Profile: Kristin Scott Thomas
Born: May 24, 1960, Redruth, Cornwall, England, UK
Education: Central School of Speech and Drama in London; L'Ecole Nationale des Arts et Techniques de Théâtre
Husband: François Olivennes (obstetrician)
Children: Hannah, Joseph, George
Quote: "I am terribly inarticulate. I find it very difficult to say what I think, which is why I am an actress. . . . If you are inarticulate you can either become a painter, or a musician, or an actor, and the laziest of these three is becoming an actor because somebody else writes it . . . you just put the hat on and say the words."
Kristen Scott Thomas Biography
Ms. Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall (in southwest England, very close to Land's End!) on May 24, 1960. Her father, a pilot in the Royal Navy, was killed in an accident when she was five years old; her mother remarried another pilot six years later who subsequently died in a similar mishap. Growing up primarily in a rural environment as the eldest of five children, Kristin has said that she was "incredibly shy and unsure of myself."
An interest in acting from an early age lead to a year in drama school at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, though her mother preferred for her to attend a university. As a practical matter she enrolled in a teaching course, but her determination to pursue acting finally won out despite, or perhaps in spite of, a teaching instructor's unbelievably harsh pronouncement that Kristin had no talent and should "stick to the amateur-dramatics society;" surely an example of nurturing and inspirational pedagogy at its very finest.
Needing a break from this oppressive attitude and environment, Kristin went to visit a friend in Paris, intending to stay for a couple weeks. As it turned out, she found work in the city as an au pair for a supportive family who encouraged her desire to act. Still in her teens, she re-enrolled in drama school -- this time in Paris's École Nationale des Arts et Technique de Théâtre -- and found her calling. Her drama teacher helped her find her first job in theater; she somewhat self-deprecatingly adds, "It helped that I was something exotic in France -- a funny little English girl."
Kristin's major cinematic debut came in the Prince's Under the Cherry Moon in 1986. She was originally called to try out for a minor character, but her reading of the leading lady in auditions was so compelling they offered her that part instead. 1988 saw her in a film adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust, and a noticeably British cast after years in France: "I was a bit intimidated at the prospect of working with all these British actors. I don't have any real training; I did most of my study in France, where they don't have the same British method of acting. I thought everybody would be doing voice warm-ups before each take." Handful turned out to be less formidable than she feared and her portrayal of Lady Brenda Last remains one of her most compelling. A steady series of roles in films and television, primarily in Europe, followed until the smash international success of Four Weddings and a Funeral -- for which she was awarded a BAFTA and an Evening Standard Award for Best Actress as Fiona -- in 1994. Other noteable roles include agent Sarah Davies in Mission: Impossible (1996) and her Oscar-nominated role as Katharine Clifton in The English Patient (1996).
She presently lives with her husband, François Oliviennes, and their three children on the Left Bank in Paris.
Kristen Scott Thomas Filmography
Chromophobia (2005)
Man to Man (2005)--Elena Van Den Ende
Arsène Lupin (2004)--La comtesse de Cagliostro
Petites coupures (2003)--Béatrice
Gosford Park (2001)--Lady Sylvia McCordle
Life as a House (2001)--Robin, ex-wife
Play (2000)--First Woman
Up at the Villa (2000)--Mary Panton
Random Hearts (1999)--Kay Chandler
Souvenir (1998)
The Revengers' Comedies(1998)--Imogen Staxton-Billing (aka Sweet Revenge)
The Horse Whisperer (1998)--Annie MacLean
Amour et confusions (1997)--Sarah
Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe (1996)--Narrator (English version)
The English Patient (1996)--Katharine Clifton
The Pompatus of Love (1996)--Caroline
Somebody to Love (1996)
Mission: Impossible (1996)--Sarah Davies
Gulliver's Travels (1996) (TV)--Immortal Gatekeeper
Le Confessionnal (1995)--Assistant to Hitchcock (aka The Confessional)
Plaisir d'offrir (1995)
Belle Époque (1995) (mini) TV Series--Alice Avellano
Angels and Insects (1995)--Matty Crompton
Richard III (1995)--Lady Anne
En mai, fais ce qu'il te plaît (1995) (aka Mayday)
Body and Soul (1994) (mini) TV Series--Sister Gabriel/Anna Gibson
Les Milles (1994)--Mary-Jane Cooper (aka Les Milles: Le train de la liberté)
Un été inoubliable (1994)--Marie-Therese Von Debretsy (aka An Unforgettable
Summer)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)--Fiona
Weep No More, My Lady (1992) (TV)--Elisabeth
Look at It This Way (1992) (mini) TV Series--Victoria Rolfe
Bitter Moon (1992)--Fiona
Titmuss Regained (1991) (mini) TV Series--Jenny Sidonia
Mio caro dottor Gräsler (1991)--Sabine (aka The Bachelor)
Framed (1990) (TV)--Kate
Aux yeux du monde (1990)--L'Institutrice (aka In the Eyes of the World)
The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990) (TV)--Leda St Gabriel
Le Bal du gouverneur (1990)--Marie Forestier (aka The Governor's Party)
The Endless Game (1990) (TV)--Caroline
Bille en tête (1989)--Clara (aka Headstrong)
Force majeure (1989)--Katia (aka Uncontrollable Circumstances)
A Handful of Dust (1988)--Brenda
The Last Tenth Man (1988) (TV)--Therese
La Méridienne (1988)--Marie (aka Lounge Chair)
Djamal et Juliette (1987)
Sentimental Journey (1987) (TV)
La Tricheuse (1987) (TV)--Nathalie (aka Chameleon)
Agent trouble (1987)--Julie (aka The Man Who Loved Zoos)
Under the Cherry Moon (1986)--Mary Sharon
Mistral's Daughter (1984) (mini) TV Series--Nancy
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