Emma Thompson
Acting
Biography
Dame Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and her accolades include two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, she was made a dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to drama. Born to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe and appeared in the comedy sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in the West End revival of the musical Me and My Girl, which was a breakthrough in her career. In 1987, she became famous for her performances in two BBC series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work on both series. In the early 1990s, she often collaborated with then-husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh in films such as Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). Thompson won the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Merchant-Ivory period drama Howards End (1992). In 1993, she received two Academy Award nominations—Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of the housekeeper of a grand household in The Remains of the Day and a lawyer in In the Name of the Father, becoming one of the few actors to achieve this feat. Thompson wrote and starred in Sense and Sensibility (1995), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay—making her the only person in history to win Oscars for both acting and writing—and once again won the BAFTA. Further critical acclaim came for her roles in Primary Colors (1998), Love Actually (2003), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Late Night (2019), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022). Other notable film credits include the Harry Potter series (2004–2011), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), An Education (2009), Men in Black 3 (2012) and the spin-off Men in Black: International (2019), Brave (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cruella (2021), and Matilda the Musical (2022). Her television credits include Wit (2001), Angels in America (2003), The Song of Lunch (2010), King Lear (2018) and Years and Years (2019). She portrayed Mrs. Lovett in a Lincoln Center production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in 2014. Authorised by the publishers of Beatrix Potter, Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit children's books.
Born: April 15, 1959
Place of Birth: Paddington, London, England, UK
Known For
Filmography
as Zoë Boehm
as Barb
as Dr. Rawlings
as Self
as Cath Stevenson
as Agatha Trunchbull
as Self
as Nancy Stokes
as Lady Marcham
as Narrator
as Self
as The Baroness
as Self (archive footage)
as Amanda
as Poly (voice)
as Petra Andrich
as Self
as Agent O
as Vivienne Rook
as Dora the Yeti Elder (voice)
as Katherine Newbury
as Prime Minister
as Self (archive footage)
as Narrator (voice)
as Fiona Maye
as Goneril
as Self
as Maureen Meyerowitz
as Mrs. Potts
as Elle-Même
as Narrator (voice)
as Dr Rawlings
as Anna Quangel
as Narrator (voice)
as Dr. Rosshilde
as Catherine Bryson
as Cemolina
as Narrator (voice)
as Mrs. Lovett
as Lady Eastlake
as Self
as Self
as Kate Jones
as P.L. Travers
as Mrs. Lincoln / Sarafine Duchannes
as Elinor (voice)
as The Queen
as Agent O
as Self
as Self
as Sybill Trelawney
as Self
as She
as Nanny McPhee
as Headmistress
as Charlotte
as Kate Walker
as Lady Marchmain
as Dr. Alice Krippin
as Self
as Sybill Trelawney
as Self
as Self - Guest
as Karen Eiffel
as Self (archive footage)
as Nanny McPhee
as Self (archive footage)
as Sybill Trelawney
as Nurse Emily / Homeless Woman / The Angel
as Cecilia Rueda
as Self
as Self
as Karen
as Captain Amelia (voice)
as self
as Self
as Self - Guest
as Vivian Bearing
as Druscilla
as Self
as FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins
as Susan Stanton
as Self
as Frances
as Self
as Self - Guest
as Elephant Woman
as Elinor Dashwood
as Dora Carrington
as Dr. Diana Reddin
as Marie Bonnar
as Emma Thompson
as Isabel (uncredited)
as Gareth Peirce
as Miss Kenton
as Self - Guest
as Beatrice
as Self
as Maggie Chester
as Margaret Schlegel
as Margaret Strauss / Grace
as Duchess D'Antan
as Alison Porter
as Katherine
as Kate
as Self - Guest
as Harriet Pringle
as Suzi Kettles
as Young Woman
as Jackie Meld / Various Roles
as Various
as Miss Money-Sterling
as Young Woman
as Various
as Nanny Gee
as various
as Self
as Self - Host
as Self