Renee Zellweger struggled to find an excuse to take hiatu

14 Sep 2016 |

Renee Zellweger drove herself to exhaustion because she didn?t believe she had a legitimate excuse to take time off from work.The American actress made her name in 1996?s Jerry Maguire before taking on starring roles in Chicago, Cold Mountain and the beloved Bridget Jones franchise.Following her gruelling schedule, Renee famously decided to take a hiatus from acting in 2010 so she could focus on other projects. Renee reveals that before deciding to take a break, she found it hard to think of a reason to bow out of the spotlight. ?My personal life had taken a back seat to fulfilling my professional obligations. I felt a responsibility not to let people down.

And so I just kept going,? she told People magazine. ?And there wasn't a reason not to. I didn't have children or an established relationship that dictated I make different choices. And because of the choices I was making and the life that I was living, I had no time to develop that in my life.?Following some time out, the 47-year-old couldn?t wait to make her big screen return and knew the time was right when she was offered the chance to reprise her role as Bridget in the upcoming comedy, Bridget Jones?s Baby, the third instalment of the franchise. Rather than purely focusing on work, Renee is now aiming to strike a good balance between filming and her home life, and the Oscar-winner, who's been dating musician Doyle Bramhall II since 2012, finds she?s much happier with her life these days. ?I don't want to be this person 10 years from now. I'd like to become more of who I'm supposed to be,? she smiled. Bridget Jones's Baby hits theatres from 14 September (16).