Emma Thompson

Dame Emma Thompson is one of the most versatile and acclaimed talents in British cinema, distinguished as one of very few people to have won Academy Awards for both acting and screenwriting. Born on April 15, 1959, in Paddington, London, she grew up in an artistic family; her father Eric Thompson was an actor and her mother Phyllida Law is also an actress. She studied English at Newnham College, Cambridge, where she became involved in the Footlights comedy troupe.

Thompson first gained widespread recognition through her work with Kenneth Branagh, to whom she was married from 1989 to 1995. Her breakthrough film role came in Howards End (1992), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. She followed this with acclaimed performances in The Remains of the Day (1993), In the Name of the Father (1993), and Sense and Sensibility (1995), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. This made her the only person in history to have won Oscars for both acting and writing.

Her career has spanned an extraordinary range of genres and roles. She portrayed Professor Trelawney in the Harry Potter films, starred as P.L. Travers in Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and delivered a powerful performance in Years and Years (2019). Her role in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022) was widely praised. She was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2018 for her services to drama and is also known for her humanitarian work and environmental activism.

As of 2026, Emma Thompson’s net worth is estimated at $50 million. She continues to act, write, and produce, and is regarded as a national treasure in the United Kingdom. Her ability to move seamlessly between comedy and drama, blockbusters and independent films, has made her one of the most respected figures in the entertainment industry.