Emma Thompson
Acting
Dame Emma Thompson (born April 15, 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 became famous 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).
Thompson won the BAFTA Award and the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the Merchant-Ivory period drama Howards End (1992). 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.
Media of
Emma Thompson
Photos (21)
Filmography of
Emma Thompson
Lydia Harbottle
... 2026
Van Guy
... 2026
Barb
... 2025
Dr Rawlings
... 2025
Self (archive footage)
... 2024
Self
... 2024
Cath Stevenson
... 2023
Agatha Trunchbull
... 2022
... 2022
Nancy Stokes
... 2022
... 2021
The Baroness
... 2021
Self (archive footage)
... 2021
Amanda
... 2020
Poly (voice)
... 2020
Petra Andrich
... 2019
... 2019
... 2019
Agent O
... 2019
Dora the Yeti Elder (voice)
... 2019
Katherine Newbury
... 2019
Prime Minister
... 2018
Self (archive footage)
... 2018
Narrator (voice)
... 2018
Fiona Maye
... 2018
Goneril
... 2018
Self
... 2017
Maureen Meyerowitz
... 2017
Mrs. Potts
... 2017
Elle-Même
... 2016
Narrator (voice)
... 2016
Narrator (voice)
... 2016
Dr Rawlings
... 2016
Anna Quangel
... 2016
Narrator (voice)
... 2015
Dr. Rosshilde
... 2015
Catherine Bryson
... 2015
Cemolina
... 2015
Narrator (voice)
... 2014
Mrs. Lovett
... 2014
Lady Eastlake
... 2014
... 2014
Kate
... 2014
P.L. Travers
... 2013
Mrs. Lincoln / Sarafine Duchannes
... 2013
Elinor (voice)
... 2012
The Queen
... 2012
Agent O
... 2012
... 2011
Sybill Trelawney
... 2011
... 2010
... 2010
Nanny McPhee
... 2010
Headmistress
... 2009
Charlotte
... 2009
Self
... 2009
Self
... 2009
... 2009
Kate Walker
... 2008
Lady Marchmain
... 2008
Dr. Alice Krippin
... 2007
... 2007
Sybill Trelawney
... 2007
Karen Eiffel
... 2006
Self (archive footage)
... 2005
Nanny McPhee
... 2005
Self (archive footage)
... 2005
Sybill Trelawney
... 2004
Cecilia Rueda
... 2003
Karen
... 2003
Captain Amelia (voice)
... 2002
... 2001
Vivian Bearing
... 2001
... 2001
... 2001
Druscilla
... 2000
Self
... 1998
FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins
... 1998
Susan Stanton
... 1998
Frances
... 1997
Elephant Woman
... 1997
Elinor Dashwood
... 1995
Dora Carrington
... 1995
Dr. Diana Reddin
... 1994
Marie Bonnar
... 1994
Isabel (uncredited)
... 1994
Gareth Peirce
... 1993
Miss Kenton
... 1993
Beatrice
... 1993
Maggie Chester
... 1992
Margaret Schlegel
... 1992
Narrator (voice)
... 1991
Margaret Strauss / Grace
... 1991
Duchess D'Antan
... 1991
... 1990
Alison Porter
... 1989
Katherine
... 1989
Catherine Winslow
... 1989
Kate
... 1989
... 1989
... 1984
Young Woman
... 1984
various
... 1982
Narrator (voice)
Elizabeth Butler-Sloss