Rachel Weisz is from England. She was born in London and grew up in the expensive and prestigious Hampstead Garden Suburb. Her father originally came from Hungary and her mother from Austria (her father was an inventor and her mother a psychotherapist). Both her parents' families escaped from their countries of origin in the 1930s, before the start of World War II, to escape from the Nazis. They risked persecution if they had stayed, as Weisz's father was Jewish and so, on one side of the family, was her mother.
They later divorced, but gave their daughters a liberal and artistic upbringing and a good education. The family often spoke German at home. Rachel Weisz has one sister, Minnie.
She got her first acting role in 1992 at the age of 22, in a film called Advocates II. She is now famous for her roles in films like The Constant Gardener.