Bridget Jones gets her own statue in London鈥檚 Leicester Square
LONDON 鈥 Bridget Jones has joined the likes of Mary Poppins, Harry Potter and other beloved film characters with her own statue in London鈥檚 Leicester Square.
Oscar winner Renee Zellweger, who has played the titular character in all four Bridget Jones films, attended Monday鈥檚 unveiling of the statue which celebrates 25 years since the first movie, Bridget Jones鈥檚 Diary, was released.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty crazy. It鈥檚 kind of strange. It鈥檚 not something that you… ever expect… it鈥檚 quite a surprise,鈥 Ms. Zellweger told Reuters.
Asked what she made of the statue, which depicts Bridget with her hair tied back, dressed in a mini skirt and holding a pen and diary, she said: 鈥淚 mean, she鈥檚 adorable… she鈥檚 really cute. Looks like Bridget to me.鈥
Author Helen Fielding created the character of Bridget Jones more than 30 years ago for a newspaper column that detailed Bridget鈥檚 love life. Her first book Bridget Jones鈥檚 Diary was published in 1996 and three more followed.
Bridget Jones鈥檚 Diary was turned into a 2001 film with Hugh Grant and Colin Firth starring alongside Ms. Zellweger.
Movies Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and Bridget Jones鈥檚 Baby followed in 2004 and 2016 respectively. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy was released in February.
鈥淢y daughter鈥檚 generation now like Bridget, and that means a huge amount to me because it hardly ever happens,鈥 Ms. Fielding said of the character鈥檚 enduring popularity. 鈥淪o I feel very, very lucky, and yeah, I鈥檓 proud of Bridget.鈥
The Bridget Jones statue is part of the Scenes in the Square trail of sculptures of film characters in Leicester Square, where many movie premieres are held. The trail was launched in 2020 and also includes statues of Laurel and Hardy as well as Batman among others. 鈥 Reuters
