Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson
Thompson at the Nanny McPheeLondon premiere, 2005 Born April 15, 1959(1959-04-15) (age 49)
Paddington, London, EnglandSpouse(s) Kenneth Branagh(1989-1995)
Greg Wise(2003-present) Awards won Academy Awards Best Actress
1992 Howards End
Best Adapted Screenplay
1995 Sense and Sensibility BAFTA Awards Best TV Actress
1987 Tutti Frutti ; Fortunes of War
Best Actress
1992 Howards End
1996 Sense and Sensibility Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress - Comedy Series
1998 Ellen Golden Globe Awards Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1993 Howards End
Best Screenplay
1996 Sense and Sensibility

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.

1 Biography
2 Filmography
- 2.1 Awards
3 Selected Theatre credits
4 Further reading
5 References
6 External links

Biography

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.

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

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.

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]

Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes 1987 Tutti FruttiSuzi Kettles Cult BBC TV Series starring Emma and Robbie Coltranebringing both to national prominence. Written by John Byrne Fortunes of WarHarriet Pringle BAFTAwinner for best actress (jointly with work on Tutti Frutti) 1989 Henry V Catherine of Valois 1990 The Tall GuyKate Lemmon 1991 Dead AgainGrace/Margaret Strauss ImpromptuDuchess d'antan (Claudette) 1992 Howards EndMargaret Schlegel Winner, Academy Award for Best Actress Peter's FriendsMaggie Chester 1993 Much Ado About NothingBeatrice The Remains of the DayMiss Kenton Nominated Academy Awardsfor Best Actress In the Name of the Father Gareth PeirceNominated Academy Awardsfor Best Supporting Actress 1994 JuniorDr. Diana Reddin 1995 Carrington Dora Carrington Sense and Sensibility Elinor DashwoodWinner, Academy Awardsfor Best Adapted Screenplay, Nominated Academy Awardsfor Best Actress 1997 The Winter GuestFrances 1998 Primary ColorsSusan Stanton 2001 WitVivian Bearing Television movieNominated for Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries 2002 Treasure PlanetCaptain Amelia Animated Disney film, science fiction version of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island 2003 Imagining ArgentinaCecilia Love ActuallyKaren Angels in America (miniseries)Nurse Emily/the Homeless Woman/the Angel America 2004 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanProfessor Sybill Trelawney 2005 Nanny McPheeNanny McPhee Script Writer 2006 Stranger than FictionKaren Eiffel 2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixProfessor Sybill Trelawney 2007 I Am LegendDr. Alice Krippin Uncredited Cameo 2008 Brideshead RevisitedLady Marchmain awaiting release Last Chance HarveyKate post-production An EducationTBA post-production

Awards

- Academy Awards

- 1992 - Best Actress - Howards End
- 1993 - Best Actress - The Remains of the Day
- 1993 - Best Supporting Actress - In the Name of the Father
- 1995 - Best Actress - Sense and Sensibility
- 1995 - Best Adapted Screenplay - Sense and Sensibility

- 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

- 1993 - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Howards End
- 1994 - Best Actress in a Leading Role - The Remains of the Day
- 1995 - Best Adapted Screenplay - Sense and Sensibility
- 1996 - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Sense and Sensibility
- 2004 - Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Love Actually

Selected Theatre credits

1990 - Played The Fool in Shakespeare's King Lear and Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream - International tour.
1989 - Played Alison in Look Back In Anger by John Osborne - Lyric Shaftesbury, London.
1984/5 - Played Sally in the musical Me and My Girl - Adelphi Theatre, London.
1984 - Wrote and starred in the one woman show Short Vehicle - Edinburgh Festival.
1982 - Appeared in Not The Nine O'Clock News - UK tour.
1982 - Co-wrote and appeared in Beyond the Footlights - Lyric Hammersmith, London.

References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Emma Thompson

^ Rick Fulton (October 12, 2005). It's nanny McMe. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
^ Alison Boshoff (March 7, 2008). The young refugee who was adopted by a famous actress. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.

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 EndSucceeded by
Holly Hunter
for The PianoPreceded by
Jodie Foster
for The Silence of the Lambs NYFCC Award for Best Actress
1992
for Howards EndSucceeded by
Holly Hunter
for The PianoPreceded by
Eric Roth
for Forrest Gump Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
1995
for Sense and SensibilitySucceeded by
Billy Bob Thornton
for Sling BladePreceded by
Susan Sarandon
for The Client BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1996
for Sense and SensibilitySucceeded 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)

Complete list: (1975-2000) · (2001-present)

PersondataNAME Thompson, Emma ALTERNATIVE NAMES SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress, screenwriter DATE OF BIRTH April 15, 1959PLACE OF BIRTH London, EnglandDATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH