Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, England, to Deborah and Lieutenant Commander Simon Scott Thomas. Her ancestry includes Welsh, English, and Dutch. Her father was a pilot for the British Royal Navy and died in a flying accident in 1964. Her stepfather was also a pilot and died six years later under similar circumstances. Her childhood home was Dorset, England. She left at the age of 19 to work as an au pair in Paris. She was married to François Oliviennes, with whom she had three children, Hannah, Joseph, and George.
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#50).
Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.
Older sister of Serena Scott Thomas.
Speaks French fluently and often stars in French films. Dubbed herself in French in Four Weddings and a Funeral .
She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queens Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.
Is the eldest of five children.
Has three children with her ex-husband, Franois Olivennes: Hannah (born in 1988), Joseph , and Georges (born 2000).
She was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of 2003 for her performance in "Three Sisters" at the Playhouse.
She was awarded Legion dHonneur, Frances highest civilian award, in January 2005 honors list.
She also dubbed herself in French for Random Hearts .
Ex-sister-in-law of Scott J. Tepper.
Member of the Official Competition jury at the 53rd Cannes International Film Festival in 2000.
Was told by a school teacher back in her native England that she wouldnt make it as an actress because there was no money to be made of it and thats what influenced her to move to France where she currently still resides.
Made her feature film debut in the 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon , which was directed by and starred Prince.
Considers herself more French than British, having lived in Paris for more years than in her homeland.
In the late 1990s she was scheduled to appear opposite Harrison Ford in a doomed production titled "Age of Aquarius," but the project fell through due to financing complications. Yet again when she was up for the role of Harrison Ford s leading lady in Six Days Seven Nights , she lost the part to Anne Heche. She finally succeeded in appearing with Ford in Random Hearts .
Has lived in Paris since she was 19.
Was approached to play Emily Tallis in Atonement .
She won a 2008 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of her performance in "Seagull" at the Playhouse.
Has the rare distinction of being in two movies that opened on the same day in the U.S - The Golden Compass and The Walker .
The Golden Compass , in which she had a small role, finished its domestic box office run on March 6 2008. The day after, March 7 2008, her movie The Other Boleyn Girl opened in theaters.
Has played the mother of Scarlett Johansson s characters in two movies: The Horse Whisperer and The Other Boleyn Girl .
Was considered for the part of Mrs. Lovett in a film adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street .
Kristins paternal grandfather, Commander William Scott Thomas, DSC, RN, was Welsh, born in St Asaph, Flintshire, Wales. Kristin is also of English, and 1/16th Dutch, ancestry.
Speaking an almost perfect French, with only a small hint of English accent, she provided her own dubbing in most of her movies shot in English.
(October 2008) She is starring as "Arkadina" in "The Seagull" at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York.
(January 2006) Stars in the Luigi Pirandello play "As You Desire Me" at the Playhouse Theatre, West End, London, England.
Admits to being difficult on the set of Gosford Park . She did apologize to the cast and crew upon filming, but claims that she was in character during the production: "I was playing this woman who was difficult and so I became difficult".
She actively lobbied director Anthony Minghella for the part of Katherine in The English Patient . Minghella was dubious at first, especially after their first meeting which Scott-Thomas labeled as "disastrous". She was cast after writing him a letter which included the statement "I am K in your film".
Considers Only God Forgives to be very disturbing and hard to watch.
The casting choice of her as Katherine Clifton in The English Patient led to a dispute between the studio and the producers of the film. Originally, 20th Century Fox was to finance the film, but they preferred a more well-known actress to play Katharine instead of Thomas. Demi Moore lobbied particularly hard for the role. After the producers refused to give in on a series of casting choices, Fox backed out of the film, and the project was uncertain just as production was about to begin. However, within a few weeks - during which the cast and crew stayed on in Italy without knowing if the film would be made - the film was picked up by Miramax.
As of 2016, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Four Weddings and a Funeral , The English Patient and Gosford Park . Of those, only The English Patient won in the category.
Was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier best actress award for her performance in Anton Chekhov s "The Seagull", on Londons West End Stage. She was also nominated for the same award for her performance in Harold Pinter s "Old Times".
She was awarded the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queens New Year Honours List for her services to drama.
Has starred in 3 films with good friend Ralph Fiennes : The English Patient , Chromophobia and The Invisible Woman .
Starred in three movies about World War II: The English Patient , Elle sappelait Sarah and Suite Franaise .
When asked about which film shes most proud of during an interview with Gloucester Citizen on March 22, 2015, she cited Un t inoubliable , Only God Forgives and The English Patient .
She views Lucian Pintilie s Un t inoubliable as a peak of her career. She played a leading part for which she had to speak Romanian. Rather than learn Romanian for her part, she read her lines phonetically. She had all the lines translated into French, which she speaks fluently, so she knew what she was saying. She explained further, "The deal was they were going to dub me. But in the end they didnt bother because I was able to say it with enough conviction. Its a great, great movie. Really great." [2002].
She holds both British and French citizenship.
Revealed to Belgian newspaper Le Soir in 2014 that she dreams of working with the Dardenne brothers (Luc Dardenne and Jean-Pierre Dardenne ).
I try to make films that I find exciting. It makes me want to get out of bed at five in the morning, have my make-up done and play for the rest of the day.
