Clown Prince Meets Girl Next Door

Christmas is coming to Whoville, but this year kids and adults alike get more than the classic cartoon Grinch. They get Jim Carrey, playing the green-skinned meanie! These days, one woman is warming the heart of the Grinch: actress Renee Zellweger of Jerry Maguire and Nurse Betty fame.

On the surface, the relationship between a rubber-faced Canadian comedian and a wholesome Texas cheerleader type might seem like a great pairing for the movies. In the case of Jim Carrey and Renee Zellweger, it's a real-life Hollywood romance that runs surprisingly deep.

Carrey is a Capricorn and Zellweger is a Taurus, making them both earth signs, which gives the pairing a general "simpatico" vibe. The two met and fell for each other on the set of the movie Me, Myself and Irene, in which they co-starred. Since earth signs tend to like routine and consistency, it's not surprisingly that the two stars are still together (already much longer than the average Tinseltown romance).

If Anyone Can Melt the Heart of the Grinch

Looking more deeply at their charts, it's apparent that Zellweger has the ability to warm up the rather chilly chart of Carrey. Zellweger has the Moon (her emotional desires) in royally romantic and loyal Leo, along with her love planets Venus and Mars in the other two fire signs, Aries and Sagittarius, respectively. All this fire suggests that Zellweger is impulsively passionate and lives life in the now. (Don't worry Jim, practically half of her other planets are in solid, reliable earth signs.)

Carrey, on the other hand, has a chart heavy with earth and air. He may want security, like any strong earth type, but his headiness and inability to experience love without over-analyzing it, could make him a bit of a cold (or at least self-defeating) lover.

Zellweger's Venus in assertive, passionate Aries makes a wide square (challenging, frictious connection) to Carrey's Mars in cautious Capricorn. After losing his heart to another blonde—actress Lauren Holly, who left Carrey for a brief romance with actor/director Edward Burns—Carrey may have been a little gun-shy, yet unbearably attracted despite himself. But Zellweger's zealousness surely sealed the deal between them. Her chart suggests a romantic nature that screams "Leap now, look later," while his sounds more like "Wait a minute, let's look at this another way."

In addition, Zellweger's Mercury in slow-moving, sensual Taurus (the warmest of the earth signs) makes a cozy trine to Carrey's Sun and Venus in sometimes depressive Capricorn. Mercury is the planet of communication, and Taurus the sign of touch. Even though Carrey is the one who is known for his physical prowess, it was undoubtedly Zellweger who "had him on hello" the first time they shook hands.

The lovers also have a significant karmic bond. Carrey's North Node of the Moon (which signifies the role his soul is meant to play in this incarnation) is in extroverted Leo, the same sign as Zellweger's Moon. Astrologically, this connection suggests that Zellweger can be a benevolelent, nurturing force for Carrey. Remember the Oscar buzz that surrounded him after the movie The Truman Show came out? And then the anti-climactic lack of Academy attention for Man on the Moon? Well, Zellweger could play the archetype of "little woman behind the man" (don't worry, this Texan is tough and fiery enough to play her own life in a most empowered way) for Carrey, and help him to bring his acting talent to fruition. He's got the promise, but she could nurture him ‘till the results shine through in a way that no one (not even the Academy) can ignore.

Act Two?

So what's next for the happy couple? Well, in mid-2001, lucky Jupiter will be zipping over Carrey's Moon in curious, sociable Gemini. He could meet someone at a cocktail party who turns him on to the script that changes his life (for the better). At the same time, dark and transformational Pluto will be making a smooth sextile to Carrey's Mercury and Jupiter, which are conjunct in innovative Aquarius. Not to play critic here, but am I the only one who felt that Carrey's performances in The Truman Show and Man on the Moon were very, very good, but not as risk-taking as the press made them out to be? Well, come the spring/early summer, Carrey could choose a role that shocks moviegoers and critics alike. When the dust settles, it could be the role of a lifetime, and no doubt honey Renee will put in her two cents and tell him "go for it!"

As for Ms. Z, tough, realistic Saturn will be hovering over her Mercury as 2000 winds down and 2001 begins, while intense Pluto moves close to her Mars. The meaning of these transits combined? "Put your money where your mouth is!" It's likely that Zellweger may "pull a Winona" and get her hands on a hot literary property (as Ryder did with Girl, Interrupted) and buckle down to play producer and developer, a job that could take many years, but that will eventually bear some delicious celluloid fruit for her.

In the meantime, Mars makes a troublesome square to Carrey's Venus during the Christmas season. Perhaps Lauren Holly will come out of hiding for the holidays and plant a big congratulatory kiss on the Grinch's lips at his own premiere? Something or someone could spark a jealous row between the couple, but nothing that can't be patched up by the time Venus goes into forgiving Pisces in early January, sextiling Zellweger's Sun.

Ultimately, the astrological jury is still out on whether this couple will go the distance. Carrey's chilly factor may in the end be too cold for Zellweger's warmth.