Abbie Cornish Biography

When rumors hit that the young Australian actress, Abbie Cornish, was behind the breakup of the marriage of Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon, many questioned who this young woman was. She hasn’t been in many high profile movies yet, but it’s likely her name will now be on the tip of most people’s tongues, whether it be as an up-and-coming actress being compared to a young Nicole Kidman, or whether it be as “the other woman.“ 

Born in Lochinvar, New South Wales, on August 7, 1982, Cornish is the second oldest of five children. With the excuse that she was bored, she entered and won a contest in Dolly, an Australian magazine for teenagers. Receiving notice in the magazine, Cornish got herself an agent and began showing up at auditions. She obtained her first major role at the age of fifteen in the Australian television series Children’s Hospital, where she played a quadriplegic.

Cornish had originally intended to become a veterinarian, yet her plans changed when a few years later, she appeared in the Australian police drama Wildside, for which she won the Australian Film Institute’s Young Actor Award. With this fame came Cornish’s first film, the crime thriller Monkey’s Mask, with Kelly McGillis. Then she returned to Australian television, as she appeared in Water Rats, Outriders, and Life Support. Cornish took some much-needed time off after this to travel the world, touring Europe, North America, and South America. 

Cornish then appeared in the films Horseplay and One Perfect Day, as well as more television series, White Collar Blue and Marking Time. With her first starring role, Cornish took on the film Somersault, starring as a naive young girl who jumps into sexual situations for the first time. It was this role that had people finally noticing Cornish, as the film was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. She won many awards for this role, including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role and Best Breakthrough Performance at the Miami Film Festival.

Cornish next appeared in Candy, another Australian film, but starred with Australian actors who had already crossed over to American films, including Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush. She and Ledger starred as two lovers with an addiction to each other and heroin. She followed this with her first movie in A Good Year, starring with Albert Finney, and another Australian, Russell Crowe. Cornish starred as an American woman in this movie, fighting Crowe over the rights to her land.

It was during the filming of Stop Loss with Ryan Phillippe that rumors surfaced about him and Cornish. First they were seen out together, hiding behind partitions in a restaurant, and laterThe National Enquirer reported that his wife, Reese Witherspoon, had picked up his Blackberry and read text messages that had been sent between Phillippe and Cornish. It wasn’t long after this that Witherspoon announced her split from her husband. Both Cornish and Phillippe refute these rumors.

YUDDY