people - Sandra Bullock turns 60 and takes a break from Hollywood
Sandra Bullock made a rare appearance on the movie screen, specific plans for a new project are currently unknown. The actress turns 60 today. She had announced her break from Hollywood in April 2022 during a rare interview with US broadcaster CBS. "I want to be at home," Bullock said at the time. She couldn't say how long this break would last. Shortly before that, she had shot two films. In the action-comedy "The Lost City" (2022), she fights through a jungle with Channing Tatum. In the same year, she appeared alongside Brad Pitt in the thriller "Bullet Train" as an assassin.
In the CBS interview, Bullock gushed about her motherhood and how important family is in her life. At the time, her closest circle included her partner, US photographer Bryan Randall. Bullock met Randall in January 2015 at the birthday party of her adopted son Louis, according to "People.com". In that year, she adopted her second child, the then three-year-old Laila. In December 2021, she said on the Facebook talk show "Red Table Talk" that she had found "the love of my life" in Randall, with whom she lived without a wedding ring.
Grief over her Partner
Bullock's partner was reportedly suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at the time. His family announced his death in late August. He had decided to keep his illness a secret, it was reported.
Bullock's personal life made headlines in 2010 when her five-year marriage to TV host and motorcycle mechanic Jesse James suddenly ended. At her Oscar win for the drama "The Blind Side - The Great Opportunity" in March of that year, James was still by her side, but only a few days later, several affairs came to light. Bullock canceled previously planned premieres, including in Berlin, at short notice and filed for divorce.
Professionally, Bullock had been firmly seated in the saddle with millions in earnings and a full film schedule in Hollywood. In Hollywood, "Sandy" had the reputation as a sweetheart - steady and without star airs. She could be won over for comedy, action, and drama.
German Roots
Bullock was born in the USA, grew up in Germany as the daughter of a German opera singer and a singing teacher, who was stationed in Bayern as a US soldier but initially lived in Nuremberg. Her fondness for gummy bears and Nuremberg sausages is well-known. She has not forgotten her German.
At her Oscar acceptance speech in 2010, Bullock thanked her ten-year-old deceased mother Helga. She had raised her and her six-year-younger sister Gesine with a sense of duty and tolerance, Bullock said emotionally on the world stage. And backstage, Bullock sent greetings to her relatives in Germany in almost perfect German: "I love you, I miss you, and I'll see you soon. Good night, go to bed, sleep well," said the freshly crowned Oscar winner.
Her first and only Oscar came from the social drama "The Blind Side" (2010), in which she plays a mother from the upper class who takes in a homeless, black teenager into her family and turns him into a football pro.
Bullock's rise to stardom began with the film "Speed" (1994).
At the high school, Bullock performed at Bullock Theater, then studied acting. Her first theater roles in New York were followed by small appearances in film and television. In 1993, she appeared as a police officer alongside Sylvester Stallone in the Science-Fiction film "Demolition Man." Her first major film role came in 1994 with Co-Star Keanu Reeves in the Action-Thriller "Speed." Following were hits such as the romantic film "While You Were Sleeping..." (1995) or the adaptation of the John Grisham novel "The Firm" (1996). In "Miss Congeniality" (2000), she shone as a police officer investigating at a Miss pageant. In "The Proposal" (2009), she was the bossy boss, mistreating her secretary (Ryan Reynolds), before falling in love with him.
Her buddy comedy "The Heat" (2013) with Melissa McCarthy came close to box office records, surpassed only by the space drama "Gravity," in which she stars as an astronaut alongside George Clooney, launching into space. This earned her a second Oscar nomination.
In the all-female heist comedy "Ocean's 8" (2018), Bullock sets the tone for the female thieves' ring. In the post-apocalyptic Netflix thriller "Bird Box – Close Your Eyes" (2018), directed by the Danish Susanne Bier, she embodies a mother of two children who must escape a mysterious threat. The German director Nora Fingscheidt managed to secure Bullock for the thriller "The Unforgivable" (2021) as a former prison inmate.
Motherhood with Fears
The Hollywood star has a close connection to New Orleans in the US state of Louisiana, where her adopted children come from. Both have African roots. In a CBS interview, Bullock spoke tearfully about her fears as a mother of a black child who faces more dangers in society. After adopting the then three-year-old Laila from an orphanage in December 2015, Bullock told People magazine that it took a lot of patience and soothing to bring the children closer. Laila brought "pink and glitter" into the house. "My family is mixed and diverse, crazy, lovable, and supportive," Bullock said. "That's family."
- Despite the grief over her partner's Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Sandra Bullock continues to focus on her family, with her spouse, Bryan Randall, by her side.
- In the movie "The Lost City" (2022), Sandra Bullock shares the screen with her co-star Channing Tatum, engaging in an action-packed jungle adventure.
- Although Jesse James, Bullock's former partner, was present at her Oscar win for "The Blind Side - The Great Opportunity" in 2010, their marriage ended soon after due to several affairs.
- Born in the USA, but raised in Germany, Sandra Bullock maintains a connection to her German roots, expressing her love and missingness towards her relatives during her Oscar acceptance speech.
- In the action-thriller "Speed" (1994), Sandra Bullock's first major film role, she shared the screen with Keanu Reeves, marking the beginning of her rise to stardom.
- Bryan Randall, Sandra Bullock's current partner, found love in her during an interview on the Facebook talk show "Red Table Talk" in December 2021.
- Bullock's role as a mother in "The Blind Side" (2010) earned her the Academy Award, acclaim, and a lifelong memory of her late mother, Helga.
- After adopting Louis in 2010 and Laila in 2015, Sandra Bullock expressed her concerns about the safety and challenges that her black children might face in a predominantly white society.
- In the all-female heist movie "Ocean's 8" (2018), Bullock stars as the leader of a group of thieves, following a line of successful film roles.
- Sandra Bullock and Brad Pitt shared the screen in the thriller "Bullet Train" (2022) as her character takes on the role of an assassin.
- Channing Tatum and Jesse James are two of the many notable names in Hollywood that Sandra Bullock has shared the cinema screen with throughout her impressive film career.
