Rénee Zellweger wins Golden Globe for transformative performance in Judy

Renée Zellweger must be over the moon — or rainbow — after nabbing her fourth Golden Globe on Sunday for playing Judy Garland in Judy. This is her first Best Actress nomination in the Drama category.

Zellweger was a frontrunner to nab the award, and her physical and emotional transformation paid off in the end. In her Entertainers of the Year interview with EW, the actress talked about physically disappearing into her role as the iconic Wizard of Oz star.

“It does make the experience more authentic for me. And I do have an emotional connection to athletic, physical exertion,” Zellweger said. “If I’m ill or if I am fearful or if I need to write something or if I can’t figure something out, I don’t make a phone call or sit on a couch — I lace up my shoes.”

Zellweger beat out Charlize Theron, another actress who underwent a dramatic transformation to play a real person — former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly in the biographical drama Bombshell. Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), and Saoirse Ronan (Little Women) were also nominated.

She previously won the Golden Globe for Cold Mountain, Chicago, and Nurse Betty, and has been nominated a total of seven times.

In her acceptance speech, Zellweger said: “In conversations that I have had with people internationally, who just want to express their love for Judy Garland and tell about the great personal significance of her legacy and her humanity has been a great reminder that the choices that we make matter. What we make matters. And how we choose to honor each other in our lifetimes matter a great deal down the road.”

Related content:

• Good as Gold: Renée Zellweger talks taking fans over the rainbow in Judy
• Judy Garland onscreen sister Margaret O’Brien praises Renée Zellweger’s take on the legend
• Review: Renée Zellweger goes over the rainbow in Judy