Uma Thurman

Profile
Name: Uma Thurman
Birth Name: Uma Karuna Thurman
Height: 6'
Sex: F
Nationality: American
Birth Date: April 29, 1970
Birth Place: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Profession: actress, model
Education: Northfield Mount Herman School in Northfield, Massachusetts
Amherst Regional Junior High School in Amherst, Massachusetts
Professional Children's High School in New York
Husband/Wife: Ethan Hawke (actor; b. November 6, 1970; married on May 1, 1998; separated on July 20, 2004), Gary Oldman (actor; b. March 21, 1958; married in October 1990; divorced in 1992)
Relationship: Andre Balasz (hotelier; split on March 20, 2006), Timothy Hutton (actor; b. August 16, 1960; began dating during filming of Beautiful Girls - 1995)
Father: Robert A.F. Thurman (professor, teaches Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University, NYC; b. October 14, 1932)
Mother: Nena Thurman (psychotherapist, former model; born in 1941)
Brother: Dechen Thurman (actor; b. January 18, 1973), Mipam Thurman (born in 1978), Ganden Thurman (born in 1968)
Grand Father: Baron Karl von Schlebrugg (maternal grandparent; jailed by Nazis in WWII for not betraying Jewish business partners)
Grand Mother: Brigit Holmquist (maternal grandparent), Elizabeth Farrar (actress; paternal grandparent)
Son: Roan (born on January 15, 2002)
Daughter: Maya Ray Thurman-Hawke (born on July 8, 1998 in NYC)
Claim to fame: as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino' Pulp Fiction (1994)

Biography
Uma Thurman had to break from her family’s core values to join the high school cheerleading squad. Her offbeat bohemian Buddhist upbringing in India and all over the United States made her a bit of an outcast among her all-American teen peers, and the cheerleading helped bridge the gap. School plays, though, were her favorite way to fit in, and she ultimately left her Massachusetts boarding school at age 15 for a New York acting career. The independent teen spent a year washing dishes and modeling to pay the rent, until hired for a role in Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987). Critics liked Thurman far better than the movie, and casting directors took note. Her exotic good looks served her well the next year for the part of a goddess in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and for the steamy Dangerous Liaisons.

At 18, Thurman moved to England to escape Hollywood typecasting -- the actor was more interested in a serious career than sex-symbol fame and her growing over-obsessive fan base. In 1990, at age 20, Thurman married fellow actor Gary Oldman. The couple divorced two years later. In 1990, too, she was cast in Where The Heart Is, and the intelligent (but steamy) Henry and June. She came solidly back to mainstream Hollywood, with a few independents thrown in, with Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (TV - 1991), Final Analysis (1992), Jennifer 8 (1992), Mad Dog and Glory (1993), and Even Cowgirls Get The Blues (1994). A role in the risky Pulp Fiction (1994) turned out to be a smart career choice, for Thurman earned an Oscar nomination, a Golden Globe nomination and an MTV movie award for her stellar performance.

She continued to mix sure commercial successes with less-sure art films, going on to star in A Month By The Lake (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996), Batman and Robin (1997), Gattaca (1997), Les Miserables (1998), and The Avengers (1998 - “winning” a Razzie Worst Actress nomination and disappointing critics). She was busy off-camera in 1998 first marrying actor Ethan Hawke then giving birth to daughter, Maya Ray. Thurman went off-Broadway the next year with The Misanthrope, and then back to film with Sweet and Lowdown

Filmography
2007 In Bloom
2007 The Accidental Husband
2006 My Super Ex-Girlfriend
2005 The Producers
2005 Prime
2005 The Brothers Grimm
2005 The Naked Brothers Band
2005 Be Cool
2004 Kill Bill Vol. 2
2003 Paycheck
2003 Kill Bill Vol. 1
2002 Hysterical Blindness
2001 Chelsea Walls
2001 Tape
2001 Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood
2000 The Golden Bowl
2000 Vatel
1999 Sweet and Lowdown
1998 Les Miserables
1998 The Avengers
1997 Gattaca
1997 Batman & Robin
1996 Beautiful Girls
1996 The Truth About Cats & Dogs
1995 A Month by the Lake
1995 Duke Of Groove
1994 Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
1994 Pulp Fiction
1993 Mad Dog and Glory
1992 Final Analysis
1992 Jennifer Eight
1991 Robin Hood
1990 Where the Heart Is
1990 Henry & June
1989 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
1988 Dangerous Liaisons
1988 Johnny Be Good
1987 Kiss Daddy Goodnight

Executive Producer
2002 Hysterical Blindness

Producer
2007 The Accidental Husband

Awards
Saturn Award
Year : 2004
Category : Best Actress
For : Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Won

Empire Award
Year : 2004
Category : Best Actress
For : Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Won

MTV Movie Award
Year : 2004
Category : Best Female Performance & Best Fight
For : Kill Bill: Vol. 1
Won

Golden Globe Awards
Year : 2003
Category : Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television
For : Hysterical Blindness
Won

Blockbuster Entertainment Award
Year : 1998
Category : Favorite Actress - Sci-Fi
For : Batman & Robin
Won

Trivia
* Has the same birthday with Michelle Pfeiffer, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jerry Seinfeld, and Andre Agassi.
* Was named for a Hindu goddess of light and beauty and the name means the one who bestows blessing.
* Her middle name, Karuna, is one of the four sublime abodes in Buddhism and means compassion.
* Her father, Robert A.F. Thurman,
* was the first person from western to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk
* A nude statue of her grandmother, Brigit Holmquist who was the wife of Baron Karl von Schlebrugg, can be found in the port town of Trelleborg.
* Wears shoes of size 11.
* Her name was used as a shade of Lancome lipsticks which was only available in Asia.
* Her name means "one" in Portugese and "kiss" in Polynesian.
* Supported John Kerry for U.S. President in the general election.
* Her uncle, John Thurman, performs with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as the cellist.
* Is a member of the Board of Directors of Room to Grow, a non-profit organization which aims to enrich the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first 3 years of development.
* Ethan Hawke's book, "For Karuna," was dedicated to her.
* Is Laila Morse's former sister-in-law.
* Her daughter's name, Maya, is also the name of a character she portrayed in a TV movie entitled "Duke of Groove" (1996).
* Her feet were adored by Quentin Tarantino and this fascination of him could be seen in "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and "Kill Bill"(2003).
* Is suffered from body dysmorphia, a mental disorder concerning the dissatisfaction of one's own body because of a perceived physical defect.
* Her name has been used as the name of a Russian rock band which was previously known as Ne Nashego Mira.
* Failed to star in a planned biopic of Marlene Dietrich due to the death of its proposed director, Louis Malle.
* Received the Jury Coup de Chapeau at the 1993 Cognac Festival du Film Policier for her role in "Jennifer Eight" (1992).
* Acquired the 20th rank in Empire Magazine's list of 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History by 1995.
* Ranked 4th on Maxim.com's list of Sexiest Movie Assassins for her role as Beatrix Kiddo in the 2003 "Kill Bill" (Ap ril 2007).
* Was the nominee in two categories which were Best Female Performance and Best Dance Sequence through her role in "Pulp Fiction" (1994) at the 1995 MTV Movie Awards.
* She won the latter one, sharing it with John Travolta.
* Was placed on number 99 of Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time according to the U.K. edition of Empire Magazine in 1997.
* Was selected as the Favorite Actress - Sci-Fi at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards in 1998 for her role in "Batman & Robin" (1997).
* Had been the spokesperson of Lancome cosmetics by June 2000.
* Was nominated for Best Suporting Actress category at the 2002 Independent Spirit Awards through her role in "Tape" (2001).
* Was originally cast for the role of Eowyn in "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" (2002), but the part later went to Miranda Otto.
* Turned down a role in Brian De Palma's "Femme Fatale" (2002).
* Received the Best Actress - Television Movie or Miniseries nomination at Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2003 for her role in "Hysterical Blindness" (2002).
* Consulted trainer/nutritionist Jackie Keller to help her losing weight for the role of The Bride in "Kill Bill" (2003).
* She lost 25 pounds in six weeks after delivered her second child by eating desserts.
* Was bestowed a Saturn Award for being the Best Actress from Academy of Science Fiction, * Fantasy & Horror Films, USA in 2004 through her role in "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Was honored the title of Best Actress at the 2004 Empire Awards for her role in "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Earned the nomination for Best Actress at the 2004 and 2005 Online Film Critics Society Awards, the 2005 Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, and the 2005 Empire Awards.
* Got the Choice Movie Actress - Drama/Action Adventure nomination at Teen Choice Awards in 2004 for her role in "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Was the nominee in Best Screenplay, Original for "Kill Bill" (2003) together with Quentin Tarantino at the 2004 Golden Satellite Awards.
* Took home two MTV Movie Awards in 2004 for winning the categories of Best Female Performance and Best Fight, which she shared with Chiaki Kuriyama, through her role in "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Was named Funniest American in Japan (Gringo/a más Gracioso en Japón) at the 2004 MTV Movie Awards, Mexico.
* Was mentioned as the nominee of Best Actress category by Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA in 2005 for her role in the second part of "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Gained a nomination at the 2005 Golden Satellite Awards in the category of Best Actress in Motion Pictures-Drama for her role in the second part of "Kill Bill" (2003).
* Was the Audience Award nominee in Best International Actress category at IFTA Awards in 2005.
* Scored two nominations in the categories of Best Female Performance and Best Fight at the 2005 MTV Movie Awards for her role in the second part of "Kill Bill" (2003).
* She took home the latter one along with Daryl Hannah.
* Has been chosen to be the new face of Louis Vuitton by the year 2005.
* Was granted an honor of a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters by the government of France on February 7, 2006.
* Accidentally broke her wrist on the set of her movie, "The Accidental Husband" (2008), resulted in the delay of shooting.