Emma Thompson



Distinguished British actress, born April 15, 1959, best known for a lot of Merchant Ivory movies, as well as Dead Again, Stranger Than Fiction, Nanny McPhee and Last Chance Harvey. Introduced Fry to Laurie, thus making her responsible for a veritable English institution. Also almost played God (it was decided that Alanis Morissette would be funnier).

Thompson is also the only person who's won Academy Awards in both screenwriting (Sense and Sensibility) and acting (Howards End). Compare with Barbra Streisand, Laurence Olivier, and Michael Douglas, who also have unusual Oscar combinations.

This actress provides examples of:

 * Old Shame: This.
 * Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Averted in Tutti Frutti, an eighties BBC drama-comedy (and by hell does it slide further away from comedy as the series goes on), where she absolutely NAILS the West End/art student Glasgwegian accent.