Editing Catherine Zeta-Jones (section)

=== 1990–1996: Screen debut and career struggles ===
In 1990, Zeta-Jones made her film debut in the director [[Philippe de Broca]]'s film ''[[1001 Nights (1990 film)|1001 Nights]]''. An adaptation of the Persian fable ''[[One Thousand and One Nights]]'', the French-Italian production recounts the tale from the perspective of [[Scheherazade]] (Zeta-Jones), one of the brides of King Sharir ([[Thierry Lhermitte]]).<ref name="ZipesZipes2015">{{cite book |author1=Zipes, Jack |author2=Greenhill, Pauline |title=Fairy-Tale Films Beyond Disney: International Perspectives |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc-PCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |date=16 September 2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-1-134-62813-1 |page=73 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107085344/https://books.google.com/books?id=Mc-PCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA73 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref> ''1001 Nights'' did not perform well at the box office, and according to de&nbsp;Broca's obituary in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', the film "is best remembered for its enjoyable nude scenes."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1477725/Philippe-de-Broca.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |title=Philippe de Broca |date=29 November 2004 |access-date=25 April 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301102111/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1477725/Philippe-de-Broca.html |archive-date=1 March 2016}}</ref> Greater success followed when she starred opposite [[David Jason]] and [[Pam Ferris]] in the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] period comedy-drama television series ''[[The Darling Buds of May (TV series)|The Darling Buds of May]]'' from 1991 to 1993. Adapted from [[H.&nbsp;E. Bates]]{{'}} [[The Darling Buds of May (novel)|novel of the same name]], Zeta-Jones played the role of the eldest daughter of a family living in the countryside in 1950s Britain.<ref name="season">{{cite news |last=Strejcek |first=Ginger |url=http://www.seasonmagazine.com/profiles/czeta-jonesw05.htm |title=Catherine the great |year=2005 |work=Season |access-date=14 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181233/http://www.seasonmagazine.com/profiles/czeta-jonesw05.htm |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref><ref name="face">{{cite news|title=Face of the Day: Catherine Zeta Jones |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12193837.Face_of_the_Day__Catherine_Zeta_Jones/ |access-date=5 April 2016 |newspaper=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |date=20 June 2000 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418051057/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12193837.Face_of_the_Day__Catherine_Zeta_Jones/ |archive-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> The series was the highest-rated television show in the country at the time, and Zeta-Jones gained wide public recognition for it. "Literally, with one hour of television my life completely changed. I couldn't go anywhere", she remarked.<ref name="usaweekend">{{cite news|last=Kennedy |first=Dana |url=http://159.54.226.237/04_issues/040613/040613zetajones.html |title=Catherine Zeta Jones has arrived, but don't make a big deal about it |work=[[USA Weekend]] |date=13 June 2004 |access-date=5 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416101122/http://159.54.226.237/04_issues/040613/040613zetajones.html |archive-date=16 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="ButzelLopez1994">{{cite book|last1=Butzel |first1=Marsha |first2=Ana |last2=Lopez |title=Mediating the National |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zELaFlTU9fUC&pg=PA33 |date=January 1994 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-3-7186-0570-5 |page=33 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301181327/https://books.google.com/books?id=zELaFlTU9fUC&pg=PA33 |archive-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

Following a brief appearance as [[Beatriz Enríquez de Arana]] in the unsuccessful adventure film ''[[Christopher Columbus: The Discovery]]'' (1992),<ref>{{cite web|last=Mendelson |first=Scott |title=When Christopher Columbus Flopped at the Box Office&nbsp;... Twice |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/10/13/when-christopher-columbus-flopped-at-the-box-office-twice/ |work=[[Forbes]] |date=13 October 2014 |access-date=6 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420031750/http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/10/13/when-christopher-columbus-flopped-at-the-box-office-twice/ |archive-date=20 April 2016}}</ref> Zeta-Jones featured as a belly dancer in disguise in a 1992 episode of [[George Lucas]]{{'}} television series ''[[The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Catherine Zeta-Jones: Her Style Timeline |url=http://www.allure.com/celebrity-trends/style-timeline/2010/catherine_zeta_jones_style#slide=1 |work=[[Allure (magazine)|Allure]] |access-date=9 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423104234/http://www.allure.com/celebrity-trends/style-timeline/2010/catherine_zeta_jones_style |archive-date=23 April 2016}}</ref> She next took on the part of an aspiring duchess in ''[[Splitting Heirs]]'' (1993), a farcical period drama from the director [[Robert Young (director)|Robert Young]] about two children ([[Eric Idle]] and [[Rick Moranis]]) who are separated at birth. Reviews of the film were negative, though the critic [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' found her to be "very funny".<ref>{{cite web|title=Splitting Heirs (1993) |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/splitting_heirs/ |publisher=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=6 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506051701/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/splitting_heirs/ |archive-date=6 May 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Canby |first=Vincent |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE3DC1E3BF932A35756C0A965958260 |title=Review/Film; Trying to Kill One's Way To a Title |work=The New York Times |date=1 May 1993 |access-date=6 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419055445/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F0CE3DC1E3BF932A35756C0A965958260 |archive-date=19 April 2016}}</ref> In 1994, Zeta-Jones played the melancholic Eustacia Vye in the television film ''The Return of the Native'', an adaptation of the [[The Return of the Native|1878 novel of the same name]] by [[Thomas Hardy]], and the wife of [[Lloyd Owen]]'s character in the television war drama ''[[The Cinder Path (film)|The Cinder Path]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Tucker |first=Ken |title=The Return of the Native |url=https://www.ew.com/article/1994/12/02/return-native |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=2 December 1994 |access-date=6 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151118190841/http://www.ew.com/article/1994/12/02/return-native |archive-date=18 November 2015}}</ref><ref name="Goble1999">{{cite book |last=Goble |first=Alan |title=The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&pg=PA93 |date=1 January 1999 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-095194-3 |page=93 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107085344/https://books.google.com/books?id=Yyqc0Qa6b60C&pg=PA93 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref> She was then cast as the [[Catherine the Great|eponymous protagonist]] of the 1995 television biopic ''[[Catherine the Great (1995 film)|Catherine the Great]]''. In a mixed review, critic Lisa Nesselson of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' found the miniseries to be "brightly colored" but "wooden and hollow", though thought that Zeta-Jones "imparts a certain grace and resolve to her sovereign-in-the-making".<ref>{{cite news|last=Nesselson |first=Lisa |url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/catherine-the-great-1200440516/ |title=Review: Catherine the Great |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |date=26 February 1995 |access-date=5 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418182807/http://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/catherine-the-great-1200440516/ |archive-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> She next appeared as the pragmatic girlfriend of [[Sean Pertwee]]'s character in ''[[Blue Juice]]'' (1995), publicised as Britain's first [[surf film]], which the critic [[Leonard Maltin]] dismissed as a "superficial and predictable" production.<ref name="Maltin2014">{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F60TAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT275 |date=2 September 2014 |publisher=[[Penguin Group]] |isbn=978-0-698-18361-2 |page=275 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107085344/https://books.google.com/books?id=F60TAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT275 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kelly |first=Brendan |url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/blue-juice-1200441537/ |title=Review: Blue Juice |work=Variety |date=31 May 1995 |access-date=30 May 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630095543/http://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/blue-juice-1200441537/ |archive-date=30 June 2016}}</ref>

Dismayed at being typecast as the token pretty girl in British films, Zeta-Jones relocated to Los Angeles, stating: "There was all this fuss about who I was and wasn't dating. I was a pretty face and a big bust and nothing else. People in the business believed what they read about me. So I decided to move away and start again."<ref name="pretty face">{{cite news |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60623262.html |title=Catherine Zeta Jones Interview: I Used to Be Just a Pretty Face with a Big Bust Now I Fight for Roles with Nicole Kidman |work=[[Daily Mirror]] |date=12 December 1998 |access-date=5 April 2016  |via=HighBeam Research |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504201507/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60623262.html |archive-date=4 May 2016}}</ref> She believed that her anonymity in America helped her obtain roles on merit and not due to her public image.<ref name="usaweekend"/><ref name="pretty face"/> She earned the part of Sala, the henchwoman to the villainous Drax ([[Treat Williams]]) in the superhero film ''[[The Phantom (1996 film)|The Phantom]]'' (1996), starring [[Billy Zane]] in the [[Phantom (character)|titular role]].<ref name="Muir2004">{{cite book |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |author-link=John Kenneth Muir |title=The Encyclopedia of Superheroes on Film and Television, 2nd ed. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dx6hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA434 |date=13 February 2004 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=978-0-7864-3755-9 |page=434 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107085344/https://books.google.com/books?id=dx6hBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA434 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref> A reviewer for ''Variety'' considered Zeta-Jones to be a standout in her part, but the film received a negative critical reception and earned little at the box office.<ref name="Muir2004"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/the-phantom-2-1200444636/ |title=Review: The Phantom |work=Variety |date=31 December 1995 |access-date=5 April 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418161954/http://variety.com/1995/film/reviews/the-phantom-2-1200444636/ |archive-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> The [[CBS]] television miniseries ''[[Titanic (1996 miniseries)|Titanic]]'' (1996) was better received.<ref name="pretty face"/> Starring opposite [[Peter Gallagher]] and [[George C. Scott]], she played the lead role of Isabella Paradine, a young mother who engages in an extramarital affair aboard the ill-fated [[Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']].<ref name="Anderson2005">{{cite book |last=Anderson |first=D. Brian |title=The Titanic in Print and on Screen: An Annotated Guide to Books, Films, Television Shows and Other Media |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPe2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |date=22 March 2005 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-0-7864-1786-5 |pages=106–108 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107085344/https://books.google.com/books?id=EPe2BQAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 |archive-date=7 November 2017 }}</ref>