emma thompson

Emma Thompson is an English actress, screenwriter and author known for her acclaimed work in film and television, as well as her Academy Award-winning performances and screenwriting. Emma is the daughter of actress Phyllida Law and actor Eric Thompson and was born in London. She attended Newnham College at the University of Cambridge, where she studied English literature and joined the university’s Footlights comedy troupe, alongside fellow actors Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie.

After gaining recognition on British television in the early 1980s, Emma broke out with starring roles in Fortunes of War and Tutti Frutti. She became an international star in the early 1990s appearing in the period drama Howards End (1992). Her performance as Margaret Schlegel earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She later won a second Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for 1995’s Sense and Sensibility, becoming the only person to win Oscars for both acting and screenwriting.

Throughout her career, the actress has starred in films including Love Actually (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), Late Night (2019), Cruella (2021) and Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022). She also appeared in the Harry Potter franchise as Professor Sybil Trelawney. In addition to two Academy Awards, she has received three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and one Emmy Award throughout her career. In 2018, she was made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to the drama industry.

The actress married actor and director Kenneth Branagh in 1989 after the pair met while working together. They divorced in 1997. She later began a relationship with actor Greg Wise after filming Sense and Sensibility, and they married in 2003. The couple share daughter Gaia Wise (born in 1999) and have an adopted son, Tindyebwa Agaba.