Cate Blanchett Appointed as Visiting Professor at Oxford University

Cate Blanchett is adding professor to her résumé.

The 57-year-old Oscar-winning performer, known for films including The Aviator, will serve as a visiting professor at the University of Oxford. Throughout the 2026/27 academic year, she'll teach contemporary theatre at St Catherine's College, according to BBC.

Blanchett expressed enthusiasm about the appointment in a statement. "The visiting professorship is an electrifying opportunity for me to be in direct, robust creative dialogue with the next generation of thinkers and creative doers," she said, adding that she was "looking forward to beginning this creative rumpus."

The acclaimed actress elaborated on her vision for the role, reflecting on how art functions as a tool for exploration. "Art breaks down the borders and boundaries of our imagination; it poses questions, and playing with and dissecting it expands and challenges our present reality," Blanchett explained. "My years of creative practice have granted me the opportunity of sharpening feelings into ideas and offered pathways to insight."

Beyond academia, Blanchett has been in the spotlight for other reasons recently. She and Selena Gomez have been cast alongside each other in an upcoming film from director Brady Corbet.

At the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Blanchett also weighed in on the #MeToo movement and its trajectory. She suggested the momentum behind the campaign had diminished unexpectedly. "There are a lot of people with platforms who are able to speak up with relative safety and say this has happened to me, and the so-called average woman on the street is saying #MeToo. Why does that get shut down?" she posed. Blanchett felt the movement got "killed very quickly."