Dame Emma Thompson DBE is a British actress, screenwriter, activist, author and comedian. She is one of Britain's most acclaimed actresses and is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, three BAFTA Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.Born in London to English actor Eric Thompson and Scottish actress Phyllida Law, Thompson was educated at Newnham College, University of Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe. After appearing in several comedy programmes, she came to prominence in 1987 in two BBC TV series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in both series. Her first film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In the early 1990s, she often collaborated with her husband, actor and director Kenneth Branagh. The pair became popular in the British media and co-starred in several films, including Dead Again and Much Ado About Nothing.In 1992, Thompson won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for the period drama Howards End. In 1993, she had dual Academy Award nominations for her roles in The Remains of the Day as the housekeeper of a grand household and In the Name of the Father as a lawyer, becoming the eighth performer in history to be nominated for two acting Oscars in the same year. Thompson scripted and starred in Sense and Sensibility, which earned her numerous awards, including an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay—which makes her the only person to receive Academy Awards for acting and writing—and a second BAFTA Award for Best Actress.