Being Julia, being Bening, being the mother of Beatty's babies.

This article profiles actress Annette Bening and her role in the film "Being Julia." With a knowing smile and mischief in her eyes, she's made a career of seductive intrigue--as the scheming widow in Valmont, the foxy con artist in The Grifters, the adulterous wife in American Beauty. But one of Annette Bening's most impressive roles has been domesticating Hollywood rogue Warren Beatty--a feat that eluded the likes of Julie Christie, Diane Keaton, Isabelle Adjani and Madonna. As mother to Beatty's four children, aged 4 to 12, Bening, 46, has scaled down her acting career. But she couldn't resist Being Julia. In this period comedy directed by Hungary's Istvan Szab-and produced by Canada's Robert Lantos, she plays a flamboyant star of the English stage who beds a younger man to revive her frayed middle-aged ego.