Catherine Zeta Jones ‘Humbled’ By Honour

February 24, 2011

1CZJHollywood royalty encountered the genuine article today [Feb.24] when former Bermuda resident Catherine Zeta Jones was made a Commander of the British Empire by Prince Charles at a Buckingham Palace ceremony.

The 41-year-old Oscar-winner was recognised for services to the film industry and to charity in last year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Ms Zeta Jones was accompanied to Buckingham Palace by her husband, actor and producer Michael Douglas, and their children Dylan and Carys, who grew up and were educated in Bermuda before the couple relocated to New York in 2009.

Ms Zeta Jones won an Academy Award for her role in “Chicago” and has starred in such other films as “Traffic”, “Entrapment” and “The Mask of Zorro.”

When the announcement of the award was made last summer, the Welsh-born actress said she was “absolutely thrilled”.

“As a British subject I feel incredibly proud,” she said. “At the same time it is overwhelming and humbling.”

Her husband, diagnosed with throat cancer last year, has said he is beating the disease following an intensive round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

The celebrity couple lived in Bermuda between 2001 and 2009, raising their two children out of the public eye and enjoying the privacy Bermuda afforded them.

The son of Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas and his first wife, the Bermudian actress Diana Douglas, Mr. Douglas once told “Architectural Digest” the island had been a sanctuary and home-away-from-home for him throughout his life – “My mother’s Bermudian. Her family’s been on the island since 1610, and I’ve been going all my life. In fact, I celebrated my first birthday here. There’s real solace in returning to this tiny island where I have so many relatives, probably 70, in one place. To me, Bermuda is a real family spot”.

The family moved from Bermuda to New York City so son Dylan, who has special needs, could receive the treatment he required. They still own their Warwick home and visit regularly.

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