Catherine Zeta-Jones

• Academy Award: Won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago at the 75th Academy Awards (March 23, 2003), per the official Oscars.org ceremony record.
• Other major awards for the same role: For Chicago she also won the BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Screen Actors Guild Award (Individual + Cast), per the IMDb awards record.
• Theatre award: Won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her Broadway debut in A Little Night Music, per Britannica.
• Hollywood breakthrough: Her performance in the miniseries Titanic caught Steven Spielberg's attention and led to her breakthrough starring role in The Mask of Zorro (1998); she received MTV and Saturn nominations for the role, per Britannica and the IMDb awards record.
• Television role: Cast as Morticia Addams in Netflix's Wednesday, announced by the platform on August 9, 2021; nominated for the 2024 Saturn Award for Best Guest Star in a Television Series, with a substantially expanded Season 2 role.
• Film + TV career coexistence validation (Phase 2 append): Britannica's filmography shows television work running parallel to her film career across three decades: the UK breakthrough The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993, as Mariette Larkin), Feud (2017), Queen America (2018-2019), and National Treasure: Edge of History (2022) - the same filmography that contains Chicago, Traffic, and Ocean's Twelve.

Performance style

• Mordant elegance as Morticia — The Independent's Season 2 review singles out 'Catherine Zeta-Jones's mordant matriarch Morticia' as particularly enjoyable; Livemint's review describes 'a radiant Catherine Zeta-Jones... giving us a Morticia that's sultry, steely, and surprisingly sentimental'.
• Musical-theatre screen presence — Britannica describes 'her electrifying performance as homicidal entertainer Velma Kelly' in the movie musical Chicago - the role that won her the Oscar, BAFTA, and SAG awards.

Reception

• Wednesday Season 2 (2025): Strongly positive across Tier 1/2 reviews: NPR's David Bianculli wrote the expanded screen time for Zeta-Jones 'has been the greatest joy' of the new episodes and that 'she's already become the best Morticia of them all'; The Independent called her 'marvellous' and 'particularly enjoyable'; The Times of India praised 'a layered portrayal of a mother torn between protecting her daughter and respecting her independence'.
• Wednesday Season 1 (2022) / awards: Season 1 confined Morticia to guest appearances per the casting announcement; her recognition for the season came via the 2024 Saturn Award nomination for Best Guest Star in a Television Series (IMDb awards record).

Cast they appear alongside

• Jenna Ortega as Wednesday Addams (Wednesday) — Plays her daughter.
• Luis Guzman as Gomez Addams (Wednesday) — Plays her husband; announced together on August 9, 2021.
• Isaac Ordonez as Pugsley Addams (Wednesday) — Plays her younger child.
• Fred Armisen as Uncle Fester (Wednesday) — The Independent's Season 2 review calls his Fester 'fantastic'.
• Joanna Lumley as Hester Frump (Wednesday) — Plays her mother in Season 2.
• Emma Myers as Enid Sinclair (Wednesday) — Wednesday's roommate; part of the family-adjacent Nevermore ensemble.
• Christina Ricci as Marilyn Thornhill (Wednesday) — Played Wednesday Addams in the 1991-1993 Addams Family films.
• Queen Latifah as Matron 'Mama' Morton (Chicago) — Both were Supporting Actress nominees for Chicago at the same 75th Academy Awards ceremony per the official Oscars.org record. Character name per general film context - flagged light.
• John C. Reilly as Amos Hart (Chicago) — Supporting Actor nominee for Chicago at the same ceremony per the official Oscars.org record. Character name per general film context - flagged light.

Who plays Morticia Addams in Wednesday?

Catherine Zeta-Jones, the Welsh-born Academy Award winner, plays Morticia Addams. Netflix announced her casting on August 9, 2021, and the series premiered on November 23, 2022.

Did Catherine Zeta-Jones win an Oscar for Chicago?

Yes. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Velma Kelly in Chicago at the 75th Academy Awards (2003), along with the BAFTA and Screen Actors Guild awards for the same role.

Was Morticia a main role in Wednesday Season 1?

No. The August 2021 casting announcement placed Zeta-Jones in a guest starring role, and her 2024 Saturn Award nomination came in the 'Best Guest Star' category. Her role expanded substantially in Season 2, where Morticia moves onto the Nevermore campus.

What is Catherine Zeta-Jones known for besides Wednesday?

Her best-known work includes Chicago (2002, Oscar win), The Mask of Zorro (1998), Traffic (2000), Ocean's Twelve (2004), and her Tony Award-winning Broadway debut in A Little Night Music (2010).

Has Catherine Zeta-Jones been nominated for awards for playing Morticia?

Yes. She was nominated for the 2024 Saturn Award for Best Guest Star in a Television Series for Wednesday's first season, per the IMDb awards record.

Did Catherine Zeta-Jones work in television before Wednesday?

Yes. Per Britannica, her UK breakthrough was the comedy-drama The Darling Buds of May (1991-1993), and her later television work includes Feud (2017) and Queen America (2018-2019) - running parallel to her film career throughout.

• Wednesday — show hub
• Wednesday cast guide
• All Actors & Cast
• Adam Scott
• Billie Piper
• Britt Lower
• Christina Ricci
• Christopher Walken
• Dichen Lachman
• Emma D'Arcy
• Emma Myers
• Evie Templeton
• Fred Armisen
• Georgie Farmer
• Gwendoline Christie
• Hunter Doohan
• Isaac Ordonez
• Jamie McShane
• Jen Tullock
• Jenna Ortega
• Joanna Lumley
• John Turturro
• Joy Sunday
• Justin Hartley
• Luis Guzman
• Moosa Mostafa
• Patricia Arquette
• Percy Hynes White
• Riki Lindhome
• Sarah Bock
• Steve Buscemi
• Thandiwe Newton
• Tramell Tillman
• Victor Dorobantu
• Zach Cherry