Biography of Emma ThompsonIt's on April 15th, 1959 that Emma Thompson was born in the small London district of Paddington, England. Her family was rooted in the performing arts: her late father, Eric Thompson, was an actor and stage director and her mother, Phyllida Law, is a film and television actress.
After a childhood spent at Camden School for Girls in North London, Emma was accepted at Cambridge University's Newnham College. Although she studied English Literature, hoping to be a writer, she got involved with the school's theater troupe, the Footlights, with would-be actors Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.
Thompson was such an energetic performer that it was obvious she was born to perform. One day, talent agent Richard Armitage saw her show and offered to be her agent. She signed on even though she would have to juggle school and acting for two more years.
emma the comic
In 1982, Emma left Cambridge with her degree. Being extremely witty and perversely funny, she became a standup comic. This wasn't the kind of work that paid the bills however, and she sought other employment. In 1983, she joined her old friends Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry on the set of a new comedy series called Alfresco.
After 13 episodes, the show was canceled. This gave Emma the opportunity to return to theater. During this period, she starred in the one-woman show Short Vehicle at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1983. Two years later, she played Sally Smith in the West End revival of Me and My Girl with Robert Lindsay. It was a huge success and offers came pouring in for Emma.
In 1987, she appeared in the TV series Tutti Frutti and the miniseries Fortunes of War, with Kenneth Branagh; these two roles earned her a BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress. The following year, she was cast in Thompson along with then boyfriend Kenneth Branagh, but it was a total flop even though she was the head writer.
After appearing in The Tall Guy (1989) with Jeff Goldblum, she starred as the lead female in Branagh's film adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry V (1989). Not only did the movie receive several Oscar nominations, it also introduced American audiences to Emma Thompson.
a start for emma thompson in howards end
On Thompson's 30th birthday, Branagh proposed to her in New York's Central Park. They were married in August 1989. She continued working and appeared onscreen in 1991 in Impromptu and the thriller Dead Again. At the same time, she did stage work at Branagh's Renaissance Theatre Company.
In addition to Branagh's Peter's Friends in 1992, Thompson starred alongside Anthony Hopkins in Howards End. Her performance garnered critical acclaim and she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. A series of highly praised roles came in 1993, with roles in Much Ado About Nothing, The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father.
Following a more mainstream part in Junior (1994) with Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emma Thompson was offered the chance to write the screen adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. A box-office hit, she was not only nominated for Best Actress at the 1996 Oscars, but she took away the trophy for Best Adapted Screenplay.
emma and ken divorce
Unfortunately, her marriage to Kenneth Branagh wasn't experiencing the same kind of success. After she had had enough of Branagh's rumored infidelities with Helena Bonham Carter, the couple filed for divorce in 1994. In 1996, Emma took a sabbatical and started seeing fellow actor Greg Wise, who had played John Willoughby in Sense and Sensibility.
emma back to work and love
Following a miscarriage in 1997, Emma returned to work in The Winter Guest (1997), Primary Colors (1998) with John Travolta, and Maybe Baby (2000). Greg and Emma became parents in December 1999 and once more she took a break from acting.
Emma Thompson returned to writing for the television adaptation of the Mike Nichols HBO movie Wit (2001), in which she also starred. After lending her voice to the animated feature Treasure Planet (2002), she joined the all-star cast of the romantic comedy Love Actually (2003), with Keira Knightley and Hugh Grant.
emma in angels in america
In July 2003, Emma and Greg were married in Scotland. Her life is less hectic now, but she was seen in the HBO Golden Globe-winning miniseries Angels in America in 2003, and returns to the big screen in 2004 as Professor Sybill Trelawney in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
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