| Kristin Scott Thomas | ||||||||||
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 Kristin Scott Thomas |
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| Birth name | Kristin Scott Thomas | |||||||||
| Born | May 24 1960  Redruth, Cornwall, England |
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| Spouse(s) | Francois Olivennes | |||||||||
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Kristin Scott Thomas, OBE (born 24 May 1960) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall. Her father was a pilot for the British Royal Navy[1] and died in a flying accident in 1964. She is the older sister of actress Serena Scott Thomas, the niece of Admiral Sir Richard Thomas (who was Black Rod in the House of Lords), and a more distant grand niece of Capt. Robert F. Scott, the ill-fated explorer who lost the race to the South Pole. Her last name is an amalgam of the last names of those two families. Scott Thomas's childhood home was Dorset, England. Her mother remarried another Royal Navy pilot, who also died in a flying accident six years after the death of her father. Scott Thomas was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College and St Antony's Leweston School for Girls, in Dorset, and on graduation attended drama college. On being told she would never be a good enough actress, she left the acting school at the age of 19 to work as an au pair in Paris.[2] Speaking French fluently, she studied acting at the École nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du théâtre (ENSATT) in Paris, and on graduation was cast opposite pop star Prince as the French girl in the film Under the Cherry Moon.
Career
Thomas was given an OBE in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours list, and was also awarded the Légion d'honneur by the French government in 2005. She has also played in many TV movies, and as an actress in the theatre. Scott Thomas starred in the 2003 Book Clubbin episode of Absolutely Fabulous; her character was called Plum Berkeley. In the British motoring programme Top Gear, she was used as a standard of reference for "good taste." During the "Cool Wall" segment of the programme, presenter Jeremy Clarkson would rate a car's coolness based mostly on what he thinks Kristin Scott Thomas's level of distaste for it would be. She made her long-awaited appearance as the "Star In A Reasonably Priced Car" on the episode broadcast on February 25, 2007. On this episode, amid excessive kow-towing from Clarkson and joking from Richard Hammond and James May because Clarkson has shown much affection for Kristin in the past, she proceeded to rubbish most of the decisions Clarkson had made over the past years of the Cool Wall. She also ridiculed the car that Jeremy Clarkson had just ordered, a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. She completed her lap in a time of 1.54, placing her just above Phillip Glenister although still near the bottom of the leaderboard.
Personal life
Scott Thomas is married (although separated) from French gynaecologist Dr François Olivennes by whom she has three children: Hannah (born in 1988), Joseph (born 1991), and Georges (born 2000). They had been together 17 years. The separation was reportedly precipitated by her romantic involvement with English actor Tobias Menzies (nearly 14 years her junior), whom she met while appearing in Chekhov's play Three Sisters in London's West End. [3] Menzies was also her co-star in a London production of Pirandello's As You Desire Me in [2006]].[4] Her relationship with Menzies now ended, she lives in an apartment in Paris with her two younger children and counts Charlotte Rampling, Juliette Binoche, Gérard Depardieu, Jane Birkin [5] and her English Patient co-star Ralph Fiennes [6] among her closest friends.
Awards and nominations
- 1996 – Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role - The English Patient (film) (nominated)
- 1994 – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Four Weddings and a Funeral (won)
- 1996 – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role - The English Patient (film) (nominated)
Filmography
- Under The Cherry Moon (1986) ... Mary Sharon
- A Handful of Dust (1988) ... Brenda Last
- Bitter Moon (1992) ... Fiona
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) ... Fiona
- Richard III (1995) ... Lady Anne
- Angels & Insects (1995) ... Matty Crompton
- Microcosmos (1996) ... Narrator
- The English Patient (1996) ... Katharine Clifton
- Mission: Impossible (1996) ... Sarah Davies
- Love & Confusions (Amour et confusions) (1997) ... Sarah
- The Revengers' Comedies (1997) ... Imogen Staxton-Billing
- The Horse Whisperer (1998)... Annie MacLean
- Random Hearts (1999) ... Kay Chandler (romance)
- Life as a House (2001) ... Robin Monroe
- Up at the Villa (2000) ... Mary Panton
- Play (2000) ... First Woman
- Gosford Park (2001).... Sylvia McCordle
- Small Cuts (Petites coupures) (2003) ... Béatrice
- Arsène Lupin (2004) ... Joséphine, comtesse de Cagliostro
- Man to Man (2005) ... Elena Van Den Ende
- Keeping Mum (2005) ... Gloria Goodfellow
- Tell No One (2007) ... Hélène Perkins
- The Valet (2007) ... Christine Levasseur
- The Walker (2007) ... Lynn Lockner
- The Golden Compass (2007) (voice) ... Stelmaria
- The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) ... Lady Elizabeth Boleyn
- Largo Winch (2008) ... Ann Fergusson
Theatre
- La Lune déclinante sur 4 ou 5 personnes qui dansent ([1983, Festival de Semur en Auxois])
- Terre étrangère (1984, Théâtre des Amandiers de Nanterre)
- Naïves Hirondelles (1984, Festival d'Avignon)
- Yes, peut-être (1985, in a field in Burgundy)
- Bérénice (2001, Festival de Perpignan and Festival d'Avignon + national tour)
- Three Sister's (2003, Playhouse Theatre, London) ... Masha
- As You Desire Me (2005-06, Playhouse Theatre, London) ... Elma
- The Seagull (2007, Royal Court Theatre, London) ... Arkadina
References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/91/Kristin-Scott-Thomas.html
- ^ http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/features/article1903514.ece
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JXVA2OPME2N15QFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/arts/2005/10/17/btkristin16.xml&page=3
- ^ http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,2135020,00.html
- ^ http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/driving/features/article1903514.ece
- ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=JXVA2OPME2N15QFIQMGSFFOAVCBQWIV0?xml=/arts/2005/10/17/btkristin16.xml&page=3
External links
- An Appreciation of Kristin Scott Thomas
- Kristin Scott Thomas at the Internet Movie Database
- Kristin Scott Thomas Fan Forum
- Kristin Scott Thomas Frenchy Site
- Ryan Gilbey, The three stages of Kristin, (interview) The Guardian, 27 July 2007
- Mark Anstead, Kristin Scott Thomas: The Ice Maiden thaws, (interview) Daily Mail, 8 June 2007
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Miriam Margolyes for The Age of Innocence |
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role 1994 for Four Weddings and a Funeral |
Succeeded by Kate Winslet for Sense and Sensibility |
