Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson

Born April 15, 1959 (Age: 67) Paddington, London, England, UK

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.
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.
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Filmography

Everybody to Kenmure Street

Everybody to Kenmure Street

2026 as Van Guy Age: 66
Dead of Winter

Dead of Winter

2025 as Barb Age: 66
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy

2025 as Dr. Rawlings Age: 65
What's Love Got to Do with It?

What's Love Got to Do with It?

2023 as Cath Stevenson Age: 63
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical

Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical

2022 as Agatha Trunchbull Age: 63
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

2022 as Nancy Stokes Age: 63
Cruella

Cruella

2021 as The Baroness Age: 62
Dolittle

Dolittle

2020 as Poly (voice) Age: 60
Last Christmas

Last Christmas

2019 as Petra Andrich Age: 60
Extinction

Extinction

2019 as Age: 60
Hollywood's Dark Secret

Hollywood's Dark Secret

2019 as Self Age: 60
Men in Black: International

Men in Black: International

2019 as Agent O Age: 60
Missing Link

Missing Link

2019 as Dora the Yeti Elder (voice) Age: 59
Late Night

Late Night

2019 as Katherine Newbury Age: 59
Johnny English Strikes Again

Johnny English Strikes Again

2018 as Prime Minister Age: 59
Greenpeace: There's a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom

Greenpeace: There's a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom

2018 as Narrator (voice) Age: 59
The Children Act

The Children Act

2018 as Fiona Maye Age: 59
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)

2017 as Maureen Meyerowitz Age: 58
Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast

2017 as Mrs. Potts Age: 57
No Image

The Doubt Machine: Inside the Koch Brothers' War on Climate Science

2016 as Narrator (voice) Age: 57
Bridget Jones's Baby

Bridget Jones's Baby

2016 as Dr Rawlings Age: 57
Alone in Berlin

Alone in Berlin

2016 as Anna Quangel Age: 56
Burnt

Burnt

2015 as Dr. Rosshilde Age: 56
A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

2015 as Catherine Bryson Age: 56
Men, Women & Children

Men, Women & Children

2014 as Narrator (voice) Age: 55
Effie Gray

Effie Gray

2014 as Lady Eastlake Age: 54
Saving Mr. Banks

Saving Mr. Banks

2013 as P.L. Travers Age: 54
Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

2013 as Mrs. Lincoln / Sarafine Duchannes Age: 53
Brave

Brave

2012 as Elinor (voice) Age: 53
Walking the Dogs

Walking the Dogs

2012 as The Queen Age: 53
Men in Black 3

Men in Black 3

2012 as Agent O Age: 53
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

2011 as Sybill Trelawney Age: 52
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

2010 as Nanny McPhee Age: 50
An Education

An Education

2009 as Headmistress Age: 50
The Boat That Rocked

The Boat That Rocked

2009 as Charlotte Age: 49
No Image

Locating the World of Sense & Sensibility

2009 as Self Age: 49
No Image

A Very Quiet Man

2009 as Self Age: 49
No Image

Elegance & Simplicity: The Wardrobe of Sense & Sensibility

2009 as Self Age: 49
No Image

A Sense of Character

2009 as Self Age: 49
Last Chance Harvey

Last Chance Harvey

2008 as Kate Walker Age: 49
Brideshead Revisited

Brideshead Revisited

2008 as Lady Marchmain Age: 49
I Am Legend

I Am Legend

2007 as Dr. Alice Krippin Age: 48
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007 as Sybill Trelawney Age: 48
Stranger Than Fiction

Stranger Than Fiction

2006 as Karen Eiffel Age: 47
A Tribute To Ismail Merchant

A Tribute To Ismail Merchant

2005 as Self (archive footage) Age: 46
Nanny McPhee

Nanny McPhee

2005 as Nanny McPhee Age: 46
Nos Bastidores de Hollywood

Nos Bastidores de Hollywood

2005 as Self (archive footage) Age: 45
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2004 as Sybill Trelawney Age: 45
Love Actually

Love Actually

2003 as Karen Age: 44
Treasure Planet

Treasure Planet

2002 as Captain Amelia (voice) Age: 43
Maybe Baby

Maybe Baby

2000 as Druscilla Age: 41
Junket Whore

Junket Whore

1998 as Self Age: 39
Judas Kiss

Judas Kiss

1998 as FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins Age: 39
Primary Colors

Primary Colors

1998 as Susan Stanton Age: 38
The Winter Guest

The Winter Guest

1997 as Frances Age: 38
Hospital!

Hospital!

1997 as Elephant Woman Age: 37
Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility

1995 as Elinor Dashwood Age: 36
Junior

Junior

1994 as Dr. Diana Reddin Age: 35
In the Name of the Father

In the Name of the Father

1993 as Gareth Peirce Age: 34
The Remains of the Day

The Remains of the Day

1993 as Miss Kenton Age: 34
Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing

1993 as Beatrice Age: 34
Peter's Friends

Peter's Friends

1992 as Maggie Chester Age: 33
Howards End

Howards End

1992 as Margaret Schlegel Age: 32
No Image

Rabbit Ears - The White Cat

1991 as Narrator (voice) Age: 32
Dead Again

Dead Again

1991 as Margaret Strauss / Grace Age: 32
Impromptu

Impromptu

1991 as Duchess D'Antan Age: 31
Tin Fish

Tin Fish

1990 as Age: 31
Look Back in Anger

Look Back in Anger

1989 as Alison Porter Age: 30
Henry V

Henry V

1989 as Katherine Age: 30
No Image

The Winslow Boy

1989 as Catherine Winslow Age: 30
The Tall Guy

The Tall Guy

1989 as Kate Age: 29
Colleagues From Hell

Colleagues From Hell

1989 as Age: 29
Royal Variety Performance 1984

Royal Variety Performance 1984

1984 as Age: 25
Slags

Slags

1984 as Young Woman Age: 24