Emma Thompson

Dame Emma Thompson born April 15 1959 is a British actress and screenwriter Regarded as one of the finest actresses of her generation she has received numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades including 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 services 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 19831984 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 TV 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 thenhusband 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 MerchantIvory period drama Howards End 1992 Thompson won the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress In 1993 she received two Academy Award nominationsBest Actress and Best Supporting Actressfor 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 Screenplaymaking her the only person in history to win Oscars for both acting and writingand 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 20042011 Nanny McPhee 2005 Stranger than Fiction 2006 An Education 2009 Men in Black 3 2012 and the spinoff 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 Authorised by the publishers of Beatrix Potter Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit childrens books