Kristin Scott Thomas facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dame Kristin Scott Thomas DBE
Scott Thomas in 2017
Born	Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (1960-05-24) 24 May 1960 (age 65) Redruth, Cornwall, England
Citizenship	United Kingdom • France
Alma mater	Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	François Olivennes ​ ​ (m. 1987; div. 2005)​ John Micklethwait ​ (m. 2024)​
Children	3
Relatives	Serena Scott Thomas (sister)

Dame Kristin Ann Scott Thomas (born on May 24, 1960) is a famous British actress. She has been nominated five times for a BAFTA Award and an Olivier Award. She won a BAFTA Award for her role in the movie Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). In 2008, she won an Olivier Award for her acting in the play The Seagull. She was also nominated for an Oscar for her part in The English Patient (1996).

Kristin Scott Thomas first appeared in a film called Under the Cherry Moon (1986). She won an award for being a promising new actress for her role in A Handful of Dust (1988). Her other well-known films include Mission: Impossible (1996), The Horse Whisperer (1998), and Gosford Park (2001). She won the European Film Award for Best Actress for I've Loved You So Long (2008). More recently, she appeared in Darkest Hour (2017) and Tomb Raider (2018). On television, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role in Fleabag (2019). Since 2022, she has starred in the spy series Slow Horses on Apple TV+.

She has received special honors for her work in drama. In 2003, she was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In 2015, she became a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE). The French government also honored her in 2005, naming her a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur.

Kristin's Early Life and Family

Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, a town in Cornwall, England. Her mother, Deborah, grew up in Hong Kong and Africa. Kristin's father, Simon Scott Thomas, was a pilot in the Royal Navy. Sadly, he died in a flying accident when Kristin was only five years old.

She has three siblings, including her sister Serena Scott Thomas, who is also an actress. Kristin is also related to some important people in history. Her uncle was Admiral Sir Richard Thomas. Her great-great-niece is the famous polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

Kristin's childhood home was in Trent, near Sherborne, Dorset. Her mother later married another Royal Navy pilot, Simon Idiens. He also died in a flying accident in 1972. Kristin went to school at Cheltenham Ladies' College and St Antony's Leweston.

Starting Her Acting Journey

After finishing school in 1978, Kristin moved to London and worked in a department store. She then started training to become a drama teacher at the Central School of Speech and Drama. However, she really wanted to act. After a year, she moved to Paris, France, to work as an au pair. She also studied acting at a special school called the École Nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre [fr] (ENSATT). When she was 25, she got her first film role in Under the Cherry Moon (1986).

Kristin's Acting Career

Kristin Scott Thomas at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival

Kristin Scott Thomas first gained attention for her role in Under the Cherry Moon in 1986. This film was directed by and starred the musician Prince. Her big break came when she played Brenda Last in A Handful of Dust (1988). This role earned her an award for being a promising new talent.

She then starred with Hugh Grant in Bitter Moon and Four Weddings and a Funeral. For Four Weddings and a Funeral, she won a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1994, she acted in a Romanian-French film called An Unforgettable Summer. She played Marie-Thérèse Von Debretsy. She learned her lines phonetically, meaning she copied the sounds without fully knowing the language. She had the lines translated into French, which she speaks fluently, so she understood what she was saying. She has said this film is one of the ones she is most proud of.

Becoming a Star in Hollywood

In the 1996 film The English Patient, Kristin played Katharine Clifton. This role brought her nominations for a Golden Globe and an Oscar. She also received great praise from critics. After this, she worked in Hollywood on films like The Horse Whisperer with Robert Redford. She also starred in Random Hearts with Harrison Ford.

However, she became less interested in working in Hollywood. She took a year off to have her third child.

Return to Stage and French Films

Kristin returned to the stage in 2003. She played the main role in a French play called Bérénice. She also appeared in the film Gosford Park as Lady Sylvia McCordle. This marked the start of a very successful second career in theatre. She has been nominated four times for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. She won one of these awards for her role as Arkadina in The Seagull in London. She played this role again in New York in 2008.

Kristin has also acted in many French films. In 2006, she played Hélène in Tell No One. In 2008, she received many awards for her performance in I've Loved You So Long. This included nominations for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. In 2009, she played a wife who leaves her husband in the film Leaving.

In Sarah's Key (2010), Kristin played an American journalist in Paris. Her character discovers that the apartment her husband is renovating used to belong to a Jewish family who were forced to leave during World War II. Other roles include playing Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond, the mother of Henry VIII's second wife Anne, in The Other Boleyn Girl (2008). She also played a fashion magazine editor in Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009).

More recently, she was in The Woman in the Fifth (2011) and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011). In 2013, she starred in Only God Forgives. In 2017, she was nominated for another BAFTA Award for her role as Clementine Churchill in Darkest Hour.

In 2020, Kristin Scott Thomas played Mrs. Danvers in the film Rebecca. She also appeared in the BBC TV series Talking Heads. In April 2022, she began starring as Diana Taverner in the British spy thriller series Slow Horses. This series has been very popular and was renewed for a fifth season.

In June 2022, Kristin Scott Thomas started filming her first movie as a director, called My Mother's Wedding. She also wrote the screenplay for this film.

Kristin's Personal Life

Kristin Scott Thomas raised her children in Paris. She has said that sometimes she feels more French than British. As of late 2022, she was living in London.

From 1987 to 2005, she was married to French doctor François Olivennes. They have three children together. In September 2024, Kristin Scott Thomas married John Micklethwait, who is the editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News. They had been together for five years before getting married.

Film Roles

Television Roles

Theatre Performances

Honors and Awards

Kristin Scott Thomas has received several important honors:

• She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2014. Before that, she was an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2003.
• The French government made her a Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honour in 2005.

See also

In Spanish: Kristin Scott Thomas para niños