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 (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 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 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). Authorised by the publishers of Beatrix Potter, Thompson has also written three Peter Rabbit children's books.
Known For
Credits
- 2026 · Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Movie as
- 2025 · Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy as Dr. Rawlings
- 2024 · Merchant Ivory as Self
- 2023 · What's Love Got to Do with It? as Cath
- 2022 · The Laughter & Secrets of 'Love Actually': 20 Years Later as Self
- 2022 · Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical as Agatha Trunchbull
- 2022 · The Fringe, Fame and Me as Self
- 2022 · Good Luck to You, Leo Grande as Nancy Stokes
- 2022 · Why Didn't They Ask Evans? as Lady Marcham
- 2021 · An Audience with Adele as Self
- 2021 · Cruella as The Baroness
- 2021 · Hannibal Hopkins & Sir Anthony as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · How to Build a Girl as Amanda
- 2020 · Dolittle as Poly (voice)
- 2019 · Last Christmas as Petra Andrich
- 2019 · Extinction as
- 2019 · Hollywood's Dark Secret as Self
- 2019 · Men in Black: International as Agent O
- 2019 · Years and Years as Vivienne Rook
- 2019 · Missing Link as Dora the Yeti Elder (voice)
- 2019 · Late Night as Katherine Newbury
- 2018 · Johnny English Strikes Again as Prime Minister
- 2018 · Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal as Self (archive footage)
- 2018 · Greenpeace: There's a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom as Narrator (voice)
- 2018 · The Children Act as Fiona Maye
- 2018 · King Lear as Goneril
- 2017 · Sea Sorrow as Self
- 2017 · The Meyerowitz Stories as Maureen Meyerowitz
- 2017 · Beauty and the Beast as Mrs. Potts
- 2016 · Die vielen Gesichter der Emma Thompson as Elle-Même
- 2016 · To the Ends of the Earth as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · Bridget Jones's Baby as Dr. Rawlings
- 2016 · Upstart Crow as Queen Elizabeth I
- 2016 · Alone in Berlin as Anna Quangel
- 2015 · Sainsbury's: Mog's Christmas Calamity as Narrator (voice)
- 2015 · Burnt as Dr. Rosshilde
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · A Walk in the Woods as Catherine Bryson
- 2015 · The Legend of Barney Thomson as Cemolina
- 2015 · Funny Valentines as Debbie
- 2014 · Men, Women & Children as Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street as Mrs. Lovett
- 2014 · Effie Gray as Lady Eastlake
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as
- 2014 · And the Oscar Goes To... as Self (archive footage)
- 2014 · The Real Mary Poppins as Self
- 2014 · The Love Punch as Kate Jones
- 2013 · Saving Mr. Banks as P.L. Travers
- 2013 · Beautiful Creatures as Mrs. Lincoln / Sarafine Duchannes
- 2012 · Brave as Elinor (voice)
- 2012 · Walking the Dogs as The Queen
- 2012 · Men in Black 3 as Agent O
- 2011 · When Harry Left Hogwarts as Self
- 2011 · The Jonathan Ross Show as Self
- 2011 · Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 as Sybill Trelawney
- 2010 · Fry and Laurie Reunited as Self
- 2010 · The Song of Lunch as She
- 2010 · Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang as Nanny McPhee
- 2009 · An Education as Headmistress
- 2009 · The Boat That Rocked as Charlotte
- 2008 · Last Chance Harvey as Kate Walker
- 2008 · Brideshead Revisited as Lady Marchmain
- 2007 · I Am Legend as Dr. Alice Krippin
- 2007 · Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out as Self
- 2007 · Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as Sybill Trelawney
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self - Guest
- 2006 · Stranger Than Fiction as Karen Eiffel
- 2005 · Hoodwinked! as Lesa (voice)
- 2005 · A Tribute To Ismail Merchant as Self (archive footage)
- 2005 · Nanny McPhee as Nanny McPhee
- 2005 · Nos Bastidores de Hollywood as Self
- 2004 · The Tony Danza Show as Self
- 2004 · Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as Sybill Trelawney
- 2003 · Angels in America as Homeless Woman / The Angel
- 2003 · Imagining Argentina as Cecilia Rueda
- 2003 · QI as Self
- 2003 · The Ellen DeGeneres Show as Self
- 2003 · Love Actually as Karen
- 2002 · Treasure Planet as Captain Amelia (voice)
- 2002 · Timeshift as self
- 2002 · Sucré salé as Self
- 2001 · Friday Night with Jonathan Ross as Self - Guest
- 2001 · Love & Loyalty: The Making of 'The Remains of the Day' as Self
- 2001 · Wit as Vivian Bearing
- 2001 · Blind Loyalty, Hollow Honor: England's Fatal Flaw as Self
- 2001 · The Remains of the Day: The Filmmaker's Journey as Self
- 2000 · Maybe Baby as Druscilla
- 1998 · Junket Whore as Self
- 1998 · Judas Kiss as FBI Agent Sadie Hawkins
- 1998 · Primary Colors as Susan Stanton
- 1997 · The Winter Guest as Frances
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1997 · The View as Self - Guest
- 1997 · Leute heute as Self
- 1997 · Hospital! as Elephant Woman
- 1996 · E! True Hollywood Story as
- 1995 · Sense and Sensibility as Elinor Dashwood
- 1995 · Carrington as Dora Carrington
- 1994 · Junior as Dr. Diana Reddin
- 1994 · The Blue Boy as Marie Bonnar
- 1994 · Ellen as Emma Thompson
- 1994 · My Father the Hero as Isabel (uncredited)
- 1993 · In the Name of the Father as Gareth Peirce
- 1993 · The Remains of the Day as Miss Kenton
- 1993 · Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- 1993 · Much Ado About Nothing as Beatrice
- 1993 · GMTV as Self
- 1992 · Peter's Friends as Maggie Chester
- 1992 · The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as
- 1992 · Howards End as Margaret Schlegel
- 1991 · Rabbit Ears - The White Cat as Narrator (voice)
- 1991 · Dead Again as Margaret Strauss / Grace
- 1991 · Impromptu as Duchess D'Antan
- 1989 · Look Back in Anger as Alison Porter
- 1989 · Henry V as Katherine
- 1989 · The Winslow Boy as Catherine Winslow
- 1989 · The Tall Guy as Kate
- 1988 · Thompson as Self - Host
- 1988 · LIVE with Kelly and Mark as
- 1988 · LIVE with Kelly and Mark as Self - Guest
- 1987 · Fortunes of War as Harriet Pringle
- 1987 · Tutti Frutti as Suzi Kettles
- 1984 · Slags as Young Woman
- 1983 · The Crystal Cube as Jackie Meld / Various Roles
- 1983 · Alfresco as Various
- 1982 · The Young Ones as Miss Money-Sterling
- 1982 · The Comic Strip Presents... as Young Woman
- 1982 · There's Nothing to Worry About! as Various
- 1982 · Cheers as Nanny Gee
- 1982 · The Cellar Tapes as various
- 1981 · Wetten, dass..? as Self
- 1977 · The Val Doonican Music Show as
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1962 · The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson as Self
- 1953 · The Oscars as Self
- 2024 · How to Stop a Nuclear War as Narrator
- 2024 · The Fisherwoman as
- 2024 · James Ivory: In Search of Love and Beauty as Self
- 2024 · Down Cemetery Road as Zoë Boehm