Emma Thompson Quick Info | |
---|---|
Height | 5 ft 8 in |
Weight | 63 kg |
Date of Birth | April 15, 1959 |
Zodiac Sign | Aries |
Spouse | Greg Wise |
Emma Thompson is a distinguished British actress, voiceover artist, screenwriter, activist, author, and comedienne who is the recipient of numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, three BAFTA Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. She has gained acclaim with her roles like Margaret Schlegel in Howards End, Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, Miss Kenton in The Remains of the Day, Gareth Peirce in In the Name of the Father, Nanny McPhee in Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Karen in Love Actually, P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks, Dr. Rawling in Bridget Jones’s Baby, Frances in The Winter Guest, Dr. Diana Reddin in Junior, Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast, Anna Quangel in Alone in Berlin, Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Vivienne Rook MP in Years and Years, and Professor Sybill Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In the 2018 Queen’s Birthday Honours List, she was honored as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.
Born Name
Emma Thompson
Nick Name
Emma
Sun Sign
Aries
Born Place
Paddington, London, England, United Kingdom
Residence
- West Hampstead, London, England, United Kingdom
- Dunoon, Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Nationality
Education
Emma graduated from Camden School for Girls.
She acquired her father’s love for literature and enrolled at Newnham College, University of Cambridge to study for a degree in English Literature.
Occupation
Actress, Voiceover Artist, Comedienne, Author, Screenwriter, Producer, Activist
Family
- Father – Late Eric Norman Thompson (Expired 1982; Actor, Television Presenter, Producer)
- Mother – Phyllida Ann Law (Actress)
- Siblings – Sophie Thompson (Younger Sister) (Actress)
- Others – George Henry Thompson (Paternal Grandfather), Annie/Anne A. Jackson (Paternal Grandmother), William Ramsay Law (Maternal Grandfather), Megsie/Elizabeth Templeton (Maternal Grandmother), Richard Lumsden (Brother-in-law) (Actor, Musician), Ronald Eyre (Godfather) (Director, Writer), Ernie James Lumsden (Nephew), Walter Eric Lumsden (Nephew)
Manager
She has been signed with –
- Hamilton Hodell, London, England, United Kingdom
- (US Representation) Formerly with William Morris Endeavor (WME), switched to Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in 2016
- PMK*BNC, Public Relations Agency, Los Angeles, California, United States
Build
Slim
Height
5 ft 8 in or 173 cm
Weight
63 kg or 139 lbs
Boyfriend / Spouse
Emma Thompson has dated –
- Hugh Laurie (1978-1982) – Way before they donned their globally famous onscreen characters, Hugh and Emma confessed their mutual attraction while they were studying at Cambridge. Emma explained she found Hugh attractive because he was tall, muscular, and funny and Hugh justified his attraction for Emma owing to her visible talent and charisma. Even though they broke up due to undisclosed reasons, they continue to stay friends and share immense respect for each other’s work.
- Kenneth Branagh (1987-1995) – Emma met Northern Irish actor, Kenneth on the sets of the TV mini-series, Fortunes of War in 1987. Her partnership with the Irish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, spelled great success for her professional life as much as it fulfilled her personally. Her first few acclaimed film performances were directed by her then-husband Kenneth, most notably, Henry V (1989) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993). The two got married in 1989. Their brief period of creativity and happiness was jeopardized by Kenneth’s affair with Helena Bonham Carter on the sets of Frankenstein (1994). There was also news of Emma suffering a miscarriage while she was still married to Kenneth. Heartbroken and depressed after her separation, Emma often joked she had plenty of practice playing the betrayed wife. Now, however, she openly states that any anger, she had for Helena or Kenneth has vanished after so many years as it is pointless to hold long-term grudges.
- Greg Wise (2003–Present) – Emma met actor Greg for the first time on the sets of Sense and Sensibility (1995) when it was being filmed in 1994. She was still married to Kenneth and Greg, 7 years younger than Emma, was a recent drama school graduate who was a bit of a philanderer at that time. Influenced by a fortune teller’s prophecy that Greg would meet his future wife on the sets of Sense and Sensibility, he dated Kate Winslet for a while who was also one of the cast members. Greg’s long-term acquaintance with Emma eventually culminated into a relationship and the two got married in 2003. Another miscarriage suffered by Emma led the couple to plan a child with the help of IVF. Together, they have one daughter named Gaia (b. 1999). Further attempts to have a second child with the help of IVF were unsuccessful. The couple also adopted an orphan from Rwanda in 2003, named Tindyebwa Agaba whom they met at a Refugee Council party when he was 16 years old.
Race / Ethnicity
White
She has an English father and a Scottish mother.
Hair Color
Eye Color
Blue-Green / Dark Green
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Unique Eye Color
- Sharp Nose
- High Cheek Bones
- Bold Voice
Measurements
35-29-37 in or 89-74-94 cm
Dress Size
10 (UK) or 6 (US) or 36 (EU)
Shoe Size
7.5 (UK) or 10 (US) or 40.5 (EU)
Brand Endorsements
Her most high-profile endorsement of a commercial brand was for Marks & Spencer in 2014.
Religion
Brought up Christian in a secular environment, later became Atheist.
Best Known For
- The loveable character of Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (2017).
- Starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dr. Diana Reddin in Junior (1994) which was also her Hollywood Debut.
- Won the Best Actress Oscar for playing Margaret Schlegel in Howards End (1992) opposite Anthony Hopkins.
First Film
She played a nurse named, Kate in The Tall Guy (1989). The movie bombed but Emma won positive reviews for her performance in the New York Times.
First TV Show
Played various characters in 3 episodes of There’s Nothing to Worry About! in 1982 alongside her Footlights colleagues Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
Personal Trainer
- Ever since she hit 40, Emma confessed to a never-ending battle with the bulge. She revealed her hips particularly were a major problem area.
- Emma stays committed to outdoor running, so she may enjoy her daily glass of wine guilt-free and may even take some liberties while having food.
- However, all that cardio made her lose plenty of muscle which played havoc with her metabolism and this is where the famous British Fitness Guru, Louise Parker stepped in to help her out.
- Towards the end of 2016, Emma enrolled in a 6-week transformation program with the fitness consultant, famously known as ‘figure magician’, worth £4,500 and helped her drop from a size 14 (UK) to 10 (UK).
- As frequently revealed in her interviews and cookbook, Louise does not recommend extreme diets or deprivation in any way. She breaks down the fundamentals of a clean and healthy lifestyle for all her clients so that it becomes easy for them to sustain the newfound habits for the rest of their life.
- Louise’s program called The Method promotes quality sleep, a balanced diet, intelligent exercise, and a positive mind to attain a successful transformation.
- Exercise includes six, 90-minute workout sessions a week at the clinic which particularly incorporates weight training and strengthening.
- Her diet makes allowance for bacon sandwiches, cheese, steak burgers, and even wine, but focuses on portion control and harmful elements to avoid such as refined sugar.
Emma Thompson Favorite Things
- Drink – Wine
- Recipe – Yorkshire pudding
- Shakespeare Play – King Lear
- Childhood Books – The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken, The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner, The Box of Delights by John Masefield, and The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris by Leon Garfield
- Fictional Childhood Hero – Sherlock Holmes
- Comic Character – Asterix
- Literary Adaptation – Remains of the Day by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
- Literary Character – Barnaby Rudge
- Movie Based on a Book – The Social Network (2010)
- Literary Genre – Western
- Movies – Babe (1995), The Princess Bride (1987), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Mary Poppins (1964), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Life of Brian (1979), Fanny and Alexander (1982), Young Frankenstein (1974), Being John Malkovich (1999), The Singing Ringing Tree (1957)
Source – Decanter, Good Housekeeping, NY Times, Indie Wire, The Daily Beast
Emma Thompson Facts
- Emma claims she was mistakenly conceived by her parents and was brought up in an exciting, secular household of penniless actors who were constantly between jobs and were not overwhelmed by fame.
- She suffered abuse at the age of 8 by a middle-aged magician, her parents brought home for her birthday party. The man took her aside with a pretext to offer her a sweet and kissed her on her mouth. That incident makes Emma worry about present-day children and teens.
- Along with ex-husband Kenneth Branagh, she starred in a theater production, Look Back in Anger (1989) directed by Judi Dench.
- Emma was initially offered to play the lead in Basic Instinct (1992), the iconic role that eventually went to Sharon Stone.
- She battled depression for a long time and lived in isolation after a very public divorce from her first husband. Throwing herself into work and her friendship with Greg Wise saved her.
- She loves writing fan letters to other actors and directors as a way to show appreciation for their work. She wrote to Daniel Day-Lewis after watching Lincoln (2012) and to Bruce Willis after seeing Fifth Element (1997).
- She is the first person who has ever won an Oscar for both Acting and Screenplay Writing.
- After playing a cancer patient in Wit (2001), Emma kept a buzz cut hairstyle for quite a few months because, her husband, Greg loved it.
- Emma wrote two children’s books, The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit (2012), a New York Times Best Seller, and The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit (2013) connected to the storyline of more than a century-old children’s book The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1901).
- She took up a role alongside Pierce Brosnan in The Love Punch (2013) to upgrade her image as everybody in Hollywood started thinking of her as a haggard old woman after seeing her as Nanny McPhee.
- After reading the book, The Madwoman in the Attic (1979), she became a self-proclaimed feminist with short hair dyed red who drove around on a Honda 250 motorcycle to make a statement.
- She is the first female member of Footlights, the prestigious Cambridge Comedy troupe. She became the group’s Vice-President in 1980.
- In 1994, she received two acting Oscar nominations – Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Remains of the Day, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for In the Name of the Father. Very few celebrities have achieved this feat.
- She provided vocals to the character of Polynesia (“Poly” for short), a wise and brave blue and yellow macaw and Dolittle’s most trusted adviser, in the 2020 American fantasy adventure film, Dolittle (also referred to as The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle).
- She is radically against social media and has no online presence.