Actress Naomi Watts receives a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame during ceremonies Oct. 13. Watts has received two Academy Award nominations during her career.
Photo by Lorenzo Gomez
Wave Wire Services
HOLLYWOOD — A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Oct. 13 honoring Naomi Watts for a career that has included Oscar nominations for her performances in “21 Grams” and “The Impossible.”
Edward Norton and Ryan Murphy were among those joining Watts at the ceremony at 6201 Hollywood Blvd., between Argyle Avenue and Gower Street.
Norton and Watts were castmates in the 2015 Oscar best picture winner “Birdman” and the 2006 drama “The Painted Veil.”
Murphy produced four of Watts’ television projects — the 2022 Netflix mystery horror series, “The Watcher,” FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” the Hulu legal drama “All’s Fair” and the FX romance anthology “Love Story.”
Watts said that when she learned she was receive the honor, “I felt overcome with gratitude for everyone who’s helped me get to this moment.”
She offered special thanks to “my mother, Miv, who taught me about the joys of make-believe; (director) David Lynch, who taught me that art has no limits; and Murphy, who taught me there’s still so much more to learn.”
The ceremony came 22 days before the Nov. 4 premiere of “All’s Fair,” in which Watts plays a member of a team of female divorce attorneys who leave a male-dominated firm to open their own firm.
Born in the village of Shoreham in Southeast England on Sept. 28, 1968, Watts’ parents divorced when she was 4 years old. After the divorce, their mother moved several times with Watts and her older brother Ben within Southeast England, then to Wales and back to England.
Watts and her mother and brother moved to Australia when she was 14.
Watts made her acting debut in the 1986 Australian film, “For Love Alone,” then appeared in various Australian movies and television programs.
She had her first lead role in the 1993 Australian thriller film, “Gross Misconduct,” as a student at an all-girls academy who is a fervent admirer of her married philosophy professor (Jimmy Smits).
Watts’ first American movie was the 1995 science fiction film “Tank Girl.”
Watts’ breakthrough role came in the 2001 surrealist neo-noir mystery art film “Mulholland Drive,” portraying an aspiring actress.
Watts received her first Oscar nomination in 2004 for best actress for her portrayal of a woman who relapses into substance abuse after her husband is killed in a hit-and-run collision in “21 Grams.” The Oscar went to Charlize Theron for her portrayal of real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in “Monster.”
Watts received her second Oscar nomination in 2013, also for best actress, in the true-life story “The Impossible” as a physician who survived the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami while on vacation in Thailand with her husband and three children.
The Oscar that year went to Jennifer Lawrence for her role in “Silver Linings Playbook.”
Watts’ other film credits include “St. Vincent,” “Mother and Child,” the 2005 version of “King Kong,” “The Ring” and its sequel, “The Ring Two.”
Watts received an outstanding lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie Emmy in 2024 for her portrayal of socialite and magazine editor Babe Paley in “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans.”
Watts portrays Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in the first season of “Love Story,” which retells the courtship of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy. It is set to premiere Feb. 14.
Also receiving a star on the Walk of Fame was the English rock band Def Leppard. The band, which has already been inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, received its star Oct. 9, recognizing a career that includes two of the best-selling albums of all time, “Pyromania” and “Hysteria.”
“So from all of us up here … just simply to our incredible, loving fan base out there, two words — thank you,” lead vocalist Joe Elliott told the cheering crowd assembled for the event.
Elliott was joined in speaking at the ceremony in front of the Capitol Records building by Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Resnikoff, president & CEO of Universal Music Enterprises.
“We hit it off immediately,” Bon Jovi recalled of first meeting the band. “Hanging out with Joe and the guys felt like hanging with my own band, but with a different accent. We stayed in touch, and as they went on to record ‘Hysteria’ and we recorded ‘New Jersey,’ it was the MTV era, what we refer to as the Gold Rush.
“Now, there have been many a long night in various cities after each other’s shows, and many celebrations, fun times and laughs and even the heartbreaks and loss.”
The ceremony came two days before the band’s concert at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana in Gary, Indiana. The band will perform in residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from Feb. 3-28.
After that, Def Leppard will begin a six-nation European tour June 13 at Rattvik, Sweden that will also take them to Finland, France, Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Formed in Sheffield in 1977, the band released the first of its 12 studio albums, “On Through the Night,” in 1980. It reached the Top 15 in the United Kingdom.
Its third album, “Pyromania,” released in 1983, reached second on the U.S. charts. Its next album, “Hysteria.” topped the charts in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Norway and New Zealand.
Its fifth album, “Adrenalize,” released in 1992, topped the charts in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand.
The band is also known for its stability. Elliott and bass guitarist Rick Savage have been members since its formation, while drummer Rick Allen joined a year later. Guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell have been members since 1982.
