Emma Thompson - Film & Theater Personalities, Career and Facts
Emma Thompson's Personal Details
Emma Thompson is famous British actress, comedienne and screenwriter
| Information | Detail |
|---|---|
| Birthday | April 15, 1959 |
| Nationality | British |
| Famous | Atheists, Atheists/Agnostics, Left Handed, Cambridge University, Film & Theater Personalities, Actresses |
| Spouses | Kenneth Branagh |
| Siblings | Sophie Thompson |
| Childrens | Gaia Romilly Wise Tindyebwa Agaba Wise |
| Universities |
|
| Notable Alumnis |
|
| Birth Place | Paddington |
| Political Ideology | Labour Party |
| Height | 173 |
| Gender | Female |
| Father | Eric Thompson |
| Mother | Phyllida Law |
| Net Worth | $45 Million as of Sep 16,2016 |
| Sun Sign | Aries |
| Born in | Paddington |
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Emma Thompson's photo
Who is Emma Thompson?
Born into a show business family, actress-writer Emma Thompson rose from the London stage to international film and television acclaim. The ‘West End’ revival of the musical, ‘Me and My Girl’ catapulted her to great fame. She impressed both the critics and the audiences alike with her early films such as ‘Henry V’ and ‘Dead Again’. Throughout the early stages of her career she worked extensively with her then-husband Kenneth Branagh and Footlight co-stars Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. Two of her best films were Merchant Ivory productions namely ‘Howard's End’ and ‘The Remains of the Day’, which earned her appreciation from all across the globe. She established herself as a brilliant artist with her performances in the riveting IRA drama, ‘In the Name of the Father’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’, in which she worked both as a screenwriter and actor. She gave sterling performance on television as well with productions like ‘Wit’ and the miniseries, ‘Angels in America’. Exceptionally competent, she took on recurring roles for the first time in the fantasy films, ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’. This tremendously talented star continues to write and act and has become one of the most honored and respected actresses today.
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Childhood & Early Life
Thompson was born to Phyllida Law, a Scottish actress, and Eric Thompson, of the popular children's television series, ‘The Magic Roundabout’ fame, in Paddington, London.
Thompson attended the Camden School for Girls and in 1977 she was enrolled to the ‘Newnham College’, at Cambridge. After reading, ‘The Madwoman in the Attic’, she wanted to be a comedian like Lily Tomlin.
In 1980, she became the Vice President of Footlights, the university's sketch comedy troupe and also co-directed the troupe's first all-female revue, ‘Women's Hour’. Her team was awarded the Perrier Award for ‘The Cellar Tapes’.
Career
After a minor role in the 1982 play, ‘Not the Nine O'Clock News’, Thompson worked for television with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in ‘There's Nothing To Worry About!’ and the ‘Alfresco’.
She came to limelight in 1985, with the ‘West End’ revival of the musical, ‘Me and My Girl’. Two years later, she played lead roles in two television miniseries, ‘Fortunes of War’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’.
She made her film debut with the 1989 romantic comedy ‘The Tall Guy’, a box-office disappointment. Starring Jeff Goldblum, she played a nurse with whom he falls in love.
She portrayed Princess Katherine in Branagh's screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’, in 1989 and the following year acted alongside Branagh in his stage productions of ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ and ‘King Lear’.
She received great critical acclaim for her supporting role as Duchess D'Antan in the 1991 film, ‘Impromptu’, depicting the life of novelist George Sand. She was cast alongside Judy Davis and Hugh Grant in the film.
In association with Branagh, she worked in ‘Dead Again’, a psychological thriller, in which she played a woman who has forgotten her identity. The thriller was number one at the US box office for two weeks.
In 1992, she worked with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Tony Slattery in ‘Peter’s Friends’. Directed by Branagh, it was about a group of Cambridge alumni reunited ten years after graduation.
In, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, a 1993 romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play, directed by Kenneth Branagh who also starred in the film, she played Beatrice which won her great praise from the critics.
In the Merchant–Ivory 1993 film, ‘The Remains of the Day’ based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, she starred as Miss Kenton, a housekeeper with Anthony Hopkins as Steven, a butler in interwar Britain.
Her sterling performance as the lawyer Gareth Pierce in 1993 film, ‘In the Name of the Father’, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, earned her a second Oscar nomination of the year.
In the 2001 HBO film, ‘Wit’, she portrayed a Harvard professor’s struggles after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her performance in the film earned her nominations for Golden Globes, Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
One of her most commercially successful film was Richard Curtis's romantic comedy ‘Love Actually’, released in 2003. In the film, she portrayed a middle-class wife who suspects her husband, played by Alan Rickman, of infidelity
She portrayed Sybil Trelawney in ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’, a role she reprised in ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ and ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2’.
She appeared in the HBO miniseries ‘Angels in America’ and also voiced Queen Elinor in ‘Brave’. In 2013, her performance in ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ earned her great critical acclaim.
‘Effie’, which she wrote and appears in, is scheduled for release in 2014. The film is based on the true-life story of art critic John Ruskin's affair with Effie Gray.
Major Works
Thompson was cast opposite Anthony Hopkins and Vanessa Redgrave in the 1992 Merchant Ivory film, ‘Howards End’, based on E. M. Forster’ novel. The film received massive critical acclaim and won her many accolades.
She wrote the screen-play of the 1995 Ang Lee directed film, ‘Sense and Sensibility’, and acted alongside Kate Winslet. One of the highest-grossing films of her career, it amassed $134,993,774 at the box-office.
Awards & Achievements
Emma Thompson won an Oscar Award in 1993 in the category ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ for the film ‘Howards End’.
Thompson won the another Oscar in the category ‘Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published’ for ‘Sense and Sensibility’ in 1996.
She has won BAFTA Awards in the categories ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role’ for ‘Tutti Frutti’, ‘Fortunes of War’, ‘Howards End’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility’.
She won a Primetime Emmy in the category ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series’ for ‘Ellen’ in 1998, for playing herself in the episode, ‘Emma’.
Personal Life & Legacy
Thompson married actor-director Kenneth Branagh in 1989. However, the couple got separated in 1995
She married actor Greg Wise in 2003 and had a daughter Gaia through IVF treatment and also adopted a Rwandan orphan Tindyebwa.
A supporter of ‘Greenpeace’, in 2009, she purchased a land near the village of Sipson with 3 others, to obstruct a proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport.
Trivia
This British born actress used to keep her Oscar statuettes in her bathroom but had to move them to make room for her daughter’s artwork.
This Oscar winning actress has a song dedicated to her in the famous French singer Georges Moustaki's album, ‘Moustaki’.
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Emma Thompson's awards
| Year | Name | Award |
|---|---|---|
Academy Awards(Oscars) | ||
| 1996 | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published | Sense and Sensibility (1995) |
| 1993 | Best Actress in a Leading Role | Howards End (1992) |
Golden Globe Awards | ||
| 1996 | Best Screenplay - Motion Picture | Sense and Sensibility (1995) |
| 1993 | Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama | Howards End (1992) |
Primetime Emmy Awards | ||
| 1998 | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Ellen (1994) |
BAFTA Awards | ||
| 1996 | Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Sense and Sensibility (1995) |
| 1993 | Best Actress | Howards End (1992) |
| 1988 | Best Actress | Tutti Frutti (1987) |
| 1988 | Best Actress | Fortunes of War (1987) |
Emma Thompson biography timelines
- // 15th Apr 1959Thompson was born to Phyllida Law, a Scottish actress, and Eric Thompson, of the popular children's television series, ‘The Magic Roundabout’ fame, in Paddington, London.
- // 1977Thompson attended the Camden School for Girls and in 1977 she was enrolled to the ‘Newnham College’, at Cambridge. After reading, ‘The Madwoman in the Attic’, she wanted to be a comedian like Lily Tomlin.
- // 1980In 1980, she became the Vice President of Footlights, the university's sketch comedy troupe and also co-directed the troupe's first all-female revue, ‘Women's Hour’. Her team was awarded the Perrier Award for ‘The Cellar Tapes’.
- // 1982After a minor role in the 1982 play, ‘Not the Nine O'Clock News’, Thompson worked for television with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in ‘There's Nothing To Worry About!’ and the ‘Alfresco’.
- // 1985She came to limelight in 1985, with the ‘West End’ revival of the musical, ‘Me and My Girl’. Two years later, she played lead roles in two television miniseries, ‘Fortunes of War’ and ‘Tutti Frutti’.
- // 1989She made her film debut with the 1989 romantic comedy ‘The Tall Guy’, a box-office disappointment. Starring Jeff Goldblum, she played a nurse with whom he falls in love.
- // 1989She portrayed Princess Katherine in Branagh's screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’, in 1989 and the following year acted alongside Branagh in his stage productions of ‘A Midsummer Night's Dream’ and ‘King Lear’.
- // 1989 To 1995Thompson married actor-director Kenneth Branagh in 1989. However, the couple got separated in 1995
- // 1991She received great critical acclaim for her supporting role as Duchess D'Antan in the 1991 film, ‘Impromptu’, depicting the life of novelist George Sand. She was cast alongside Judy Davis and Hugh Grant in the film.
- // 1992In 1992, she worked with Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton and Tony Slattery in ‘Peter’s Friends’. Directed by Branagh, it was about a group of Cambridge alumni reunited ten years after graduation.
- // 1993In, ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, a 1993 romantic comedy film based on William Shakespeare's play, directed by Kenneth Branagh who also starred in the film, she played Beatrice which won her great praise from the critics.
- // 1993In the Merchant–Ivory 1993 film, ‘The Remains of the Day’ based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, she starred as Miss Kenton, a housekeeper with Anthony Hopkins as Steven, a butler in interwar Britain.
- // 1993Her sterling performance as the lawyer Gareth Pierce in 1993 film, ‘In the Name of the Father’, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, earned her a second Oscar nomination of the year.
- // 1993Emma Thompson won an Oscar Award in 1993 in the category ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ for the film ‘Howards End’.
- // 1996Thompson won the another Oscar in the category ‘Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published’ for ‘Sense and Sensibility’ in 1996.
- // 1998She won a Primetime Emmy in the category ‘Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series’ for ‘Ellen’ in 1998, for playing herself in the episode, ‘Emma’.
- // 2001In the 2001 HBO film, ‘Wit’, she portrayed a Harvard professor’s struggles after being diagnosed with cervical cancer. Her performance in the film earned her nominations for Golden Globes, Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
- // 2003One of her most commercially successful film was Richard Curtis's romantic comedy ‘Love Actually’, released in 2003. In the film, she portrayed a middle-class wife who suspects her husband, played by Alan Rickman, of infidelity
- // 2003She married actor Greg Wise in 2003 and had a daughter Gaia through IVF treatment and also adopted a Rwandan orphan Tindyebwa.
- // 2009A supporter of ‘Greenpeace’, in 2009, she purchased a land near the village of Sipson with 3 others, to obstruct a proposed third runway for Heathrow Airport.
- // 2013She appeared in the HBO miniseries ‘Angels in America’ and also voiced Queen Elinor in ‘Brave’. In 2013, her performance in ‘Saving Mr. Banks’ earned her great critical acclaim.
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Emma Thompson's FAQ
What is Emma Thompson birthday?
Emma Thompson was born at 1959-04-15
Where is Emma Thompson's birth place?
Emma Thompson was born in Paddington
What is Emma Thompson nationalities?
Emma Thompson's nationalities is British
Who is Emma Thompson spouses?
Emma Thompson's spouses is Kenneth Branagh
Who is Emma Thompson siblings?
Emma Thompson's siblings is Sophie Thompson
Who is Emma Thompson childrens?
Emma Thompson's childrens is Gaia Romilly Wise Tindyebwa Agaba Wise
What was Emma Thompson universities?
Emma Thompson studied at Cambridge University, Beckford Primary School Camden School for Girls Newnham College
What was Emma Thompson notable alumnis?
Emma Thompson's notable alumnis is Cambridge University
What is Emma Thompson's political ideology?
Emma Thompson's political ideology is Labour Party
How tall is Emma Thompson?
Emma Thompson's height is 173
Who is Emma Thompson's father?
Emma Thompson's father is Eric Thompson
Who is Emma Thompson's mother?
Emma Thompson's mother is Phyllida Law
What is Emma Thompson's sun sign?
Emma Thompson is Aries