Emma Thompson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Emma Thompson
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Thompson in 2022
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| Born | 15 April 1959 London, UK
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| Alma mater | Newnham College, Cambridge |
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| Years active | 1982–present |
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Works
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Full list |
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| Children | 2 |
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| Relatives | Sophie Thompson (sister) |
| Awards | Full list |
Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a famous British actress and writer. She has had an amazing career for over 40 years! She has won many important awards, including two Academy Awards (also known as Oscars), three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, Queen Elizabeth II made her a Dame (which is like being knighted for women) because of her great work in acting.
Emma Thompson was born into a family of actors. Her parents were Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law. She went to Newnham College, Cambridge for her education. There, she joined a comedy group called Footlights. She also appeared in a TV comedy show called Alfresco (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in a musical called Me and My Girl in London's West End, which helped her become well-known.
In 1987, Emma Thompson became even more famous for her roles in two BBC TV series: Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War. She won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for these shows. In the early 1990s, she often worked with her husband at the time, Kenneth Branagh. They made films together like Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993).
Emma Thompson won an Oscar for Best Actress for her role in the movie Howards End (1992). In 1993, she was nominated for two Oscars in the same year for The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father. This is a very rare achievement! She also wrote and starred in Sense and Sensibility (1995). For this, she won an Oscar for Best Screenplay, making her the only person ever to win Oscars for both acting and writing! She also won another BAFTA for this film. She has also been praised for her roles in films like Primary Colors (1998), Love Actually (2003), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Late Night (2019), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022).
Her other famous movies include the Harry Potter series (where she played Professor Trelawney from 2004–2011), Nanny McPhee (2005), Men in Black 3 (2012), Brave (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cruella (2021), and Matilda the Musical (2022). She has also appeared in many TV shows, including Wit (2001) and Years and Years (2019). In 2014, she performed in the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street on stage. Emma Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit children's books, which were approved by the original author's publishers.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Emma Thompson was born in London on April 15, 1959. Her mother, Phyllida Law, was a Scottish actress. Her father, Eric Thompson, was an English actor. He was famous for writing and narrating the children's TV show The Magic Roundabout. Emma's godfather was the director Ronald Eyre. Her younger sister, Sophie Thompson, is also an actress. The family lived in West Hampstead, London. Emma went to Camden School for Girls. She spent a lot of time in Scotland when she was a child.
When she was young, Emma loved language and books. She said her father shared this love with her. After doing well in her exams, she went to Newnham College, Cambridge in 1977 to study English. Emma felt it was natural for her to become an actor because she was "surrounded by creative people." At Cambridge, she had a very important moment that led her to acting and feminism. She read a book called The Madwoman in the Attic. This book was about women writers from the Victorian era and how they expressed themselves. Emma said this book "completely changed my life." She became a "punk rocker" with short red hair and wanted to be a comedian.
At Cambridge, Emma was invited to join the Cambridge Footlights. This is a famous university comedy group. She was the first female member! Other members included Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie. In 1980, Emma became the Vice President of Footlights. She also helped direct the group's first all-female show, Woman's Hour. In 1981, her Footlights team won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for their show The Cellar Tapes. She finished her degree with good grades.
Career Highlights
Early Work and Breakthrough
Emma Thompson's first professional acting job was in 1982. She toured in a stage show based on Not the Nine O'Clock News. Then, she started working in television. Many of her early TV roles were with her Footlights friends, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. They appeared in shows like There's Nothing To Worry About! (1982) and Alfresco (1983–84). She also worked with Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie on a radio show called Saturday Night Fry (1988).
In 1985, Emma starred in the musical Me and My Girl in London. This role was a big step forward in her career. The show received great reviews. Later that year, she wrote and starred in her own TV special for Channel 4, called Emma Thompson: Up for Grabs.
In 1987, Emma became very well-known. She had main roles in two TV miniseries. One was Fortunes of War, a World War II drama with Kenneth Branagh. The other was Tutti Frutti, a comedy about a Scottish rock band. She won a British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for these roles. In 1989, she and Kenneth Branagh starred in a play called Look Back in Anger. They also appeared in a TV version of the play.
Emma's first movie was the romantic comedy The Tall Guy (1989). She played a nurse who falls in love with an actor. Critics praised her performance. Next, she played Princess Katherine in Kenneth Branagh's film Henry V (1989). This film was very popular with critics.
Worldwide Recognition
Emma Thompson and Kenneth Branagh were seen as important figures in British cinema in the 1990s. She continued to act in Shakespeare plays with Branagh, including A Midsummer Night's Dream and King Lear. In 1991, she appeared in the film Impromptu and was nominated for an award. Her next film was Dead Again (1991), also with Branagh. In 1992, she had a guest role in the TV show Cheers.
A major moment in Emma's career was when she starred in Howards End (1992). She played an intelligent woman who connects with a wealthy family in Edwardian England. Critics loved her performance. The film was a big success and received nine Academy Award nominations. Emma won the Oscar for Best Actress, a Golden Globe, and a BAFTA for her role. This made her an international success very quickly.
For her next two films, Emma worked with Branagh again. In Peter's Friends (1992), they played Cambridge friends who reunite. She then starred in Branagh's film Much Ado About Nothing (1993). She played Beatrice, and critics praised her chemistry with Branagh.
Emma then worked with the same team again for The Remains of the Day (1993). This film was about a housekeeper and a butler in Britain between the World Wars. Emma found this film to be one of the best experiences of her career. The film was very successful and received eight Oscar nominations, including one for Emma as Best Actress.
At the 66th Academy Awards, Emma was nominated for two Oscars in the same year. She was nominated for Best Actress for The Remains of the Day and for Best Supporting Actress for In the Name of the Father (1993). In this film, she played a lawyer. This was a rare achievement for an actor.
Sense and Sensibility and Beyond
In 1994, Emma Thompson made her Hollywood debut in Junior, a comedy with Arnold Schwarzenegger. She then starred in Carrington, playing an artist.
Emma's success continued with Sense and Sensibility (1995). This film was based on a novel by Jane Austen. Emma, who loved Austen's work, spent five years writing the screenplay. She also played the main role of Elinor Dashwood. The film was directed by Ang Lee and also starred Kate Winslet. It was a big hit and received great reviews. Emma won an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, becoming the only person to win Oscars for both acting and writing. She also won another BAFTA Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay.
After a break in 1996, Emma returned in 1997 with The Winter Guest, directed by Alan Rickman. In this film, Emma and her real-life mother, Phyllida Law, played mother and daughter. She also appeared in an episode of the TV show Ellen and won an Emmy Award for it.
In 1998, Emma starred with John Travolta in Primary Colors. They played a couple based on Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. Critics liked the film. Emma turned down many offers from Hollywood because she preferred living in London. She also felt tired and took a year off from films.
Continued Screen Work
When Emma became a mother in 1999, she decided to work less. Many of her roles after this were supporting parts. In 2000, she had a small role in the British comedy Maybe Baby.
For the HBO TV film Wit (2001), Emma took the lead role. She felt it was "one of the best scripts." She played a university professor with ovarian cancer. Emma was very involved in making this film and even shaved her head for the role. Critics praised her performance, calling it "one of her most brilliant." She was nominated for several awards for this role.
In 2002, Emma voiced Captain Amelia in Disney's animated film Treasure Planet. The next year, she had a big commercial success with Richard Curtis's romantic comedy Love Actually. She played a wife who finds out her husband has been unfaithful. Her emotional performance was highly praised. She was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.
Emma also had supporting roles in Imagining Argentina (2003) and the HBO miniseries Angels in America (2003). In Angels in America, she played three different roles and was nominated for another Emmy Award. In 2004, she joined the Harry Potter film series as the quirky Divination teacher, Sybill Trelawney, in Prisoner of Azkaban. She played this role again in Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011). She said working on Harry Potter was "great fun."
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In 2005, Emma released Nanny McPhee, a project she had worked on for nine years. She wrote the screenplay, based on the Nurse Matilda stories she read as a child. She also played the main role of Nanny McPhee. The film was a success, earning $122 million worldwide.
In 2006, Emma appeared in the comedy–drama Stranger than Fiction. She played a novelist whose character comes to life. In 2008, she played Lady Marchmain in a film version of Brideshead Revisited. Critics often noted that Emma's performances stood out even in films that weren't as popular.
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Emma received more praise for her role in Last Chance Harvey (2008). She and Dustin Hoffman played two lonely people who start a relationship. Both actors were nominated for Golden Globe awards. In 2009, Emma had small roles in An Education and The Boat That Rocked.
In 2010, Emma returned as Nanny McPhee in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. She also wrote the screenplay for this sequel. It was another success at the UK box office. The same year, she reunited with Alan Rickman for the BBC TV film The Song of Lunch. She earned her fourth Emmy nomination for this role.
Blockbuster Films and Recent Work
In 2012, Emma Thompson appeared in the big-budget Hollywood film Men in Black 3. She played the head Agent O. This film earned $624 million worldwide, making it one of her highest-grossing films outside of Harry Potter. She also voiced Queen Elinor in the Pixar animated film Brave. In 2012, she played Queen Elizabeth II in a TV episode of Playhouse Presents.
In 2013, Emma starred as P. L. Travers, the author of Mary Poppins, in the film Saving Mr. Banks. Tom Hanks played Walt Disney. Emma found this role very challenging but also joyful. Critics loved her performance, calling it "her best performance in years." She was nominated for many awards for this role.
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In 2013, Emma also starred in the romantic comedy The Love Punch. In March 2014, she performed on stage for the first time in 24 years in the musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in New York. Her performance was highly praised. She received her sixth Primetime Emmy Award nomination for the televised performance. In 2014, she narrated the film Men, Women & Children.
In 2015, Emma's film A Walk in the Woods was released. She also starred in The Legend of Barney Thomson and had a supporting role in Burnt. In 2016, she starred in the World War II drama Alone in Berlin. She also helped write the screenplay for Bridget Jones's Baby and appeared in the film as a doctor.
In 2017, Emma Thompson played Mrs. Potts in Disney's live-action film Beauty and the Beast. The film was a huge success, earning $1.2 billion worldwide. She also appeared in The Meyerowitz Stories and The Children Act. In 2018, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contributions to drama. She also starred as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in Johnny English Strikes Again.
In 2019, Emma starred in the comedy-drama Late Night. She played a popular TV host. Critics praised her performance, and she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical. The same year, she voiced the Yeti Elder in Missing Link. She also returned as Agent O in Men in Black: International. She co-produced and co-starred in the romantic comedy Last Christmas, which she also co-wrote with her husband, Greg Wise.
In 2021, Emma Thompson starred as the villainous Baroness in Disney's live-action film Cruella. Critics praised her performance. In 2022, she played the strict headmistress Miss Trunchbull in the film version of Matilda the Musical. Critics called her portrayal of Trunchbull "a deranged villain to remember." Also in 2022, she starred in the romantic comedy What's Love Got to Do with It?
Writing Career
In 2012, Emma Thompson wrote The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit. This was an addition to the famous Peter Rabbit series by Beatrix Potter. It was the first new Peter Rabbit story approved by the publishers since 1930. The book takes Peter Rabbit to Scotland. It became a New York Times Best Seller. In 2013, Emma wrote a second book in the series called The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit. A third book, The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit, was released in 2014.
Other Work
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In 2014, Emma Thompson was part of a marketing campaign for the British retailer Marks & Spencer. She was featured alongside other influential British women.
Awards and Achievements
Emma Thompson has won two Academy Awards. One was for Best Actress in Howards End (1992). The other was for Best Adapted Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility (1995). She has also won 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.
Personal Life
Emma Thompson feels a strong connection to Scotland. She says she is "half Scottish" and has spent half her life there. She often visits Scotland and owns a home near Loch Eck.
Family Life
Emma Thompson's first husband was actor and director Kenneth Branagh. They met in 1987 while filming Fortunes of War. They married in 1989 and worked together on several films. Their relationship was often talked about in the British media. They separated in 1995.
While filming Sense and Sensibility in 1995, Emma began a relationship with her co-star Greg Wise. She said that work and Greg helped her through a difficult time. Emma and Greg have a daughter named Gaia. She was born when Emma was 39.
Emma and Greg married in Scotland in 2003. They live in West Hampstead, London, on the same street where Emma grew up. Also in 2003, Emma and Greg informally adopted a young man from Rwanda named Tindyebwa Agaba. He was a former child soldier. They met him at an event for refugees. Emma invited him to spend Christmas with them, and he slowly became part of their family. Agaba became a British citizen in 2009.
In 2020, Emma Thompson and Greg Wise became honorary citizens of Venice, Italy. They bought a house there and plan to live in Italy permanently, but they still have their home in London.
Views and Activism
Emma Thompson is politically liberal and supports the Labour Party in the UK. She has been a member of the party for a long time. She has also supported the Women's Equality Party.
Emma has been a campaigner since she was young. She often speaks out about important issues. She believes that people, especially women with a public voice, need to speak up loudly for what they believe in.
She is very active in human rights work. She is the chair of the Helen Bamber Foundation, which helps victims of torture. She also supports the Refugee Council. In 2017, she marched to support Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British charity worker held in Iran. She is also a supporter of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2009, Time magazine called her a "European Hero" for her work to help people with AIDS in Africa.
Emma Thompson is also very active in protecting the environment. She supports Greenpeace. In 2009, she and other Greenpeace members bought land near Heathrow Airport to stop a new runway from being built. In 2014, Emma and her daughter, Gaia, went on a Greenpeace trip to the Arctic. They wanted to raise awareness about the dangers of drilling for oil there. In 2019, she supported the Extinction Rebellion rally in London against climate change. She is also an ambassador for the Galapagos Conservation Trust.
In 2010, Emma Thompson talked about how people use "sloppy language." She said that using words like "likes" and "innits" can make people sound less intelligent. She believes it's important to use proper language in formal situations.
Images for kids
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Thompson in 2022
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ADC Theatre, University of Cambridge, where Thompson began performing with Footlights
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Kenneth Branagh, Thompson's first husband, with whom she worked early in her career
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Anthony Hopkins starred with Thompson in Howards End (1992) and The Remains of the Day (1993)
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Efford House in Holbeton which stood in for Barton Cottage in Sense and Sensibility (1995)]]
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Thompson at the premiere of Nanny McPhee in 2005
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Thompson receiving the Crystal Award at the World Economic Forum in 2008
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Thompson attending the premiere of The Love Punch at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
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Thompson (centre) attending the premiere of The Meyerowitz Stories at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival
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A Boodles client, Thompson at the 2015 launch party for the luxury British jewellers' flagship store in Bond Street, London
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Thompson at the 2014 Climate March in London
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Thompson's husband, Greg Wise, whom she met on the set of Sense and Sensibility
