Sandra Bullock: The life of the star who endured a ‘triple adversity’ and returned to reclaim Hollywood

Twenty-eight years later, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman are back as the witch sisters in 'Practical Magic 2', the sequel to the 1990s classic that hits theaters on September 11. Nearly three decades during which both women have consolidated their acting careers, although through very different paths. The Australian actress has become an ever-present figure on and off the screen, while Bullock prefers to stay away from the spotlight. 'Practical Magic 2' is her return to the big screen after a four-year hiatus. Chloe Kern (FilmMagic)

During this time away from the big screen, the star of movies like 'Speed' and 'The Proposal' has undergone one of the toughest periods of her life. A few days ago, the 62-year-old confessed on the podcast 'SmartLess' how she dealt with the death of the man who was her partner for the last eight years, the photographer Bryan Randall. Even though he died in August 2023 after a three-year struggle with ALS, it is only now that the actress has opened up about one of the darkest chapters in her personal life. Bullock described the situation as a "pretty tough triple adversity": she had to deal with the Covid pandemic while caring for her ill partner and raising two children (Louis, adopted in 2010; and Laila, in 2015) all by herself.Jackson Lee (GC Images)

After premiering 'The Lost City' (2022), Bullock decided to stay temporarily away from Hollywood to take care of her family. "If the kids can't be with me, I'm not going" she told her friend Jennifer Aniston in Interview magazine. Louis is currently 16 and Laila is 12, and the actress is planning to prioritize the time they have left to live at home, carefully picking projects that are being shot in L.A. Ray Tamarra (Getty Images)

The same year she adopted her eldest son, Bullock won the Oscar for best actress for 'The Blind Side'. The Virginia-born actress chose a Marchesa design as her victory dress. It was a champagne-toned mermaid piece with rhinestones and crystals that she combined with her iconic loose and straight brown hair. It is not the most spectacular dress to have stepped on the big night of cinema, but it speaks of her way of being in the industry: bright, elegant and without excesses. Becoming a mother and an Oscar-winning actress at the same time meant that she did not remember anything about the gala, as she recently confessed to the American edition of 'Vogue'. Jeffrey Mayer (WireImage)

Before reaching star status, she had studied acting at East Carolina University and had moved to New York to make her way in the film industry. After several supporting roles, her big break came in 1994 with 'Speed', the action film where she starred alongside Keanu Reeves, and which made her one of the new faces of Hollywood (in the image, together at the film's premiere in Los Angeles in 1994). After 'Speed', came 'While You Were Sleeping' and 'The Net', which cemented her status as a budding star of the new century.Ron Galella (Ron Galella Collection via Getty)

Despite the rumors that linked her romantically to Keeves, the actress was dating actor Tate Donovan at the time. They were together for three years and became engaged. Their story left some nineties looks to remember (or not) such as the one in the image, in which they both pose embracing in 1994.Ron Galella (Ron Galella Collection via Getty)

In her beginnings, as is almost always the case, Bullock experimented with different genres on the big screen and with eclectic garments and styles in her public appearances. The actress jumped from action films to thrillers and comedies, before becoming an impossible star to pigeonhole. And the same held true on a stylistic level, trying various styles until she found her own. At the 1994 MTV VMA Awards she was seen wearing this black lace ensemble combined with crystal stockings.MediaPunch (MediaPunch via Getty Images)

A year later, at the same awards, the actress showed off a totally different style: more mature, demure and classic. Leaving behind her recognizable dark brown hair, she experimented with blonde for a few months. The contrast between the two looks is the best proof of her rapid media transformation and her acceptance into Hollywood's top tier circuit.Steve Granitz (WireImage)

She was also an ambassador of the minimalist style of the decade with dresses as simple as the one she wore the first time she went to the Oscars. For the occasion, she relied on the father of these aesthetics, Calvin Klein, with a chocolate brown dress with a strapless neckline. She broke the 'less is more' with a powerful choker and hairstyle with a volume more typical of the previous decade.Steve Granitz (WireImage)

Together with Matthew McConaughey she starred in one of the most talked-about romances of the nineties, although both tried to keep it away from the spotlight. They met during the filming of 'A Time to Kill' (1996), where they played two lawyers and in which Bullock managed to stand out in a dramatic register with a prestigious cast. The chemistry with McConaughey went beyond the screen. Two years later, their love story came to an end, but they met again at different events, showing that they had maintained a good relationship after the breakup. So much so that the actor has stated on occasion that he would like to share the screen with her again.Jim Smeal (Ron Galella Collection via Getty)

Her next most talked-about relationship was with another co-star: Ryan Gosling. They met in 2001 during the filming of 'Murder By Numbers' and, although they never officially confirmed their romance publicly, they were seen in images that showed a complicity beyond the professional. This one, in Cannes in 2002, is a good proof. At that point Bullock, by now a prestigious actress, was 37 years old and Gosling was 21. The age difference raised eyebrows in an industry in which women are always younger than men.

Although she was born in Virginia, Sandra Bullock spent a good part of her childhood in Germany, where her mother, an opera singer, developed her career. The actress studied there for several years and grew up speaking German, a language she speaks perfectly. It was an unusual European childhood for a future Hollywood star who retains German nationality in addition to US citizenship.ullstein bild (ullstein bild via Getty Images)

Now that the actress is presenting another witch film, it is appropriate to rescue from the past one of her most gothic looks: the long satin skirt and simple top that she wore at the premiere of "Forces of Nature" in 1999.Jeff Kravitz (FilmMagic)

At the beginning of the following decade, in which she starred in 'Miss Congeniality', '28 Days' and 'Two Weeks Notice' showing her ability to carry the weight of a film regardless of genre, she also wore much more memorable looks. Good proof of it is this black dress with a transparent body signed by Valentino with which she attracted all eyes at the 2002 Oscars.Gregg DeGuire (WireImage)

Or this one: an Oscar de la Renta dress at the 2004 gala that confirms that white, along with black and red, is one of his favorite and recurring colors.Steve Granitz (WireImage)

Although the stylist Elizabeth Stewart, one of the most renowned in Hollywood, is behind some of her most iconic red carpet looks, the actress currently relies on the eye of Leslie Fremar, who also dresses, among others, Charlize Theron. Together with her she is experiencing a stylistic rebirth in which she seems willing to try everything: impossible necklines or a leopard print. In the image, she wears this print with a Givenchy design that is reminiscent of the one she wore in Venice more than a decade ago, but from a much more current and modern perspective.Karwai Tang (WireImage)

Despite becoming a cult movie over the years, 'Practical Magic' was bashed by critics and audiences at its premiere back in 1998. The film, which told the story of the curse of the Owens sisters – which condemns to death any man they fall in love with – ended the career of its director (Griffin Dunne) as a great Hollywood filmmaker, and its leading duo had to face the chronic misogyny of the mecca of cinema, which questioned the possibility that a film starring two women could work at the box office. "It was a horrible experience for us because we were very proud of the film we had made, but the reception was brutal," said Bullock. Time finally set things right.Getty Images (Getty Images)

In the same way that the actress transmits a relaxed attitude to fame and the media spotlight, in many of her appearances she has transferred that somewhat relaxed naturalness to the red carpet with looks starring fluid dresses and finished off by ethnic-inspired accessories. This 2006 look is a good example of a bohemian style that has accompanied her at various times and served almost as a transition between her nineties hits and the dramatic reinvention that would come with 'The Blind Side'.John Shearer (WireImage)

Shortly after collecting the Oscar in 2010 precisely for that role, Bullock ended her marriage with Jesse James after the infidelities of the businessman and host were made public. They had married in 2005 in an intimate ceremony at a ranch in California and their breakup was one of the few media scandals that have borne Bullock's name, although not by her own choice: several of James' lovers publicly confessed their affairs with the businessman while he was married to the actress, and a multimillion-dollar settlement was made public that James allegedly reached to avoid being sued for sexual harassment by a senior executive of his company in 2007.Steve Granitz (WireImage)

Three years after that she starred in 'Gravity', one of her most demanding and applauded performances. The film earned her a new Oscar nomination (she did not win it, but it swept seven statuettes) and became one of the great successes of her career. At the premiere of the film at the Venice Film Festival, she opted for a strapless red dress by J. Mendel that summarizes some of her stylistic keys: sophistication with an 'old Hollywood' touch and her own criteria independent of trends.Ian Gavan (Getty Images)

If there is one thing the actress has proven throughout her three-decade career, it is that she knows how to take risks professionally and personally. Before the most relevant actresses became producers of their own projects, Bullock founded Fortis Films, her own production company, in 1995. With it, she gained control over the projects she starred in and developed stories that interested her such as 'Miss Congeniality', 'Two Weeks Notice' and 'The Lost City'. At the premiere of the latter in 2022, she also took a risk on the red carpet by combining a sugary pink haute couture dress signed by Elie Saab with black leather musketeer boots.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin (FilmMagic)