Abbie Cornish constantly continues to surprise her fans and the entertainment industry at large. This Australian powerhouse first made her mark as a model before delving into the movie industry, where she has experienced much success. Still proving that there is seemingly nothing that she cannot do, Abbie has also made a name as a rapper under the pseudonym, MC Dusk.
Such industriousness and multi-talented nature are quite amazing in themselves alone. What, however, makes Abbie’s achievements even more remarkable is that it has come on the back of challenges and scandals, which could have ordinarily buried any mere mortal. The Aussie star, however, refuses to budge and is reaping the benefits today.
How Abbie Cornish Rose from Country Bumpkin to National Film Star
Before she became a Hollywood star, Abbie Cornish was just a little girl who was born on August 7, 1982, in Lochinvar, New South Wales, Australia. She grew up on a farm in Newcastle, New South Wales, alongside her four siblings (three brothers and a sister) and had the regular upbringing of a country girl. Such humble beginnings, however, did not stop her from dreaming big, and as such, by the age of 13, Abbie delved into modeling.
This was after she made it to the finals of a Dolly Magazine competition, and she spent the next five years doing related work. Abbie Cornish later moved on to acting in 1999, taking part in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s television show, Wildside, which earned her the Australian Film Institute Young Actor’s Award for her outstanding performance. In addition to the award, she was also offered her first movie role in the 2000 thriller film, The Monkey’s Mask.
The following year, Abbie landed the role of Reggie McDowell in the children’s TV series, Outriders, and followed it up in 2003 with the miniseries, Marking Time. Also in 2003, she played the role of Becky Wodinski in the Australian film Horseplay. Abbie was then cast in the 2004 movies, Somersault (which earned her four awards), One Perfect Day, and Everything Goes.
Building an Impressive Resume in Hollywood
In the year 2006, the actress appeared as Christie Roberts in the British-American romantic comedy, A Good Year. She also played the title character in the romantic drama movie, Candy, winning the Film Critics Circle of Australia for Best Actress in a Lead Role for her outstanding performance. The year 2007 saw the actress starring as Bess Throckmorton in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, a biographical drama film directed by Shekhar Kapur.
From 2008 through 2009, Abbie Cornish featured in the American war drama film, Stop-Loss. She also appeared in Bright Star, a biographical fiction romantic drama film that centers around the last three years of the life of the English romantic poet, John Keats, and his relationship with his fiancée, Fanny Brawne. For her role in Bright Star, Abbie was nominated for ten awards, including the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year.
Following this critically-acclaimed performance, Cornish appeared as Lindy and Sweet Pea in the 2011 American films Limitless and Sucker Punch, respectively. In the year that followed, she portrayed the character of Ashley in the independent film, The Girl, in addition to featuring as Kaya in the dark comedy crime film, Seven Psychopaths. In 2014, the talented actress appeared in the miniseries, Klondike, and as Clara Murphy in RoboCop.
The following year, she starred in a straight-to-video film titled Solace and followed it up in 2016 with Lavender, another direct-to-video drama film. In 2017, Abbie featured in Geostorm and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, earning a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, and a nomination for AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the latter. The next year, the New South Wales native played the role of Kerstin in the film, Where Hands Touch, and was cast as a series regular in the TV series, Jack Ryan.
Exploring Her Passion for Rap Music
Most people may not know this, but Cornish is also a talented rapper and budding musician. The Sucker Punch star first dabbled into rap as a teen and performed under the name MC dusk. She formed a hip-hop group with a bunch of her peers back in Australia, and they performed throughout their homeland. Cornish has now turned her full attention to her movie career, but she still has not forgotten her love for music.
In 2015, she collaborated with top-notch American producers and singers, including Hilltop Hoods and Jane Tyrrell. The collaboration resulted in her first EP, Key of the Sun, which featured singles such as Evolve and Way Back Home. Both singles gained much traction, and Cornish subsequently supported American rapper, Nas, on his Australian tour that same year. Since then, the actress has not dropped any new song, but she continues to groove with her former bandmates when she is back in Australia.
Her Role in the Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe’s Divorce Saga
No one likes to be cast in the mold of the other woman, but Abbie Cornish, unfortunately, found herself in such a spotlight in the year 2006. The Aussie star had been co-starring in a movie with American actor, Ryan Phillippe, when news broke that Ryan and his superstar wife, Reese Witherspoon, would be getting a divorce. The public couldn’t swallow such a bitter pill and started digging for the reasons why the couple was splitting.
The consensus eventually became that Ryan must have cheated on his wife, and many painted Cornish as a home breaker. The actress denied this, but the paparazzi and the tabloid reports were relentless. Ryan and his wife eventually finalized their divorce, and Cornish began a romance with him. The romance lasted for three years, during which the actress relocated to Los Angeles so that she could be closer to her man.
She also got to familiarize herself with his kids from his first marriage, namely daughter, Ava, and son, Deacon. Cornish’s relationship with Ryan sadly stalled after three years, and the couple parted ways in 2010. Some sources claimed that the actress got tired of Ryan’s wandering eyes and partying tendencies, as well as the fact that he was not ready to settle down. Ryan’s rep, however, maintained that the relationship simply ended because the couple had grown apart.
See Also: The Real Reason Brendan Fraser Divorced His Wife – Afton Smith
Abbie Cornish is Now Engaged to the “Man of her Dreams”
Following her breakup with Ryan Phillippe, Abbie Cornish spent quite some time riding solo. It was, however, rumored that she was involved with someone, but the identity of the said person remained a mystery, until February 2019 when she announced her engagement to Adel Altamim. Sharing loved up photos of her and her boo, Cornish described Adel as the man of her dreams and stated that she had been waiting for him. The actress further gushed that she respected him so much and prayed for God’s love to ensconce them forever.
So, who is her boo? Well, Adel is a native of Baghdad, Iraq, where he was contracted by the U.S. Marines to drive convoys. He was later captured by Al-Qaeda and had to watch as his cousins and a close friend were decapitated. Adel, fortunately, escaped a similar fate, thanks to the US Marines, and eventually made his way to America. He now works as a fitness trainer at the Unbreakable MMA gym, and his clients include the likes of Chris Pratt and Demi Lovato. A professional fighter, Adel has also made waves on the MMA circuit and won the Bellator 214 event in January 2019.
