Emma Thompson is a British actress, screenwriter, and producer, who has been praised for her performances in various genres of film and television.
She is also an acclaimed writer who has won an Oscar for her adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.
She is one of the few actors who have received multiple nominations for both acting and writing at the Academy Awards. She is also a Dame of the British Empire, a humanitarian activist, and a children’s book author.
Profile
- Full name: Emma Thompson
- Date of birth: April 15, 1959
- Age: 65 years old
- Gender: Female
- Place of birth: Paddington, London, England
- Nationality: British
- Profession: Actor, screenwriter, producer, author
- Height: 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Parents: Eric Thompson (father), Phyllida Law (mother)
- Siblings: Sophie Thompson (sister)
- Spouse: Kenneth Branagh (m. 1989; div. 1995), Greg Wise (m. 2003)
- Children: Gaia Wise (daughter), Tindyebwa Agaba Wise (son)
- Relationship status: Married
- Net worth: $40 million
Early Life & Education
Emma Thompson was born to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law on April 15, 1959, in Paddington, London, England.
She has a sister, Sophie, who is also an actor. She attended Camden School for Girls and Westminster School in London, where she participated in school plays and local theatre productions.
She developed a love for literature and writing and decided to study English at Newnham College, Cambridge. There, she joined the famous comedy troupe, the Cambridge Footlights, becoming its first female member.
She co-directed and performed in several shows with the group, winning the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1981.
She graduated from Cambridge in 1980 with a degree in English Literature and began her professional acting career soon after.
Personal Life
Emma Thompson married Kenneth Branagh, her co-star in several films and stage productions, in 1989.
They were considered a golden couple in British cinema, but their marriage ended in 1995 amid rumours of infidelity. Thompson later revealed that she suffered from depression and infertility during this period.
She met Greg Wise, an actor and producer, on the set of Sense and Sensibility, and they married in 2003.
They have two children: Gaia, their biological daughter, and Tindyebwa, their adopted son from Rwanda.
Thompson and Wise live in West Hampstead, London, and have a holiday home in Scotland. They are involved in various charitable and environmental causes, such as Comic Relief, Greenpeace, and the Refugee Council.
Career
Emma Thompson began her career in the early 1980s, appearing in various television and radio shows, often with her fellow Cambridge Footlights alumni, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.
She had her first breakthrough in 1985, when she starred in the West End revival of the musical Me and My Girl, earning rave reviews and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination.
She also wrote and starred in her own Channel 4 special, Emma Thompson: Up for Grabs. She gained further recognition in 1987 when she starred in two critically acclaimed BBC miniseries: the World War II drama Fortunes of War and the dark comedy Tutti Frutti. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for both performances.
Thompson made her film debut in 1989, playing the lead role in the romantic comedy The Tall Guy opposite Jeff Goldblum.
She also starred as Princess Katherine in Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation of Henry V, which was nominated for several Oscars.
She continued to work with Branagh in the early 1990s, appearing in films such as Dead Again, Peter’s Friends, and Much Ado About Nothing.
She also starred in other notable films, such as Impromptu, The Remains of the Day, and In the Name of the Father, earning multiple awards and nominations for her roles.
In 1995, Thompson achieved her greatest success when she wrote and starred in the film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, directed by Ang Lee.
She won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actress, making her the only person to win Oscars for acting and writing.
She also won the BAFTA and the Golden Globe for her screenplay, and received widespread acclaim for her portrayal of Elinor Dashwood.
She followed this with other successful films, such as Primary Colors, Love Actually, and Saving Mr. Banks, in which she played the author P.L. Travers.
Thompson also appeared in several popular franchises, such as the Harry Potter series, playing the eccentric Professor Sybill Trelawney, and the Nanny McPhee series, which she also wrote and produced.
She also lent her voice to animated films, such as Treasure Planet, Brave, and Beauty and the Beast. She also starred in films such as Stranger than Fiction, An Education, Men in Black 3, and Late Night, showcasing her range and versatility as an actor.
Thompson has also continued to work on television, starring in acclaimed productions such as Wit, Angels in America, The Song of Lunch, King Lear, and Years and Years. She won an Emmy Award for her guest appearance on the sitcom Ellen and was nominated for several other Emmys for her work on TV.
She also portrayed Mrs. Lovett in a Lincoln Center production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 2014, earning a Grammy nomination for the cast album.
Thompson is also an author, having written three children’s books based on the character of Peter Rabbit, created by Beatrix Potter. She has also written essays, articles, and introductions for various publications and books.
Awards
Emma Thompson has won and been nominated for many awards throughout her career, including five Academy Award nominations (winning two), nine Golden Globe Award nominations (winning two), seven BAFTA Award nominations (winning three), and six Emmy Award nominations (winning one).
She has also received honours from film festivals, critics’ associations, and guilds. In 2018, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama.
Some of the notable awards she has won are:
- Academy Award for Best Actress for Howards End (1992)
- Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama for Howards End (1992)
- Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Howards End (1992)
- BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995)
- Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Ellen (1997)
- BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Tutti Frutti (1987)
- BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for Fortunes of War (1987)
Controversy
Emma Thompson has been involved in controversies and criticisms during her career, mostly related to her political and social views. Some of the instances are:
- In 2009, she was accused of hypocrisy for supporting a campaign against a third runway at Heathrow Airport while flying frequently for work and personal travel. She defended herself by saying that she had offset her carbon emissions and was not against flying but against the airport’s expansion.
- In 2014, she sparked outrage among some Scottish nationalists when she said that she would vote for Scotland to remain in the United Kingdom if she had a vote in the independence referendum. She said she loved Scotland but felt more British than anything else. She also joked that she would move to Scotland if it became independent because it would be warmer than England.
- In 2016, she was criticized by some fans of the Harry Potter series for signing a letter in support of the cultural boycott of Israel along with other celebrities. The letter urged the organizers of the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival to cancel the screening of a film based on the life of a gay Israeli soldier.
The letter claimed that Israel was using the festival to divert attention from its human rights violations against Palestinians.
Some fans accused Thompson of being anti-Semitic and betraying the values of the Harry Potter series, which promoted tolerance and diversity.
Social Media
- Instagram handle: @emmathompson
- Twitter handle: @emmathompson90
Filmography
- The Tall Guy
- Henry V
- Dead Again
- Howards End
- The Remains of the Day
- In the Name of the Father
- Much Ado About Nothing
- Junior
- Sense and Sensibility
- Carrington
- The Winter Guest
- Primary Colors
- Judas Kiss
- Maybe Baby
- Wit
- Treasure Planet
- Last Christmas
- Dolittle
- Years and Years
- Cruella
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Books
- The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit
- The Further Adventures of Peter Rabbit
- The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit
- The Lost Words
- Last Christmas: Memories of Christmases Past and Hopes for Future Ones
- The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussy-cat
Net Worth
Various sources show Emma Thompson’s net worth is around $40 million. She has earned most of her wealth from her acting, writing, and producing career, as well as from endorsements and royalties.
She is one of the industry’s highest-paid and most respected actors and has been involved in several lucrative projects.
