Emma Thompson
Known for
Emma Thompson is a British actress, screenwriter and author born in Paddington, London, England. Considered one of the most prestigious performers of her generation, she has built a career spanning more than four decades, alternating film, television and theater. A two-time Academy Award winner, she won Best Actress for 'Howards End' and Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Sense and Sensibility', becoming one of the few people honored for both acting and writing. Among her best-known roles are Professor Sybill Trelawney in the 'Harry Potter' saga, Karen in 'Love Actually', the Baroness in 'Cruella', Mrs. Potts in 'Beauty and the Beast' and Agent O in 'Men in Black 3'. She has also appeared in notable titles such as 'The Remains of the Day', 'Saving Mr. Banks', 'Nanny McPhee' and 'I Am Legend'. Recognized for her versatility and interpretive elegance, Emma Thompson has established herself as one of the most respected and awarded figures of British and international cinema.
Emma Thompson
65 Movies
14 Series
Emma Thompson is a British actress, screenwriter and author born in Paddington, London, England. Considered one of the most prestigious performers of her generation, she has built a career spanning more than four decades, alternating film, television and theater. A two-time Academy Award winner, she won Best Actress for 'Howards End' and Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Sense and Sensibility', becoming one of the few people honored for both acting and writing. Among her best-known roles are Professor Sybill Trelawney in the 'Harry Potter' saga, Karen in 'Love Actually', the Baroness in 'Cruella', Mrs. Potts in 'Beauty and the Beast' and Agent O in 'Men in Black 3'. She has also appeared in notable titles such as 'The Remains of the Day', 'Saving Mr. Banks', 'Nanny McPhee' and 'I Am Legend'. Recognized for her versatility and interpretive elegance, Emma Thompson has established herself as one of the most respected and awarded figures of British and international cinema.
Movies
Plays Lydia Harbottle
The Sheep Detectives
2026
Plays Sybill Trelawney
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
Plays Sybill Trelawney
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
Plays Sybill Trelawney
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
Plays Dr. Alice Krippin
I Am Legend
2007
Plays The Baroness
Cruella
2021
Plays Elinor (voice)
Brave
2012
Plays Mrs. Potts
Beauty and the Beast
2017
Plays Nancy Stokes
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
2022
Plays Captain Amelia (voice)
Treasure Planet
2002
Plays Karen
Love Actually
2003
Plays Dr Rawlings
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
2025
Plays Agent O
Men in Black 3
2012
Writer
Plays Dr Rawlings
Bridget Jones's Baby
2016
Plays Poly (voice)
Dolittle
2020
Plays Agent O
Men in Black: International
2019
Writer
Plays Elinor Dashwood
Sense and Sensibility
1995
Producer
Plays Barb
Dead of Winter
2025
Plays Prime Minister
Johnny English Strikes Again
2018
Writer
Plays Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang
2010
Writer
Plays Nanny McPhee
Nanny McPhee
2005
Plays Agatha Trunchbull
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
2022
Plays Gareth Peirce
In the Name of the Father
1993
Plays Miss Kenton
The Remains of the Day
1993
Plays Dr. Rosshilde
Burnt
2015
Plays Dora the Yeti Elder (voice)
Missing Link
2019
Plays Mrs. Lincoln / Sarafine Duchannes
Beautiful Creatures
2013
Plays Beatrice
Much Ado About Nothing
1993
Plays Margaret Schlegel
Howards End
1992
Plays P.L. Travers
Saving Mr. Banks
2013
Plays Karen Eiffel
Stranger Than Fiction
2006
Writer
Plays Petra Andrich
Last Christmas
2019
Plays Charlotte
The Boat That Rocked
2009
Plays Dr. Diana Reddin
Junior
1994
Plays Katherine
Henry V
1989
Plays Duchess D'Antan
Impromptu
1991
Plays Lady Marchmain
Brideshead Revisited
2008
Plays Margaret Strauss / Grace
Dead Again
1991
Plays Headmistress
An Education
2009
Plays Cecilia Rueda
Imagining Argentina
2003
Plays Cath Stevenson
What's Love Got to Do with It?
2023
Plays Susan Stanton
Primary Colors
1998
Writer
Plays Lady Eastlake
Effie Gray
2014
Plays Catherine Bryson
A Walk in the Woods
2015
Plays Maureen Meyerowitz
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
2017
Plays Kate Walker
Last Chance Harvey
2008
Plays Anna Quangel
Alone in Berlin
2016
Plays Frances
The Winter Guest
1997
Plays Fiona Maye
The Children Act
2018
Plays Amanda
How to Build a Girl
2020
TV Shows
Writer
Plays Various
Alfresco
1983
Producer
Plays Zoë Boehm
Down Cemetery Road
2025
Plays Harriet Pringle
Fortunes of War
1987
Plays Suzi Kettles
Tutti Frutti
1987
Plays Vivienne Rook
Years and Years
2019
Plays Nurse Emily / Homeless Woman / The Angel
Angels in America
2003
Creator
Plays Various
There's Nothing to Worry About!
1982
Plays Miss Money-Sterling
The Young Ones
1982
Plays Lady Marcham
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
2022
Plays Young Woman
The Comic Strip Presents...
1982
Plays Nanny Gee
Cheers
1982
Plays Jackie Meld / Various Roles
The Crystal Cube
1983
Plays Marie
Screen Two
1985
Plays The Queen
Playhouse Presents
2012
Latest Trailers
Watch Trailer
The Sheep Detectives
Full Filmography
The Sheep Detectives
Lydia Harbottle
2026
Film
Down Cemetery Road
Zoë Boehm · 8 episodes
2025
TV
Dead of Winter
Barb
2025
Film
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
Dr Rawlings
2025
Film
What's Love Got to Do with It?
Cath Stevenson
2023
Film
Why Didn't They Ask Evans?
Lady Marcham · 1 episode
2022
TV
Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical
Agatha Trunchbull
2022
Film
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Nancy Stokes
2022
Film
Cruella
The Baroness
2021
Film
Photos
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Emma Thompson and where are they from?
Emma Thompson is 67 years old, born on April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, England, UK.
What are the most famous roles of Emma Thompson?
Emma Thompson is best known for roles in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
How many movies has Emma Thompson been in?
Over a 44-year career (since 1982), Emma Thompson has appeared in 62 movies and 14 TV shows.
What was Emma Thompson's first movie?
The career of Emma Thompson began with The Cellar Tapes (1982).
What is Emma Thompson's most recent movie or series?
Emma Thompson's most recent release is The Sheep Detectives, which premiered on April 30, 2026.
What TV shows has Emma Thompson appeared in?
On television, Emma Thompson has appeared in Cheers, Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Years and Years.
Emma Thompson
1959-04-15 · Paddington, London, England, UK
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.