Being a humanitarian comes easily to Sandra Bullock as she is not one to take anything for granted and she considers herself to be a lucky woman. She is compassionate by nature and it not only shows through in her acting, but anyone that knows her, simply loves her. She is like the girl next door with her easy going personality and witty charm, and she is generous to a fault. Her wholesome image and bright attitude was something that people instantly liked about her and adapting to any situation like a chameleon came as easily as breathing to the Washington D.C. born native.
Born on July 26, 1964, Sandra Annette Bullock had fitting in down to a science by the time she graduated from Arlington’s Washington-Lee High School, where she was a popular cheerleader and was voted ”Most Likely to Brighten Your Day” by the members of her senior class. Sandra entered the drama program at East Carolina University after high school, but soon became impatient with college. With her parents blessings she packed up her Honda Accord and headed to New York where she began intensive acting studies while bartending at night.
Sandra’s acting passport was firmly stamped by critic John Simon after he became mesmerized with her theater performance in an off-Broadway production in which she’d starred as a sassy Southern belle. She quickly lined up an agent, and her acting career took soon began to grow as she received a small role as a younger-generation bionic babe in 1989’s Bionic Showdown: The Six-Million-Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman.
America was getting ready to meet their newest sweetheart when Jan De Bont decided to cast Sandra in the movie Speed. She was considered an underdog as the film’s producers were looking for a known blond bomb-shell verses an unknown wholesome brunette. To Sandra’s surprise the movie was a blockbuster hit and career was well on its way to becoming everything she dreamed it could be.
Bullock earned a reputation through interviews as the fun-loving type, and her mixture of brazenness and caginess only served to remind viewers of how down to earth she truly was, and it stood to instantly warm the hearts of audiences where she was concerned. Fans were also reminded just how much of a smart of a cookie Sandra truly was when she wrote, produced, directed and co-starred opposite Matthew McConaughey, who shared producing duties in the movie “Making Sandwiches”.
When she is not off playing a superhero, she is living it in the flesh. Sandra just happened to be staying at a nearby hotel in New York during the 911 attack on the World Trade Center, and didn’t hesitate to run straight to the scene, offering her assistance where it was needed most, on the injured victims. She later dug deep into her pocketbook and donated one million dollars to the Red Cross in an effort to help ease the devastating affects that 911 left on the people of New York.
Again in 2004 Sandra’s generosity did not go unnoticed as she donated another cool million to the Red Cross to aid in the catastrophic events that occurred from the Tsunami in December. Sandra was later honored as The Undercover Activist for her quiet million-dollar donations to charities.
It comes as no surprise that Sandra Bullock would fall in love with a guy that shares her same generous nature. Jesse James, host of Monster Garage and Sandra Bullock married in July of 2005. The bad ass, tattooed master bike builder has a tough looking exterior, but is soft inside when it comes to being a humanitarian. In fact Jesse James is helping to get homeless people off of the streets in his native Long Beach, California by giving down-and-outs jobs at his West Coast Choppers motorcycle shop to local tramps and beggars. He tells People magazines, “Long Beach has a homeless problem and I felt the need to step up and help because it wasn’t going to magically disappear”. His reasons for helping others is simple as Jesse James feels that not everyone has been as lucky as he has, and it’s time for him to use the success that he has been blessed with to help others.
It would appear that America’s sweetheart has met her match when it comes to charitable contributions and helping people out of rough situations. The two of them have a fan base from both personal experiences in dealing with real life tragedies, and for their popularity on television. Sandra Bullock is no where near ready to slow down in both her professional and personal life, and America is lucky to have her as an icon. In 2005 Sandra Bullock received her star on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame” which just happens to be situated next to her Speed co-star Keanu Reeves.
