Renee cements her star status

Academy Award-winner Renee Zellweger recalled her first trip to Hollywood nearly two decades ago as a tourist as she received her own shiny star on the Walk of Fame.

"I used two rolls of film on just these stars alone, and I was so excited to be here, and I had my fingers crossed really tightly that one day I could participate in some small way in this medium that I love so much," the 36-year-old actress said of the 1988 trip with friends.

"But I got to tell you that I never ever imagined a day like this or that I would be invited to be part of this legacy."

Zellweger, whose recent credits include the Bridget Jones films, Chicago and Cold Mountain, smiled and picked nervously at her fingernails as director Ron Howard praised her.

"The reality of this just hit me a few seconds ago and I am dumbfounded," she said.

The native Texan got her breakout role in Jerry Maguire opposite Tom Cruise and entered Hollywood lore with the line: "You had me at hello."

Zellweger married country music star Kenny Chesney in a small ceremony on May 9 on the Caribbean island of St John in the US Virgin Islands. It was the first marriage for both.

The couple met at a benefit for tsunami relief in January where Chesney was singing and Zellweger was answering telephones.