KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS
Date of Birth: May 24, 1960
Flying accidents have played a huge role in Kristin Scott Thomas' life. Born in Redruth, Cornwall, Thomas was five when she lost her father in a flying accident when he crashed while flying with the Royal Air Force. Her mother remarried. But when she was 11, her stepfather, also a pilot, died in another plane crash. Years later, Thomas would tap into all that grief when she played Ralph Fiennes' lover in The English Patient (1996) who is later horribly burned in a plane crash. "It is very, very easy for me to plug into all that sort of tragic stuff inside," Thomas says. For her work in the film, she received nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
At 16, Thomas began a teacher training course at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She quickly switched to drama studies where she was advised by the head of the department that she had no talent. So the then-18-year-old Thomas ditched the school and headed to Paris for a two-week holiday that ended up lasting much longer. Thomas gained admission to Paris' L'Ecole Nationale des Arts et Techniques de Théâtre, which led to her being hired by the artist formerly known as Prince to act in his film Under the Cherry Moon (1986). That film began a long road to such more memorable fare as A Handful of Dust (1988) and Bitter Moon (1992) before she broke big on American shores with Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). Some of her more recent roles The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011), The Woman in the Fifth (2012) and Bel Ami (2012).
But don't expect Thomas to make the move to California anytime soon. "When I get to Hollywood," she says, "I feel all this pressure to be exactly the same as everybody else. I think it's more interesting to dither around on the outskirts and just nip in from time to time."
Kristin is married to François Oliviennes, a French obstetrician. They live in a 19th-century country house in France with their three children. Fluent in French, she has most recently been appearing in French films.
Filmography
The Invisible Woman (2013)
Cherchez Hortense (2013)
Seconds of Pleasure (2012)
Only God Forgives(2012)
In the House(2012)
Bel Ami(2012)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen(2012)
The Woman in the Fifth(2012)
Contre toi (2011)
Sarah's Key(2011)
Love Crime(2011)
Nowhere Boy(2009)
Leaving(2009)
Brontë (2009)
Confessions of a Shopaholic(2009)
Largo Winch(2008)
Easy Virtue(2008)
Seuls two (2008)
I've Loved You So Long(2008)
The Other Boleyn Girl(2008)
The Golden Compass (2007) (voice)
The Walker(2007)
Mauvaise pente (2007)
The Walker(2007)
Ne le dis à personne (2006)
La doublure(2006)
Keeping Mum(2005)
Chromophobia (2005)
Man to Man (2005)
Arsene Lupin (2004)
Petites coupures (2003)
Gosford Park(2001)
Life as a House(2001)
Play (2000)
Up at the Villa(2000)
Random Hearts(1999)
Souvenir (1998)
The Horse Whisperer(1998)
The Revengers' Comedies (1997)
Amour et Confusions (1996)
The English Patient(1996)
Mission: Impossible(1996)
The Pompatus of Love (1996)
Angels and Insects (1995)
The Confessional (1995)
Mayday (1995)
Richard III(1995)
An Unforgettable Summer (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
Les Milles (1994)
Somebody To Love (1993)
Bitter Moon (1992)
In the Eyes of the World (1990)
The Governor's Party (1990)
Headstrong (1989)
Uncontrollable Circumstances (1989)
A Handful of Dust (1988)
Lounge Chair (1988)
Agent Trouble (1987)
La Tricheuse (1987)
Under the Cherry Moon (1986)