Emma Thompson

Dame Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is a British actress and screenwriter. Her work spans over four decades of screen and stage, and her accolades include two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2018, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to drama.

Born to actors Eric Thompson and Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe, and appeared in the comedy sketch series ''Alfresco'' (1983–1984). In 1985, she starred in the West End revival of the musical ''Me and My Girl'', which was a breakthrough in her career. In 1987, she came to prominence for her performances in two BBC series, ''Tutti Frutti'' and ''Fortunes of War'', winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work on both series. In the early 1990s, 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 in the Merchant-Ivory period drama ''Howards End'' (1992), Thompson won the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress. In 1993, she received two Academy Award nominations—Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress—for the respective roles of the housekeeper of a grand household in ''The Remains of the Day'' and a lawyer in ''In the Name of the Father'', becoming one of the few actors to achieve this feat. Thompson wrote and starred in ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay—making her the only person in history to win Oscars for both acting and writing—and once again won the BAFTA. Further critical acclaim came for her roles in ''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'' series (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 television credits include ''Wit'' (2001), ''Angels in America'' (2003), ''The Song of Lunch'' (2010), ''King Lear'' (2018) and ''Years and Years'' (2019). She portrayed Mrs. Lovett in a Lincoln Center production of Stephen Sondheim's ''Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street'' in 2014. Authorised by the publishers of Beatrix Potter, Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit children's books. Provided by Wikipedia