first turned off by the endless snow and quirky residents. Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick Jr.) is a particular source of tension. But soon, she finds things growing on her.

14 Miss Potter (2006)

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Beatrix Potter created some of the most enduring characters in children's literature: Peter Rabbit, Miss Moppet, Benjamin Bunny. Potter. This biopic tells the story of how one woman defied societal norms to write her own storiesand make her own money. Zellweger got her sixth Golden Globe nom for playing the author.

15 Judy (2019)

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After winning a Golden Globe, Critics' Choice, and BAFTA, Zellweger is practically the queen of 2020 awards season for her work in this Judy Garland biopic. Judy focuses on the last few months of Garland's troubled life.

16 What/If (2019)

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It's clear Zellweger is having fun in her role as Anne Montgomery, an extremely manipulative CEO who gets involved in a young couple's marriage by presenting them with a terrible choice. This over-the-top, highly dramatic Netflix show will have you racing to hit "next" at the end of each episode.

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The 16 Best Rene Zellweger Movies to Watch for the Ultimate Marathon - Oprah Mag