Thompson, Emma (1959–)

English actress and screenwriter. Born April 15, 1959, in Paddington, London, England; dau. of Eric Thompson (stage director and creator of children's program The Magic Roundabout) and Phyllida Law (actress); sister of Sophie Thompson (actress); Newnham College, Cambridge, BA, 1982; m. Kenneth Branagh (actor, director), 1989 (div. 1995); m. Greg Wise (actor), 2003; children: Gaia Romilly Wise.

The only person to win Academy Awards for both acting and writing, spent student years at Cambridge acting in Footlights student theater and co-writing, co-producing and co-directing university's 1st all-female revue (1982); spent several years as stand-up comic; joined former Footlights colleagues Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry in tv comedy "Alfresco" (1983), leading to tv special "Up For Grabs"; starred in "Tutti Frutti" (1987) and in 1st dramatic role for miniseries "Fortunes of War" (1988), with Kenneth Branagh; on stage, performed in long-running West End musical Me and My Girl (1985–86); with Branagh, starred on stage in Look Back in Anger (1989) and on film in Henry V (1989), Dead Again (1991), Peter's Friends (1992) and Much Ado About Nothing (1993); won Oscar and BAFTA Award for Best Actress for Howards End (1992), followed by Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress for In the Name of the Father and Best Actress for The Remains of the Day (both 1993); won Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Sense and Sensibility, as well as Oscar nod for Best Actress (1995); appeared with mother in The Winter Guest (1997); other films include Carrington (1995), Primary Colors (1998), Maybe Baby (2000), Love Actually (2003) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004); on tv, appeared in "Wit" (2001) and nominated for Screen Actors Guild Award for miniseries "Angels in America" (2003).

See also Chris Nickson, Emma: Many Faces of Emma Thompson (Taylor, 1997).