Award-winning English actress Kristin Scott Thomas was born on May 24, 1960 in Redruth, Cornwall. Her mother had studied drama before marrying her father, who was a pilot for the British Royal Navy. She attended the Cheltenham Ladies’ College and St. Antony Leweston’s School for Girls. Upon graduating, she began training as a drama teacher in the Central School of Speech and Drama. At 19, she left the school and worked as an au pair, and, speaking French fluently, she studied acting at the École nationale supérieure des arts et techniques du theater (ENSATT) in Paris.
Kristin Scott Thomas’ first television role was as Nancy in the mini-series Mistral’s Daughter in 1984. She continued appearing in television on movies like Sentimental Journey and La Tricheuse in 1987. She was the lead female in 1988’s romantic drama A Handful of Dust before appearing on TV again in The Tenth Man.
During the 1990’s, Kristin Scott Thomas took on more television roles. These include Caroline in The Endless Game, was in The Secret Life of Ian Fleming and in 1992’s Weep No More, My Lady. She was also in the mini-series Titmuss Regained and Body & Soul. In 1994, she was cast as Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Kristin Scott Thomas has also been in a number of French films. Some of these are Un été inoubliable and Plaisir d'offrir.
Scott Thomas played the role of Sarah Davies in the blockbuster Mission: Impossible and was in Pompatus of Love. She is perhaps best known for playing Katharine Clifton in the 1996 war drama The English Patient. In 1998, she can be seen in Souvenir as Ann, The Horse Whisperer as Annie MacLean, and The Revengers’ Comedies as Imogen Staxton-Billing.
She can also be seen in an episode of Absolutely Fabulous. In 2005, she was cast in films like Man to Man, Chromophobia and Keeping Mum. She lent her voice to the character Stelmaria in 2007’s family adventure The Golden Compass and starred as Lady Elizabeth Boleyn in 2008’s historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl.
In 2005, she was awarded an OBE (Order of the British Empire) and also the Légion d'honneur by the French government. She won a Laurence Olivier award for her performance in a London production of Chekhov’s The Seagull in 2008.