Emma Thompson

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Emma Thompson

Thompson at the Nanny McPhee London premiere, 2005
Born April 15, 1959 (1959-04-15) (age 49)
Paddington, London, England
Spouse(s) Kenneth Branagh (1989-1995)
Greg Wise (2003-present)

Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959) is an English actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is also a patron of the Refugee Council. She is a two-time Academy Award-winner, and has been nominated for the Emmy, BAFTA, and Golden Globe awards.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Thompson was born in Paddington, London, England. Her father, Eric Thompson, was an actor known for narrating the English version of the French children's TV series The Magic Roundabout. Her mother, Phyllida Law, is a Scottish actress. Thompson's younger sister is actress Sophie Thompson. Thompson has spent part of her life in Scotland and has stated that she "feel[s] Scottish".[1]

Thompson went to Camden School for Girls and then studied English at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she was a member (along with fellow actors Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, and Tony Slattery) and vice-president of the University's theatrical club, the Footlights. Her acting talent was so impressive that agent Richard Armitage signed her to a contract while she was still 2 years away from graduation. In 1982, Emma completed her education at Cambridge with her degree. Soon after that, she came to fame with a leading role in the West End revival of the musical Me and My Girl, opposite Robert Lindsay, followed by the BBC serial drama, Fortunes of War.

[edit] Acting career

Thompson's first major film role was in a romantic comedy, The Tall Guy. Her career took a more serious turn with a series of critically acclaimed performances and films, beginning with 1992's Howards End (for which she received an Oscar for Best Actress); the part of Gareth Peirce, the lawyer for the Guildford Four, in In the Name of the Father; The Remains of the Day opposite Anthony Hopkins; and as the British painter Dora Carrington in the film Carrington. She won her next Oscar in 1996, for Best Adapted Screenplay for her screenplay adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, a film in which she also played the Oscar-nominated lead actress role. She has said that she keeps both of her award statues in her downstairs bathroom, citing embarrassment at placing them in a more prominent place.[citation needed]

One of Thompson's earliest television appearances was in 1984 alongside Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie as guest stars on the sitcom The Young Ones. In 1988, she starred in and wrote the eponymous Thompson comedy sketch series for BBC1; the series was not successful with audiences or critics. Described in Time Out magazine as "very clever-little-me-ish",[citation needed] it has never been repeated in Britain despite her Oscar successes, and Thompson has not returned to the sketch comedy field.

Thompson's recent television work has included a starring role in the 2001 HBO drama Wit, in which she played a dying cancer victim, and 2003's Angels in America, playing multiple roles, including one of the titular angels. Her Emmy Award was as a guest star in a 1997 episode of the show Ellen; in the episode, she played a fictionalised parody of herself: a closeted lesbian more concerned with the media finding out she's actually American. She also appeared in an episode of Cheers in 1992 titled "One Hugs, the Other Doesn't". Her character, Nanette Gooseman, aka "Nanny Gee", was a children's entertainer and Frasier Crane's first wife.

Thompson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Thompson in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Most recently, Thompson appeared in supporting roles in films of a lighter nature, including her role as Sybill Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. She has also appeared in the comedy Love Actually.

The film Nanny McPhee, written by Thompson, was first released in October 2005. Thompson worked on the project for nine years, having written the screenplay and starred, alongside her mother (who has a cameo appearance). In the film Stranger Than Fiction she plays an author planning on killing her main character, Harold Crick, who turns out to be a real person. Most recently, Emma Thompson made a short uncredited cameo as a doctor introducing the cure for cancer in the form of measles in the latest film adaptation for I Am Legend.

[edit] Personal life

While she was at Cambridge University, Thompson had a romantic relationship with her fellow student, actor Hugh Laurie, who was also a member of the Cambridge Footlights Revue.

Thompson married Kenneth Branagh, with whom she appeared in Fortunes of War, on August 20, 1989. They appeared together several times, in hit films such as Dead Again, Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing, but were eventually divorced in October 1995.

In 2003, Thompson married actor Greg Wise (who starred with her in Sense and Sensibility) with whom she has a daughter, Gaia Romilly, born in 1999. In 2003, Thompson and Wise informally adopted a 16-year-old Rwandan refugee named Tindyebwa Agaba. They are currently fighting his deportation back to Rwanda where it is thought all his family were killed in the genocide.[2]

[edit] Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
1987 Tutti Frutti Suzi Kettles Cult BBC TV Series starring Emma and Robbie Coltrane bringing both to national prominence. Written by John Byrne
Fortunes of War Harriet Pringle BAFTA winner for best actress (jointly with work on Tutti Frutti)
1989 Henry V Catherine of Valois
1990 The Tall Guy Kate Lemmon
1991 Dead Again Grace/Margaret Strauss
Impromptu Duchess d'antan (Claudette)
1992 Howards End Margaret Schlegel Winner, Academy Award for Best Actress
Peter's Friends Maggie Chester
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Beatrice
The Remains of the Day Miss Kenton Nominated Academy Awards for Best Actress
In the Name of the Father Gareth Peirce Nominated Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress
1994 Junior Dr. Diana Reddin
1995 Carrington Dora Carrington
Sense and Sensibility Elinor Dashwood Winner, Academy Awards for Best Adapted Screenplay, Nominated Academy Awards for Best Actress
1997 The Winter Guest Frances
1998 Primary Colors Susan Stanton
2001 Wit Vivian Bearing Television movie Nominated for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
2002 Treasure Planet Captain Amelia Animated Disney film, science fiction version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island
2003 Imagining Argentina Cecilia
Love Actually Karen
Angels in America (miniseries) Nurse Emily/the Homeless Woman/the Angel America
2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Professor Sybill Trelawney
2005 Nanny McPhee Nanny McPhee Script Writer
2006 Stranger than Fiction Karen Eiffel
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Professor Sybill Trelawney
2007 I Am Legend Dr. Alice Krippin Uncredited Cameo
2008 Brideshead Revisited Lady Marchmain awaiting release
Last Chance Harvey Kate post-production
An Education TBA post-production

[edit] Awards

    • Academy Awards
    • Emmy Awards
    • 1998 - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series - Ellen
    • 2001 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie - Wit
    • 2004 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie - Angels in America
    • SAG Awards
    • Golden Globe Awards
    • 1993 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama - Howards End
    • 1994 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama - The Remains of the Day
    • 1994 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama - In the Name of the Father
    • 1995 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Junior
    • 1996 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Drama - Sense and Sensibility
    • 2002 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television - Wit
    • BAFTA Awards

[edit] Selected Theatre credits

[edit] Further reading

[edit] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ Rick Fulton (October 12, 2005). It's nanny McMe. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  2. ^ Alison Boshoff (March 7, 2008). The young refugee who was adopted by a famous actress. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
Simon McBurney		 Footlights Vice President
1980–1981		 Succeeded by
Will Osborne
Awards
Preceded by
Jodie Foster
for The Silence of the Lambs		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1992
for Howards End		 Succeeded by
Holly Hunter
for The Piano
Preceded by
Jodie Foster
for The Silence of the Lambs		 NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1992
for Howards End		 Succeeded by
Holly Hunter
for The Piano
Preceded by
Eric Roth
for Forrest Gump		 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
1995
for Sense and Sensibility		 Succeeded by
Billy Bob Thornton
for Sling Blade
Preceded by
Susan Sarandon
for The Client		 BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1996
for Sense and Sensibility		 Succeeded by
Brenda Blethyn
for Secrets & Lies
v • d • e
Academy Award for Best Actress

Katharine Hepburn (1981) · Meryl Streep (1982) · Shirley MacLaine (1983) · Sally Field (1984) · Geraldine Page (1985) · Marlee Matlin (1986) · Cher (1987) · Jodie Foster (1988) · Jessica Tandy (1989) · Kathy Bates (1990) · Jodie Foster (1991) · Emma Thompson (1992) · Holly Hunter (1993) · Jessica Lange (1994) · Susan Sarandon (1995) · Frances McDormand (1996) · Helen Hunt (1997) · Gwyneth Paltrow (1998) · Hilary Swank (1999) · Julia Roberts (2000)

Complete list · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001-present)
v • d • e
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series

Cloris Leachman (1975) · Beah Richards (1988) · Colleen Dewhurst (1989) · Swoosie Kurtz (1990) · Colleen Dewhurst (1991) · Tracey Ullman (1993) · Eileen Heckart (1994) · Cyndi Lauper (1995) · Betty White (1996) · Carol Burnett (1997) · Emma Thompson (1998) · Tracey Ullman (1999) · Jean Smart (2000)
Persondata
NAME Thompson, Emma
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress, screenwriter
DATE OF BIRTH April 15, 1959
PLACE OF BIRTH London, England
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH