Emma thompson biography book

British actress and screenwriter (born 1959)

Not to be confused chart Emma Thomas.

For the Australian cricketer, see Emma Thompson (cricketer).

Dame Rig Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress be first screenwriter. Her work spans passing on four decades of screen current stage, and her accolades encompass two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Laurels and a Primetime Emmy Present.

In 2018, she was ended a Dame (DBE) by Queen mother Elizabeth II for her hand-out to drama.

Born to oust Eric Thompson and Phyllida Conception, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe, and appeared in say publicly comedy sketch series Alfresco (1983–1984).

In 1985, she starred eliminate the West End revival shop the musical Me and Leaden Girl, which was a invention in her career. In 1987, she came to prominence perform her performances in two BBC series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Player for her work on both series. In the early Decennium, she often collaborated with then-husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh, in films such as Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), and Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

For her performance interior the Merchant-Ivory period drama Howards End (1992), Thompson won righteousness BAFTA Award and the Faculty Award for Best Actress. Contain 1993, she received two Faculty Award nominations—Best Actress and Outrun Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of the housekeeper of well-organized grand household in The Residue of the Day and well-ordered lawyer in In the Label of the Father, becoming combine of the few actors promote to achieve this feat.

Thompson wrote and starred in Sense captain Sensibility (1995), for which she won the Academy Award care Best Adapted Screenplay—making her description only person in history journey win Oscars for both accurate and writing—and once again won the BAFTA. Further critical eclat came for her roles regulate Primary Colors (1998), Love Actually (2003), Saving Mr.

Banks (2013), Late Night (2019), and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022).

Other notable film credits include the Harry Potter mound (2004–2011), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (2006), An Education (2009), Men in Black 3 (2012) and the spin-off Men in Black: International (2019), Brave (2012), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Cruella (2021), and Matilda the Musical (2022).

Her throng credits include Wit (2001), Angels in America (2003), The Vent of Lunch (2010), King Lear (2018) and Years and Years (2019). She portrayed Mrs. Lovett in a Lincoln Center manufacturing of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Cable Street in 2014. Authorised timorous the publishers of Beatrix Toy with, Thompson has also written four Peter Rabbit children's books.

Early life and education

Thompson was clan in London on 15 Apr 1959.^[3][4] Her mother is English actress Phyllida Law, while torment English father, Eric Thompson, was an actor best known restructuring the writer of the habitual children's television series The Enchantment Roundabout.^[5][6] Her godfather was loftiness director and writer Ronald Eyre.^[7][8] She has a younger tend, Sophie, who is also nickelanddime actress.^[5] The family lived lure the West Hampstead district rivalry London,^[6] and Thompson was erudite at Camden School for Girls.^[9] She spent much time grind Scotland during her childhood become more intense often visited Ardentinny, where grouping grandparents and uncle lived.^[10]

In second youth, Thompson was intrigued chunk language and literature, a phiz or phizog she attributes to her churchman, who shared her love censure words.^[11] After successfully taking A-ok levels in English, French gift Latin, and securing a attainments, she began studying for brush English degree at Newnham Institute, Cambridge,^[14] arriving in 1977.

Archaeologist believes that it was unavoidable she would become an human, remarking that she was "surrounded by creative people and Uncontrollable don't think it would astute have gone any other advance, really".^[8] While there, she abstruse a "seminal moment" that indelicate her to feminism and of genius her to take up enforcement.

She explained in a 2007 interview how she discovered righteousness book The Madwoman in high-mindedness Attic, "which is about Exquisite female writers and the disguises they took on in command to express what they sought to express. That completely at variance my life."^[15] She became unadulterated self-professed "punk rocker",^[16] with reduced red hair and a motorcycle, and aspired to be grand comedian like Lily Tomlin.^[15]

At Metropolis, Thompson was invited into birth Cambridge Footlights, the university's pre-eminent sketch comedy troupe, by wellfitting president, Martin Bergman, becoming cause dejection first female member.^[18] Also increase twofold the troupe were fellow nominate Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, and she had a fancied relationship with the latter.^[19] Sputter recalled that "there was cack-handed doubt that Emma was unstrained the distance.

Our nickname stand for her was Emma Talented."^[20] Spiky 1980, Thompson served as honesty Vice President of Footlights,^[21] topmost co-directed the troupe's first all-female revue, Woman's Hour. The closest year, she and her Footlights team won the Perrier Bestow at the Edinburgh Festival Edging for their sketch show The Cellar Tapes.^[22] She graduated touch upper second-class honours.

Thompson's father properly in 1982, aged 52.^[5] She has stated that this "tore [the family] to pieces",^[24] status "I can't begin to mention you how much I mourning his not being around".^[25] She added, "At the same again and again, it's possible that were noteworthy still alive I might not in a million years have had the space exposition courage to do what I've done ...

I have a exactly feeling of inheriting space. Station power."^[25]

Career

Early work and breakthrough (1980–1989)

During Thompson's years studying at University, she starred in a BBC Radio 4 comedy series titled Injury Time.^[26][27] This was prerecorded and broadcast from 1980 converge 1982

Thompson had her head professional role in 1982, proceed in a stage version deserve Not the Nine O'Clock News.^[4] She then turned to small screen, where much of her trustworthy work came with her Footlights co-stars Hugh Laurie and Writer Fry.

The regional ITV jesting series There's Nothing to Keeping About! (1982) was their prime outing, followed by the pearl BBC show The Crystal Cube (1983).^[28]There's Nothing to Worry About! later returned as the networked sketch showAlfresco (1983–84), which ran for two series with Archaeologist, Fry, Laurie, Ben Elton, famous Robbie Coltrane.^[4][28] She later collaborated again with Fry and Laurie on the acclaimed BBC Crystal set 4 series Saturday Night Fry (1988).

In 1985, Thompson was cast in the West Settle revival of the musical Me and My Girl, co-starring Parliamentarian Lindsay. It provided a insight in her career, as honesty production earned rave reviews.^[4][29] She played the role of Quip Smith for 15 months, which exhausted her: she later remarked "I thought if I upfront the fucking "Lambeth Walk" look after more time I was thick-headed to fucking throw up."^[20] Belittling the end of 1985, she wrote and starred in organized own one-off special for Thorough 4, Emma Thompson: Up championing Grabs.^[30]

Thompson achieved another breakthrough edict 1987,^[4] when she had principal roles in two television miniseries: Fortunes of War, a Terra War II drama costarring Kenneth Branagh, and Tutti Frutti, a-ok dark comedy about a Scots rock band with Robbie Coltrane.^[29] For these performances, Thompson won the British Academy Television Purse for Best Actress.^[31] The mass year, she wrote and asterisked in her own sketch drollery series for BBC, Thompson, on the contrary this was poorly received.^[32] Comprise 1989, she and Branagh—with whom she had formed a imaginary relationship—starred in a stage reanimation of Look Back in Anger, directed by Judi Dench deliver produced by Branagh's Renaissance Amphitheatre Company.^[29][33] Later that year, birth pair starred in a televised version of the play.^[4][33]

Thompson's labour cinema appearance came in magnanimity romantic comedy The Tall Guy (1989), the feature-film debut get out of screenwriter Richard Curtis.^[29] It asterisked Jeff Goldblum as a Westward End actor, and Thompson sham the nurse with whom proscribed falls in love.

Biography rory

The film was war cry widely seen,^[34] but Thompson's act was praised in The New-found York Times, where Caryn Book called her "an exceptionally functional comic actress".^[35] She next detestable to Shakespeare, appearing as Potentate Katherine in Branagh's screen fitting of Henry V (1989).

Significance film was released to just what the doctor ordered critical acclaim.^[36]

Howards End and general recognition (1990–1993)

Thompson and Branagh move back and forth considered by American writer submit critic James Monaco to possess led the "British cinematic onslaught" in the 1990s.^[37] She elongated to experiment with Shakespeare herbaceous border the new decade, appearing reach Branagh in his stage workshop canon of A Midsummer Night's Dream and King Lear.^[29][33] Reviewing magnanimity latter, the Chicago Tribune endless her "extraordinary" performance of honesty "hobbling, stooped hunchback Fool".^[38] Archaeologist returned to cinema in 1991, playing a "frivolous aristocrat"^[4] nonthreatening person Impromptu with Judy Davis folk tale Hugh Grant.^[39] and Thompson was nominated for Best Supporting Mortal at the Independent Spirit Awards.^[40] Her second release of 1991 was another pairing with Branagh, who also directed, in integrity Los Angeles-based noirDead Again.

She played a woman who has forgotten her identity.^[41] Early feature 1992, Thompson had a lodger role in an episode female Cheers as Frasier Crane's precede wife.^[42]

A turning point in Thompson's career^[29] came when she was cast opposite Anthony Hopkins station Vanessa Redgrave in the Seller Ivory period drama Howards End (1992), based on the up-to-the-minute by E.

M. Forster. Say publicly film explored the social do better than system in Edwardian Britain, give way Thompson playing an idealistic, highbrow, forward-looking woman who comes get stuck association with a privileged dispatch deeply conservative family. She dexterously pursued the role by calligraphy to director James Ivory, who agreed to an audition stake then gave her the part.^[8] According to the critic Vincent Canby, the film allowed Archaeologist to "[come] into her own", away from Branagh.^[43] Upon unfasten, Roger Ebert wrote that she was "superb in the medial role: quiet, ironic, observant, sound out steel inside".^[44]Howards End was thoroughly praised,^[45] a "surprise hit",^[46] unthinkable received nine Academy Award nominations.^[47] Among its three wins was the Best Actress trophy carry Thompson, who was also awarded a Golden Globe and BAFTA for her performance.^[4] Reflecting doable the role, The New Royalty Times wrote that the competitor "found herself an international triumph almost overnight".^[4]

For her next several films, Thompson returned to utilizable with Branagh.

In Peter's Friends (1992), the pair starred clang Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Imelda Staunton, and Tony Slattery likewise a group of Cambridge alumni who are reunited ten grow older after graduating. The comedy was positively reviewed,^[48] and Desson Suffragist of The Washington Post wrote that Thompson was its highlight: "Even as a rather unidimensional character, she exudes grace contemporary an adroit sense of humorous tragedy."^[49] She followed this pick up again Branagh's screen version of Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

Significance couple starred as Beatrice be first Benedick, alongside a cast think it over also included Denzel Washington, Keanu Reeves, and Michael Keaton. Archaeologist was widely praised for primacy on-screen chemistry with Branagh duct the natural ease with which she played the role,^[50][51] evaluation another critical success for Thompson.^[52] Her performance earned a assignation for Best Female Lead put behind you the Independent Spirit Awards.^[40]

Thompson reunited with Merchant–Ivory and Anthony Histrion to film The Remains brake the Day (1993), a skin which has been described slightly a "classic" and the manufacturing team's definitive film.^[53][54] Based evocation Kazuo Ishiguro's novel about wonderful housekeeper and butler in interwar Britain, the story is identifiable for its study of sadness and repression, though Thompson was particularly interested in looking crisis "the deformity that servitude inflicts upon people", since her grandma had worked as a help and made many sacrifices.^[8] She has named the film in the same way one of the greatest recollections of her career, considering ask over to be a "masterpiece objection withheld emotion".^[55]The Remains of high-mindedness Day was a critical direct commercial success,^[53] receiving eight Award nominations, including Best Picture keep from a second Best Actress slot for Thompson.^[56]

Along with her Stroke Actress nomination at the 66th Academy Awards, Thompson was as well nominated in the Best Orientation Actress category, making her position eighth performer in history class be nominated for two Oscars in the same year.^[57] Opinion came for her role renovation the lawyer Gareth Peirce management In the Name of integrity Father (1993), a drama fairly accurate the Guildford Four starring Jurist Day-Lewis.

The film was time out second hit of the vintage, earning $65 million and critical appeal to, and was nominated for Finest Picture along with The Residue of the Day.^[58][59]

Sense and Sensibility and established actress (1994–1999)

In 1994, Thompson made her Hollywood first showing playing a goofy doctor be adjacent to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Junior.

Although the man's pregnancy storyline was poorly acknowledged by most critics and flopped at the box office,^[60]Mick Explorer of the San Francisco Chronicle praised the lead trio.^[61] She returned to independent cinema expose a lead role in Carrington, which studied the platonic rapport between artist Dora Carrington pointer writer Lytton Strachey (played descendant Jonathan Pryce).

Roger Ebert remarked that Thompson had "developed dialect trig specialty in unrequited love",^[62] bracket the TV Guide Film & Video Companion commented that her walking papers "neurasthenic mannerisms, which usually propel us batty, are appropriate here".^[63]

Thompson's Academy success continued with Sense and Sensibility (1995), generally advised to be the most favourite and authentic of the many film adaptations of Jane Austen's novels made in the 1990s.^[64][65][66] Thompson—a lifelong lover of Austen's work—was hired to write honesty film based on the put in writing sketches in her series Thompson.^[67] She spent five years booming the screenplay,^[68] and took loftiness role of the spinster baby Elinor Dashwood despite, aged 35, being 16 years older prevail over the literary character.^[69] Directed induce Ang Lee and co-starring Kate Winslet, Sense and Sensibility usual widespread critical acclaim and ranks among the highest-grossing films type Thompson's career.^[70][71] Shelly Frome remarked that she displayed a "great affinity for Jane Austen's neaten and wit",^[72] and Graham Technologist of Sight and Sound byword her as the film's auteur.^[73] Thompson received a third decree for Best Actress and won the award for Best Fitted Screenplay, making her the inimitable person in history to do something to deserve an Oscar for both precise and screenwriting.^[74] She also attained a second BAFTA Award portend Best Actress and a Aureate Globe Award for Best Screenplay.^[4]

Thompson was absent from screens rivet 1996, but returned the closest year with Alan Rickman's guilty debut, The Winter Guest.

At the bottom of the sea over one day in out Scottish seaside village, the picture allowed Thompson and her smear (Phyllida Law) to play argot and daughter on screen.^[75] She then returned to America nominate appear in an episode entrap Ellen, and her self-parodying background received a Primetime Emmy Confer for Outstanding Guest Actress show a Comedy Series.^[29][76]

For her more Hollywood role, Thompson starred bump into John Travolta in Mike Nichols's Primary Colors (1998), playing adroit couple based on Bill take Hillary Clinton.^[77] Thompson's character, Susan, is described as that method an "ambitious, long-suffering wife" who has to deal with restlessness husband's infidelity.^[78] The film was critically well received but misplaced money at the box office.^[79][80] According to Kevin O'Sullivan match the Daily Mirror, Americans were "blown away" by her fair and accent, and top Indecent producers became increasingly interested change into casting her.^[81] Thompson rejected hang around of the offers, expressing affairs about living in Los Angeles behind walls with bodyguards, suggest stated "LA is lovely importation long as you know complete can leave".

She also familiar to feeling tired and fagged with the industry at that point, which influenced her elect to leave film for copperplate year.^[82] Thompson followed Primary Colors by playing an FBI proxy opposite Rickman in the unsatisfactorily received thriller Judas Kiss (1998).^[83]

Continued screen work and further cheering (2000–2011)

When she became a smear in 1999, Thompson made on the rocks conscious decision to reduce jewels workload, and in the shadowing years many of her form were supporting roles.^[8][84] She was not seen on screen encore until 2000, with only topping small part in the Nation comedy Maybe Baby, which she appeared in as a good deed to its director, her playfellow Ben Elton.^[85]

For the HBO prod film Wit (2001), however, Physicist happily took the lead part in what she felt was "one of the best scripts to have come out advance America".^[86] Adapted from Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize winning play, overtake focuses on a self-sufficient University University professor who finds arrangement values challenged when she recap diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Physicist was instrumental in bringing Microphone Nichols to direct the affair, and the pair spent months in rehearsal to get loftiness complex character right.^[87] She was greatly drawn to the "daredevil" role,^[88] for which she confidential no qualms about shaving respite head.^[89] Reviewing the performance, Roger Ebert was touched by "the way she struggles with now and then ounce of her humanity sentinel keep her self-respect", and disintegration 2008 he called it Thompson's finest work.^[90] Caryn James female The New York Times as well described it as "one refer to her most brilliant performances", things "we seem to be nosy-parkering into a soul as fancy as its body."^[91] The disc earned Thompson nominations at description Golden Globes, Emmys and Separate Actors Guild Awards.

Thompson's one credit of 2002 was top-hole voice role in Disney's Treasure Planet, an adaptation of Treasure Island, where she voiced Skipper Amelia. The animation earned off less than its large costs and was considered a "box office disaster".^[92] This failure was countered the following year gross one of Thompson's biggest cost-effective successes, Richard Curtis's romantic funniness Love Actually.^[71] As part goods an ensemble cast that counted Liam Neeson, Keira Knightley, extort Colin Firth, she played organized middle-class wife who discovers absorption husband (played by Alan Rickman) has been unfaithful to disgruntlement.

The scene in which equal finish stalwart character breaks down was described by one critic similarly "the best crying on announce ever",^[8] and in 2013, Archaeologist mentioned that she gets commended for this role more fondle any other.^[93] She explained, "I've had so much bloody convention at crying in a bedchamber then having to go spurt and be cheerful, gathering mess up the pieces of my sentiment and putting them in straight drawer."^[94] Her performance received ingenious BAFTA nomination for Best Pertinence Actress.^[95]

Thompson continued with supporting roles in the 2003 drama Imagining Argentina, where she played keen dissident-journalist abducted by the country's 1970s dictatorial regime.

Antonio Banderas played the husband who tries to find her, in spiffy tidy up film that most critics disliked.^[96] The film was booed final jeered at when it was screened at the Venice Tegument casing Festival and received a stern article in The Guardian.^[97] Physicist had greater success that harvest when she worked with HBO for a second time draw out the acclaimed miniseries Angels captive America (2003).^[29] The show, besides starring Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, deals with the Immunodeficiency epidemic in Reagan-era America.

Archaeologist played three roles – a bring up, a homeless woman, and excellence title role of The Backer of America – and was put back nominated for an Emmy Award.^[76] In 2004, she played picture eccentric Divination teacher Sybill Trelawney in the third Harry Potter film, Prisoner of Azkaban, restlessness character described as a "hippy chick professor who teaches fortune-telling".^[98] She later reprised the duty in Order of the Phoenix (2007) and Deathly Hallows – Share 2 (2011),^[29] and has alleged her time working on grandeur popular franchise as "great fun".^[8]

The year 2005 saw the release of natty project Thompson had been operation on for nine years.^[8] Starve oneself based on the Nurse Matilda stories that she read in the same way a child, Thompson wrote primacy screenplay for the children's integument Nanny McPhee – which centres bravado a mysterious, unsightly nanny who must discipline a group an assortment of children.

She also took illustriousness lead role, alongside Colin Mouth and Angela Lansbury, in what was a highly personal project.^[8][99] The film was a happiness, taking number one at leadership UK box office and request $122 million worldwide.^[100][101] Commenting on Thompson's screenplay, film critic Claudia Puig wrote that its "well-worn perfect features are woven effectively bump into an appealing tale of vernal empowerment".^[102]

The following year, Thompson arrived in the surreal American comedy–drama Stranger than Fiction, playing a- novelist whose latest character (played by Will Ferrell) is a-one real person who hears absorption narration in his head.

Reviews for the film were conventionally favourable.^[103] Following a brief, nameless role in the post-apocalyptic novel I Am Legend (2007),^[104] Archeologist played the devoutly Catholic Woman Marchmain in a 2008 pick up adaptation of Brideshead Revisited. Critics were unenthusiastic about the film,^[105] but several picked Thompson edit as its highlight.^[106][107]Mark Kermode spoken "Emma Thompson is to thickskinned extent becoming the new Judi Dench, as the person who kind of comes in rationalize 15 minutes and is brilliant ...

[but then] when she goes away, the rest of rendering movie has a real puzzle living up to the power of her presence".^[108]

Thompson received very acclaim for her work prank the London-based romance Last Rotation Harvey (2008), where she existing Dustin Hoffman played a sequestered, middle-aged pair who cautiously originate a relationship.

Critics praised goodness chemistry between the two leads, and both received Golden Sphere nominations for their performances.^[109][110] Thompson's two 2009 films were both set in 1960s United Realm, and in both she prefabricated cameo appearances: as a front in the critically praised theatrical piece An Education^[111] and as keen "tippling mother" in Richard Curtis's The Boat That Rocked.^[112]

Five ripen after the original, Thompson reprised the role of Nanny McPhee with 2010's Nanny McPhee esoteric the Big Bang.

Her dramaturgy transported the story to Kingdom during World War II. Capital on the first film's go well, it was another UK container office number one and prestige sequel was widely seen in the same way an improvement.^[113][114] The same vintage, Thompson reunited with Alan Rickman for the BBC television coat The Song of Lunch, which focused on two unnamed system jotting meeting at a restaurant 15 years after ending their relationship.^[115] Thompson's performance earned her span fourth Emmy Award nomination.^[76]

Career lift and blockbuster films (2012–present)

In 2012, Thompson made a rare invention in a big-budget Hollywood film^[8] when she played the purpose Agent in Men in Coalblack 3 – a continuation of dignity sci-fi comedy franchise starring Longing Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, put forward Josh Brolin.

With a general gross of $624 million, MIB3 ranks as Thompson's highest-grossing release elsewhere of the Harry Potter films.^[71] This mainstream success continued engage the Pixar film Brave, encompass which Thompson voiced Elinor – interpretation Scottish queen despairing at grouping daughter's defiance against tradition.^[29] Inert was her second consecutive unconventional release, and critics were habitually kind to the film.^[71][116] Besides in 2012, Thompson played Empress Elizabeth II in an period of Playhouse Presents, which dramatised an incident in 1982 during the time that an intruder broke into loftiness Queen's bedroom.^[117] Her first coating of 2013 was the vision romance Beautiful Creatures, in which she played an evil common.

The film aimed to reckon on the success of The Twilight Saga, but was badly reviewed and a box centre of operations disappointment.^[118][119] Film critic Peter Travers was critical of Thompson's completion and "outrageously awful Southern accent", and feared "the damage that crock may do to [her] reputation".^[120]

Saving Mr.

Banks, which delineate the making of Mary Poppins, starred Thompson in a cap role as P. L. Travers, representation curmudgeonly author of the basis novel, alongside Tom Hanks kind Walt Disney. Her performance, exterior contrast to her widely panned appearance in Beautiful Creatures, was received enthusiastically, with one newswoman writing "Emma Thompson is annoyance, firing on all cylinders."^[121] She found it to be primacy best script she had distil in years and was ecstatic to be offered the cut up.

She considered it the apogee challenging of her career in that she had "never really swayed anyone quite so contradictory less significant difficult before",^[122] but found nobleness inconsistent and complicated character "a blissful joy to embody".^[8] Nobleness film was well-received, grossed $112 million worldwide, and Thompson's performance garnered critical acclaim.^[121][123] The review reveal The Independent expressed thanks zigzag her "playing of Travers give something the onceover so deft that we now warm to her, and amnesty her her snobbery",^[124] while Total Film's critic felt that Archaeologist brought depth to the "predictable" film with "her best musical in years".^[125] Thompson was inoperative for Best Actress at class BAFTAs, SAGs and Golden Globes, and was awarded the Escort Actress trophy from the Practice Board of Review.

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Meryl Streep, her co-star in Angels in America, admitted to use "shocked" at Thompson's failure take over receive an Oscar nomination buy Saving Mr. Banks.^[126]

The romantic funniness The Love Punch (2013) gave Thompson her second consecutive principal role, where she played fifty per cent of a divorced couple who reunite to steal the man's ex-boss's diamond.^[127] In March 2014, she made her first fastener appearance in 24 years – see her New York debut – dupe a Lincoln Center production run through Sweeney Todd: The Demon Smart of Fleet Street.

She arrived in the musical for quint nights, and her "playful" details of Mrs Lovett was much praised; the critic Kayla Carver wrote that she "not exclusive held her own against make more complicated experienced vocalists, but wound bear up running off with the show".^[128] She received her sixth Primetime Emmy Award nomination, specifically aim Outstanding Lead Actress in spiffy tidy up Limited Series or Movie tail the televised performance.^[129] In 2014, Thompson provided the narration fulfill Jason Reitman's comedy-drama film, Men, Women & Children.^[130]

The period stage production Effie Gray, a project depart she had been working impression for many years, based dishonest the true-life story of Can Ruskin's disastrous marriage, was bound by Thompson but became loftiness subject of a copyright mount before being cleared for cinemas.

The American playwright Gregory Potato said that Thompson's screenplay was an infringement on his amusement and screenplay The Countess, which he claimed he had submitted to Thompson through a communal friend in 2003 to reassess the role of Elizabeth Eastlake in a proposed film attain his play, and to Thompson's husband Greg Wise through exceptional casting director to consider honesty role of John Ruskin put it to somebody the play's 2005 West Get production.^[131] In 2008, Thompson proclaimed that she and Wise "had written a script together produce John Ruskin, the Victorian cancel out critic, which we want be adjacent to make into a film."^[132] Aft meeting with Thompson and have a lot to do with producers, Potboiler Productions, Murphy was offered a screenwriting fee illustrious co-screenwriting credit with Thompson ancestry settlement of his claim.^[132] That settlement offer was later amoral by Thompson, Greg Wise cope with their partner Donald Rosenfeld, just as their company Sovereign Films took over production of the pick up and instigated the suit, creating the independent entity Effie Album, LLC to litigate it.^[133][134] Slot in March 2013, District Court Nimble-fingered Thomas P.

Griesa, after although Thompson to submit a following revised screenplay into evidence use which Murphy claimed "some line of attack the most troubling material" locked away been removed,^[135] ruled that like chalk and cheese there were similarities, the screenplays were "quite dissimilar in their two approaches to fictionalising ethics same historical events".^[136][137] In receive to Murphy's attorney's concerns renounce the completed film Effie Gray would not adhere to Thompson's second revised screenplay, Judge Griesa concluded his ruling by proverb that Thompson's film would whimper infringe Murphy's play or theatrical piece "only to the extent drift it does not substantially take a side road cut ou from the November 29, 2011 screenplay," the date of Thompson's second revised screenplay.^[137] In Possibly will 2013, Effie Gray's Cannes Integument Festival premiere was cancelled.

Discredit October 2013, the film was withdrawn from the Mill Depression Film Festival in California claim to "unforeseen circumstances" according turn into producer Rosenfeld.^[138][139] In December 2013, Thompson said of the tranquil unreleased Effie Gray that university teacher "time has probably passed," comparison it to another project innumerable hers that "didn't happen either".^[140]Effie Gray was released in Oct 2014, to a modest reception.^[141] Thompson plays Elizabeth Eastlake promote Greg Wise plays John Ruskin.

They both declined to rear the film.^[142][143]Camilla Long, reviewing Effie Gray in The Sunday Times, wrote "nothing fits together" skull "no one seems to grasp why they made this coat. Where is Thompson's passion suggest commitment, or any hint pale what she intended to achieve."^[144]Manohla Dargis in her review mess The New York Times hailed Effie Gray "The cinematic market price of a Brazilian wax, illustriousness movie omits much of excellence story's most interesting material surpass create something that's been efficiently denatured."^[145]

Thompson's first film of 2015 was A Walk in goodness Woods, a comedy adapted deviate the book by Bill Bryson of which she co-starred cream Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.

She next starred in The Legend of Barney Thomson. Breach role was a 77-year-old scurrilous, chain-smoking, Glaswegian former prostitute, influence mother of the title sense. Neither film was a faultfinding success, although the latter acknowledged some positive reviews and Empire magazine wrote that Thomson was "unforgettable".^{[146][147][148]} Later that year, she had a supporting role unembellished the restaurant-based film Burnt.

Intimate 2016, she starred in magnanimity World War II-drama Alone obligate Berlin, based on the recounting of Otto and Elise Hampel. She also co-wrote the theatrical piece for Bridget Jones's Baby allow appeared in the film chimpanzee a doctor.

In 2017, Archeologist appeared in a supporting lines as Mrs.

Potts (originally enunciated by Angela Lansbury in excellence 1991 animated film) in Disney's live-action adaptation of Beauty significant the Beast, directed by Invoice Condon and starring her Harry Potter co-star Emma Watson mud the leading role of Strength, alongside Dan Stevens as loftiness Beast.^[149] The film received in no doubt reviews and grossed $1.2 billion institute, making it the highest-grossing live-action musical film, the second highest-grossing film of 2017, and depiction 17th highest-grossing film of cry out time.^{[150][151][152]} She also had uncomplicated supporting role as a unambiguous in the Noah Baumbach-directed dramedy The Meyerowitz Stories, which premiered at the Cannes Film Holiday to critical acclaim.^[153] She followed it with a starring acquit yourself in the film The Family tree Act, a drama about a-okay family who refuse cancer usage for their son based dominance religious beliefs.

She had a-ok cameo role as Queen Elizabeth I in the 2017 Christmastide special of the BBC sitcom Upstart Crow. In 2018, she provided the voiceover for Greenpeace's palm-oil awareness commercial which Island (supermarket) picked to promote chimpanzee their 2018 Christmas advertisement. Interpretation commercial was rejected by rendering advertising organisation Clearcast due supplement Greenpeace's alleged involvement in government policy, thus violating their code freedom conduct.^[154][155] Also that year, she was made a Dame Officer of the Order of say publicly British Empire (DBE) in character 2018 Birthday Honours for assistance to drama.^[156] In 2018, she also starred in Johnny In plain words Strikes Again as the Groundbreaking Minister of the United Empire alongside Rowan Atkinson

Thompson starred suspend the comedy-drama Late Night (2019), which was written by Mindy Kaling (who also co-starred engage that film) and featured bitterness as a popular television landlady who hires a new columnist to keep the show deprive getting replaced.^[157] The film regular positive reviews, with Thompson vitality singled out for praise, have a word with Owen Gleiberman of Variety remarked that "Thompson truly seems aspire a born talk-show host.

Uniform when she's just riffing, she grounds Late Night in concerning real."^[158] She was nominated be intended for a Golden Globe Award signify Best Actress – Motion Ask Comedy or Musical.^[159] In probity same year, she voiced type the Yeti Elder in illustriousness stop-motion animated film Missing Link, reprised her role as Spokesman O in a more exciting part in Men in Black: International, and co-produced and co-starred alongside Emilia Clarke and h Golding in the festive ideal comedy Last Christmas, which was based on the song medium the same name by Martyr Michael, and was written shy Thompson, her husband Greg Sagacious, and Bryony Kimmings.^[160]

In 2021, Physicist starred opposite Emma Stone style the titular protagonist villain withdraw Cruella, a Disney live-action spin-off/reboot of One Hundred and Give someone a buzz Dalmatians, directed by Craig Cornetist, which was released on 28 May 2021 to positive reviews extra has grossed $233 million worldwide accept its $100 million budget.^{[161][162][163]} She won praise from critics for honourableness role of the Baroness set about Alonso Duralde from The Wrap writing, "Thompson sinking every carry on tooth into a role that's half Miranda Priestly and hemisphere Reynolds Woodcock."^[164] In 2022, Archaeologist starred opposite Daryl McCormack be sure about the sex comedy-drama Good Fame to You, Leo Grande, certain by Katy Brand and confined by Sophie Hyde.^[165][166]

Thompson plays interpretation authoritarian headmistress Miss Trunchbull hole the film adaptation of Matilda the Musical, which in deed is based on the story of the same name insensitive to Roald Dahl.

It is destined by Matthew Warchus, with spruce script written by Dennis Dancer and songs composed by Tim Minchin.^[167] Following its world first performance at the BFI London Single Festival on 5 October 2022, ep critic Robbie Collin of The Telegraph wrote Thompson's portrayal frequent Trunchbull is "a deranged caitiff to remember".^[168]The Guardian critic Tool Bradshaw stated "the gleefully maddening comedy kindred spirits of Physicist and Minchin come together misinform form the film's bedrock retard naughtiness".^[169] In 2022, she further starred alongside Lily James paramount Sajal Aly in the visionary comedy What's Love Got denomination Do with It?^[170]

In the watched for film The Fisherwoman, directed indifferent to Brian Kirk, Thompson is fastened to star alongside Laurel Marsden and Judy Greer.^[171][172] The ep was shot in the 2024 winter in North Karelia, Finland,^[173][174] where Thompson praised the gifts of the local working crew,^[175] even writing a laudatory message dedicated to the Finns, accessible by Helsingin Sanomat.^[174][176] Because consume this, the Finnish president Vanquisher Stubb personally called Thompson opinion thanked the actress "for assimilation beautiful words, trust in Finns and welcomed her back give a warning Finland".^[174][177]

Reception and acting style

Thompson enquiry regarded to be among rendering best actresses of her generation^[178][179] and one of Britain's governing recognisable actresses, held in buzz regard within Hollywood.^[180][181] Early trauma her career she was nearly associated with her first hoard, Kenneth Branagh.

The public warmed to her after the breakup, and she became one flaxen the key actresses of distinction 1990s.^[181][182] Her status has long to grow; in 2008, newshound Sarah Sands stated that Archeologist has improved with age instruction experience,^[179] and Mark Kermode aforesaid of her performances, "There legal action something about her which is — you just trust her.

Boss around just think 'I'm in reasonable hands here.' ... She's up near with the great, I strategy really great, British female performers".^[108]

Thompson is particularly unseen for playing reticent women,^[183] famous Sands describes her as "the best actress of our stage on suffering borne with grievous dignity".^[179] According to Kate Kellaway of The Guardian, she specialises in playing "a good eve in a frock".^[9] She extremely plays many haughty characters, show a "bracing, nanny-like demeanour",^[20] however she is noted for show ability to win the commiseration of audiences.^[117][183] Thompson belongs defy a group of highly beautiful British actresses including Judi Dench, Kate Winslet and Helena Bonham Carter who are known fail to appreciate appearing in "heritage films" instruction typically showing "restraint, rendering inside through intellect rather than polish, and a sense of burlesque, which demonstrates the heroine's greater understanding".^[184][185] Projecting a typically "British image",^[181] Thompson's often dogmatic put forward tight-jawed manner has also archaic compared to that of Maggie Smith.^[186]

With a background in chaffing, Thompson's performances are typically release with an ironic touch.

Gearshift Lee, director of Sense suffer Sensibility, stated that Thompson's comedic approach may be her chief asset as an actress, remarking, "Emma is an extremely epigrammatic lady. Like Austen, she's pleased at her own culture linctus she's a part of it."^[186] Thompson has stated that glory "most moving things are oftentimes also funny, in life nearby in art" which is current in her film work.^[8] She often brings her real temperament to her roles, and Kellaway believes that her lack bazaar conventional beauty contributes to squash up likeability as an actress.^[179][9]

Writing

In 2012, Thompson wrote The Further Story of Peter Rabbit as block off addition to the Peter Verbalize series by Beatrix Potter like commemorate the 110th anniversary confiscate the publication of The Narrative of Peter Rabbit.^[187][188] She was approached by the publishers more write it, the first authorized Peter story since 1930 present-day the only one not tedious by Potter.^[187] The book shower in the middle of character earlier series, rather than benefit from the end, and takes Tool Rabbit outside of Mr.

McGregor's garden and into Scotland. Accompany was a New York Times Best Seller.^[189] In 2013, Physicist wrote a second book lure the series titled The Christmastide Tale of Peter Rabbit.^[189] Unblended third book, The Spectacular Record of Peter Rabbit, was free in 2014.^[190] In 2018, Archaeologist said she would like clutch write about "what it's with regards to being human now".^[191]

Other work

In 2014, Thompson was among a calling of influential British women, which included Annie Lennox and Rita Ora, to feature in grandeur latest iteration of British craftsman Marks & Spencer's 'Leading Ladies' marketing campaign.^[192][193]

Acting credits and accolades

See also: Emma Thompson on announce and stage and List revenue awards and nominations received because of Emma Thompson

Thompson has won three Academy Awards, for Best Participant in James Ivory's Howards End (1992) and Best Adapted Stagecraft for Ang Lee's Sense nearby Sensibility (1995).

Thompson has traditional numerous accolades including three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Glory, and a Primetime Emmy Prize 1, in addition to nominations care for two Grammy Awards, two Unfettered Spirit Awards, and six Put on air Actors Guild Awards. In 2018, she was made a Girl (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to scene.

Personal life

Thompson has stated avoid she feels Scottish, saying: "not only because I am portion Scottish but also because I've spent half my life [in Scotland]".^[10][194] She frequently returns deal with Scotland and visits Dunoon fit into place Argyll and Bute. She owns a home nearby, on picture shore of Loch Eck.^[195]

Relationships

Thompson's head husband was actor and official Kenneth Branagh, whom she trip over in 1987 while filming interpretation television series Fortunes of War.^[196] They married in 1989 predominant appeared in several films group, with Branagh often casting unlimited in his productions.^[197] Dubbed elegant "golden couple" by the Brits press, their relationship received agitated media coverage.^[196][6] The pair attempted to keep the relationship hidden, refusing to be interviewed account photographed together.^[198] Thompson and Branagh announced their separation in Sept 1995.

They cited their out of a job schedules as the reason, on the contrary it later emerged that crystal-clear was having an affair coworker actress Helena Bonham Carter.^[94]

Thompson was living alone as her bond with Branagh deteriorated and she became depressed.^[24] While filming Sense and Sensibility in 1995, she began a relationship with frequent co-star Greg Wise.

On howsoever she was able to whitewash her depression, she stated, "Work saved me and Greg salvageable me. He picked up goodness pieces and put them compact again."^[24] The couple have put in order daughter, Gaia, who was planned via in vitro fertilisation like that which Thompson was 39.^[6]

Thompson and Intelligent married in Dunoon in 2003.^[199] The family's permanent residence equitable in West Hampstead, London, compete the same road as take five childhood home.^[6] Also in 2003, Thompson and Wise informally adoptive a Rwandan orphan and one-time child soldier named Tindyebwa Agaba.

They met at a Fugitive Council event when he was sixteen, and she invited him to spend Christmas at their home.^[6] "Slowly," Thompson has commented, "he became a sort familiar permanent fixture, came on weekend away to Scotland with us, became part of the family."^[200] Agaba became a British citizen weighty 2009.^[201]

On 28 February 2020, Archaeologist and Wise were sworn embankment as honorary citizens of Metropolis and became legal residents personal Italy.

The couple had beforehand purchased a house in loftiness city and indicated their flash to relocate to Italy permanently.^[202] They retain a home corner West Hampstead.^[203]

Views and activism

Archeologist has said of her idealistic views:^[204]

I'm an atheist [...] Rabid regard religion with fear take precedence suspicion.

It's not enough inherit say that I don't consider in God. I actually concern the system as distressing: Distracted am offended by some near the things said in depiction Bible and the Qur'an be proof against I refute them.

She is politically liberal and a supporter preceding the Labour Party; she pick up the BBC's Andrew Marr Show in 2010 that she difficult to understand been a member of position party "all my life".^[205]