One of the most well-regarded actresses of the 1990s and new millennium, Englands Kristin Scott Thomas was an Oscar nominee whose poised and elegant work in such films as Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and The English Patient (1996) impressed critics and moviegoers alike. After an auspicious debut in the Prince-directed Under the Cherry Moon (1986), she quickly proved herself capable of holding her own with such esteemed film legends as Judi Dench and Alec Guinness in A Handful of Dust (1988) before establishing herself as an international star with The English Patient. A stint in Hollywood yielded hits like Mission: Impossible (1996) and The Horse Whisperer (1998), but she was soon back in Europe for independent-minded productions. Her profile was raised considerably by acclaimed performances on stage in The Seagull in 2007 and in the French feature Ive Loved You So Long (2008), both of which cemented her status as one of the United Kingdoms most enduring and acclaimed actresses.
Born in the town of Redruth in Cornwall, England on May 24, 1960, she was a grand niece of the ill-fated polar explorer Sir Robert Scott and a niece of Admiral Sir Richard Thomas, who served in Britains House of Lords. Her father, Simon Scott Thomas, was a flyer for the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm who perished in a plane accident in 1964, leaving Scott Thomas and her four younger siblings which included fellow future actress Serena Scott Thomas both emotionally and financially bereft. Scott Thomas mother later remarried another Royal Navy pilot who, in a horrific twist of fate, also died in a flying accident in 1970.
A shy and withdrawn child from an early age, she found an outlet in acting, but faced opposition from her mother, who enrolled her at Cheltenham Ladies College. She abandoned the school at 16, and eventually attended the Center for Speech and Drama to become a drama teacher. Eventually, the lure of the theater proved too strong for Scott Thomas to resist, but her plans were thwarted by an educator who suggested that she lacked talent. She quit the Center at 19 and headed to France to spend time with a friend; a two-week stay eventually turned into a permanent relocation. While working as an au pair, Scott Thomas gave drama school another try; this time at the
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