Whatever Happened To Rachel Weisz?
How do you know Rachel Weisz? If your answer involves her role in 1999's "The Mummy" (or the sequel, 2001's "The Mummy Returns"), then you're definitely not alone. In the first two films of the popular monster movie franchise, Weisz — whose last name, according to IMDb, is pronounced like "vice," just in case you were unsure — played Evelyn Carnahan (or Evelyn O'Connell), a librarian who has dreams of being a great archeologist. When she finally gets that chance, adventure ensues, as you might expect.
While Weisz's success on screen meant that she was set to become a bona fide Hollywood A-lister, she has never reached the level of fame that would see her constantly in the spotlight. However, that's not because she doesn't have what it takes. Instead, she tends to shy away from a path that would take her to the top — perhaps because it would also take her into a realm that would require her to give up certain aspects of who she is, aspects that she's just not willing to sacrifice, such as the bumper that she seems to put in between her professional endeavors and her private life.
Indeed, despite being a celebrity, Weisz happens to be a relatively private person. Because of that, you might not have noticed what she's been up to lately. Well, we can help to update your Rachel Weisz-related knowledge. Keep scrolling to find out all of the intriguing ways this star is spending her time these days.
This star is staying away from social media
Do you follow Emma Stone on Instagram? Do you check out posts from Kristen Stewart on Twitter? Have you ever found yourself sharing a message that Jennifer Lawrence wrote on Facebook? There's no reason for you to respond, because we know the answer to each one of those questions: No! That's due to the fact that just like Cate Blanchett, Cameron Diaz, and Scarlett Johansson — who would immediately and easily attract a massive amount of eager followers — Stone, Stewart, and Lawrence don't use social media, according to Marie Claire. The same goes for Rachel Weisz.
Unfortunately, the actor's fans can't really see what she's up to on a day-to-day basis because she's not on social media. The New York Times pointed out in 2018 that Weisz doesn't seem "interested in pushing [her] brand" and has "never had accounts on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter." Why is that? It turns out that when she's not working, the star would "prefer [to be] talking about books and poetry and music" as opposed to being on social media. Granted, there may be another reason why she isn't keen on sharing caption-heavy posts about what she's been eating or popping up in-depth posts about her pets. Weisz told the Times that she's "really crap at talking about [her] private [life]." Fair enough.
Despite that, if you're still craving Weisz-related online content, then you can follow the #RachelWeisz hashtag on Twitter or Weisz-focused fan accounts on IG.
Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig popped up to show support during the pandemic
Rachel Weisz and James Bond actor Daniel Craig first met in college, according to Metro, while Bustle notes that they connected in 1994 while performing in "Les Grandes Horizontales," a play that was being put on at the National Theatre Studio. Over 10 years later, they reunited to work on the film, "Dream House." At the time, her relationship with "Requiem for a Dream" director Darren Aronofsky was coming to an end, while Craig eventually split from his then-fiancée, Satsuki Mitchell. By 2011, after nearly six months of dating, Weisz and Craig were married. In the time since, Hello! has deemed them "one of the most private couples in Hollywood."
Weisz addressed the private nature of her relationship in 2015, telling More (via E!) that it's not her public profile that's the issue. "He's just too famous," she said, referring to her husband, adding, "It would be a betrayal. You have to protect your marriage."
However, that doesn't mean that you'll never see the couple together. In March 2020, Craig took to Twitter to share a video that included himself and his wife "clapping for health care workers" while "joining in a viral hashtag, #ClapForCarers, aimed at thanking those working on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic," per People. According to the responses on social media, the public was happy to see the two together and fans were definitely grateful for what they were up to.
Being a mom is a part of Rachel Weisz's life
Rachel Weisz may be a famous and well-respected actor, but that's who she is when it comes to her professional life. On the other hand, when it comes to her personal life, she happens to be a proud mom.
Weisz is the mother of a son, Henry Chance Aronofsky, who was born back on May 31, 2006, according to IMDb. The star shares Henry with her ex, director Darren Aronofsky. In September 2018, Weisz welcomed a second little one into the world when she had a daughter with her husband, Daniel Craig, per Us Weekly. Craig also has an adult daughter named Ella from his previous marriage to actor Fiona Loudon, which means that Weisz is also a stepmom.
While we're sure you'd love to know what Weisz and Craig named their little girl, they have apparently decided to keep that tidbit of information private. But that doesn't mean that Weisz isn't willing to talk about her life as a mom, as well as her daughter. When she revealed in April 2018 that she was expecting another baby, she opened up to The New York Times about how she was feeling, saying, "Daniel and I are so happy. We're going to have a little human. We can't wait to meet him or her. It's all such a mystery." Of course, a year after the little girl was born, her famous dad admitted to Us Weekly that they were "exhausted."
She's been busy buying and selling real estate
Rachel Weisz and her husband, Daniel Craig, have been making some pretty big real estate-related moves in more recent years. In 2018, they bought a Brooklyn brownstone for $6.75 million, according to Page Six. Although Craig was called the "mystery buyer" of the home that was formerly owned by author Martin Amis and his wife, Isabel Fonseca, a Corcoran listing for the home noted that it was 6,600-square-feet and was "a clean, blank slate," which was "ready for a purchaser to finish to their specifications." One of the reasons it was ripe for a few renovations might have been due to the fact that there was "damage from a fire that was contained to the top floor."
The next year, Architectural Digest reported that the pair had sold their East Village apartment for $6 million, which is what they bought it for back in 2012. The 3,200-square-foot residence offered its owners three bedrooms, as well as two full bathrooms and one half-bath.
Does this pique your interest enough to make you want to be Weisz's neighbor? Well, it will cost you! In March 2020, the New York Post reported that a 6,000-square-foot home that was meant for two families and featured eight bedrooms, as well as four bathrooms, was up for sale across the street from where Weisz was living with her husband and presumably their family. The price? A cool $6.5 million. Is that in your budget?
Rachel Weisz is still making serious style statements
Rachel Weisz has experienced quite a style evolution over the years, from a teenager who admittedly loved "bright, bright red lipstick and a lot of smudgy black eyeliner" (via InStyle), to someone who was eventually "into makeup that looks like you aren't wearing it," as well as going completely without cosmetics in the daytime. The actor also claimed that she had to "pluck [her] eyebrows — otherwise, they're really, really 'Planet of the Apes,'" and then seemingly tweezed those brows almost into era-appropriate oblivion while appearing in "The Mummy." With all that in the past, she's still making headlines for her aesthetic choices these days.
In 2019, Weisz showed up to the Academy Awards in an outfit that seriously made waves. That's because she wore an ensemble that People explained was a "Givenchy Couture two-piece design featuring a shiny latex caplet layered over an embroidered gown with sparkling embellishments." That's a lovely way to describe the outfit, but the important part is that she wore latex. Red latex.
The buzz-worthy Oscars outfit sparked strong reactions, including one from The Cut. The outlet noted that the get-up made "everyone" want the star to, er, "dominate them." Social media users were just as struck by the style and many took to Twitter to share their thoughts. "Rachel Weisz in red latex is what dreams are made of," one person tweeted. Someone else wrote, "Rachel Weisz is bringing back that Britney Spears red latex at this year's #Oscars and I'm all for it."
The star (and daughter of refugees) is open about her political opinions
When you think about highly political celebrities, you probably mention Kerry Washington, LeBron James, Katy Perry, and Jane Fonda, who ET notes are among some of the "most politically active" stars around, as of this writing. While Rachel Weisz might not immediately pop into your mind, she's definitely willing to speak up about important issues these days.
In 2017, Weisz spoke to The Guardian about Brexit, which "is the name given to the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union" and "is a combination of 'Britain' and 'exit,'" according to the Government of the Netherlands. "It's hard for me even to understand how it happened," the British actor stated. Weisz added, "It's surrealist. But it's finite. Trump is pretty catastrophic, and there are terrible things he can do to the Earth and women's rights, but I feel it will be reversible, somehow. But Brexit feels like a death. It's gone."
The star's mom, Edith, and her dad, George, per IMDb, left Austria and Hungary, respectively, and arrived in Britain before World War II as child refugees, according to The Guardian. That's why their daughter was particularly upset by Brexit. Weisz explained, "It made me think about my parents and the reason the European Union was created in the first place, to make sure we never had a war like that ever again, to come together and get rid of our nationalism, and be one stable thing. It's very hard."
She's been stepping up for worthy causes
Rachel Weisz has supported various worthy causes over the years, according to Look to the Stars, including the African Rainforest Conservancy, Cancer Research UK, and the Motion Picture and Television Fund Foundation. She's also offered up either her time, resources, or public profile to organizations like the Pediatric Epilepsy Project, Worldwide Orphans Foundation, and Only Make Believe. The groups Weisz supports often help children in various ways, like the latter, which "is a non-profit organization that creates and performs interactive theatre for children in hospitals, care facilities and special education programs throughout the New York and Washington DC metropolitan areas, free of charge to every site, family, and child."
In more recent years, Weisz and other fellow famous figures, like Gillian Anderson, Kristen Bell, and Benedict Cumberbatch, have been involved with the Small Steps Project. The organization "provide[s] emergency aid, shoes, and food to children and communities living on municipal rubbish dumps around the world." The group, which is obviously motivated by good intentions, also "provide[s] support for children to take steps into education and adults into employment."
To help out, Weisz has donated shoes she's worn for auction, such as "a gorgeous pair of signed, navy suede, Georgio Armani kitten heels in an EU size 39." However, whoever snapped them up might not actually want to wear the heels, as the star autographed the shoes, which surely gave them a little extra value and might make them better suited for a display case as opposed to a closet.
Rachel Weisz is taking on a range of newer roles
Many movie fans may still fondly remember Rachel Weisz from "The Mummy," but in more recent years, she's had plenty of other notable roles. Along with appearing in "The Mercy," "Disobedience," and "My Cousin Rachel," which all came out in 2017, according to IMDb, she also thrilled audiences in 2018's "The Favourite." Beyond that, it was announced in 2019 that Weisz would be playing the late Elizabeth Taylor in a biopic called "A Special Relationship," per The Hollywood Reporter. The project would cover Taylor's transformation from an onscreen figure to a dedicated activist.
Weisz is also set to pop up alongside Scarlett Johansson in the "Black Widow" movie, with Entertainment Weekly explaining that the Marvel story "explores the darker side of Natasha Romanoff's past as she reconnects with her old 'family.'" That apparently includes "fellow Widow Yelena," who is played by Florence Pugh, and David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov (a.k.a. Red Guardian). Weisz would appear as a character named Melina Vostokoff.
PopSugar notes that Vostokoff "is one of Natasha Romanoff's former 'colleagues' from the Soviet Black Widow program, where they, along with many other women, were trained to be master assassins and spies." Although a trailer that was released in April 2021 seems to show a friendly vibe between the two women, fans of the comics will know that the two are actually enemies. That's right, there may be a few unexpected edges to Weisz's surely captivating MCU character.
She's still facing buzz about a fourth Mummy movie
While Rachel Weisz has new roles to tackle, her fans would still love to see her return to "The Mummy" franchise. The actor appeared in the first two films in 1999 and 2001 as Evelyn Carnahan (who became Evelyn O'Connell), before Maria Bello took over the role in the third installment, 2008's "The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor." While it's been quite a while since the last film, there's been some buzz about a fourth movie. CinemaBlend even broke down what a potential future "Mummy" story could involve, explaining that scrapped plans for another installment would find these characters on an adventure in South America.
Comicbook.com reported in August 2019 that Brendan Fraser (who, of course, played Rick O'Connell) was actually asked about potential additional "Mummy" movies while he was attending FAN EXPO Canada. "Do you want one?" he asked back, which prompted enthusiastic cheers from the event's audience. Fraser then added a message for the movie's production company, saying, "Did you hear that, Universal?" When one person took it a step further and specifically asked if Fraser would be willing to return for a fourth "Mummy" movie, he yelled his answer, loudly telling the crowd, "Absolutely! ... If there's a fun way to approach it again, I'm all in."
Considering the fact that Fraser would obviously be on board to reprise his role, maybe Weisz would be willing to return, as well, if a revival of the franchise were to happen. So, let's make that happen!
Rachel Weisz is still pretty darn rich (and could get richer)
Rachel Weisz is far from the richest celebrity in the entertainment industry. However, she still has a pretty impressive fortune, with a comfortable $36 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. If you're curious — which, of course, you are — her hubby and fellow actor, Daniel Craig, has a staggering $160 million, so they're clearly a very wealthy couple.
So, how did Weisz get so rich? Well, we have to assume that it was due to her acting roles, because there are (really big) numbers to back up that educated guess. Consider the fact that back in the day, "The Mummy" took in over $400 million at the box office, according to the Daily Mail. With Weisz helping to lead the movie to that kind of massive monetary success, it meant that she was definitely someone that filmmakers and casting directors could bank on. In turn, she would have been able to use that power to negotiate some rather profitable contracts.
As for Weisz's current and future earning potential, she hasn't seemed to have lost her ability to demand formidable funds. For instance, between fans wanting a fourth "Mummy" movie to happen and Weisz remaining continuously busy with work these days, she still surely has some lucrative leverage and money-making power. Seriously, we have no doubt that plenty of eager fans would pre-pay for a future "Mummy" film starring Weisz (*raises hand enthusiastically while reaching for a credit card*).