EMMA THOMPSON
Name: Emma Thompson
Born: 15 April 1959 London, England
Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959) is an Emmy-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and two
time Academy Award-winning English actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is
also a patron of the Refugee Council.
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".
Thompson went to Camden School for Girls and then studied English at Newnham
College, Cambridge, where she was a member (along with fellow actor Hugh Laurie)
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.
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.
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", 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 her most recent
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.
Name: Emma Thompson
Born: 15 April 1959 London, England
Emma Thompson (born April 15, 1959) is an Emmy-, BAFTA-, Golden Globe- and two
time Academy Award-winning English actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She is
also a patron of the Refugee Council.
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".
Thompson went to Camden School for Girls and then studied English at Newnham
College, Cambridge, where she was a member (along with fellow actor Hugh Laurie)
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.
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.
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", 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 her most recent
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.