There are many who consider Catherine Zeta Jones to have been canny, manipulative and, eventually, undeniable in a rapid rise to the top. In fact, her passage to Hollywood stardom has been anything but steady. Her career choices have, on occasion, been terribly flawed. Her big breaks have been hilariously, fabulously fortunate. And, being as she began her education and career in entertainment back in the mid-Seventies, it's actually all taken a very long time.

Catherine Zeta Jones (Catherine Fair and Zeta Jones being the names of her grandmothers) was born in Swansea on the 25th of September, 1969, growing up in the now-chic Mumbles area, a beautiful sweep of wooded coastline. Her father, Dai, managed a confectionery factory, turning him, in young Catherine's eyes, into something of a Willy Wonka figure. Her mother, Pat, was Irish and a seamstress by trade. She commented, upon Catherine's birth, that she looked like a frog. Catherine had one older brother, David A Jones, and one younger, Lyndon, both of whom now aid her in her work with her production company, Milkwood Films (Swansea also being the former home of Dylan Thomas, author of Under Milk Wood).

From the age of 4, Catherine wanted to entertain, to be the centre of attention. She'd prance around using the spout of her grandma's kettle as a microphone. Very soon, she was onstage, performing with an amateur troupe organised by the local Catholic Church. Her singing voice, though, was once severely threatened. Falling sick with a viral infection that impaired her breathing, she had to undergo a tracheotomy (the scar is still visible today). Consequently, she missed a lot of school, and was sent to a small private establishment to catch up.