Catherine Zeta-Jones (born 25 September 1969) is a film and stage actress. Raised in Swansea, Wales, she studied musical theatre at the Arts Educational Schools, London, and made her adult stage breakthrough with a leading role in 1987 in 42nd Street. She found great success as a regular in the British television series The Darling Buds of May (1991–93). Dismayed at being typecast as the token pretty girl in British films, Zeta-Jones relocated to Los Angeles. Critics praised her portrayal of a vengeful pregnant woman in Traffic (2000) and a murderous singer in the musical film Chicago (2002), winning her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She continued to star in high-profile films for much of the 2000s, including the black comedy Intolerable Cruelty (2003), the heist film Ocean's Twelve (2004), the comedy The Terminal (2004), and the romantic comedy No Reservations (2007). During a decrease in workload, she returned to the stage and portrayed an ageing actress in A Little Night Music (2009), winning the Tony Award for Best Actress.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Zeta-Jones

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1237:

Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland signed the Treaty of York, establishing the Anglo-Scottish border, which mostly remains the same today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_York

1790:

Peking opera (modern performer pictured) was born when the Four Great Anhui Troupes introduced Anhui opera to Beijing in honor of the Qianlong Emperor's eightieth birthday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_opera

1911:

An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonated the forward ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_battleship_Libert%C3%A9

1944:

Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Arnhem

1974:

The first surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament, commonly known as the Tommy John surgery after the first patient, was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_John_surgery

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

exemplary: 1. Deserving honour, respect and admiration. 2. Of such high quality that it should serve as an example to be imitated; ideal, perfect. 3. Serving as a warning; monitory. 4. Providing an example or illustration. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exemplary

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Time is a fluid condition which has no existence except in the momentary avatars of individual people. There is no such thing as was — only is. If was existed, there would be no grief or sorrow. I like to think of the world I created as being a kind of keystone in the universe; that, small as that keystone is, if it were ever taken away the universe itself would collapse.   --William Faulkner https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Faulkner