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An actress noted as much for her exotic, almost otherworldly beauty as she is for her considerable talent, Uma Thurman is one of the most renowned actresses of her generation. The daughter of celebrated professor of Buddhist Studies, Robert F. A. Thurman, and Nena von Schlebrugge, a model and psychotherapist who was once married to Timothy Leary, Thurman was born in Boston on April 29, 1970. Raised with three brothers in Amherst, where her father taught at Amherst College, she enjoyed a fairly bohemian upbringing, one that was marked by visits from Eastern holy men and Tibetan refugees. Encouraged to think for herself and to be independent, Thurman, who had been interested in acting from an early age, left her Massachusetts boarding school at the age of 15 to pursue an acting career. Moving to New York, she earned a living by washing dishes and modeling, though the latter means of support never agreed with her. The fledgling actress made her debut in _Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987)_ (qv), a forgettable film that cast her as a teen vamp who seduces and robs unsuspecting men. She also had a starring role in the teen comedy _Johnny Be Good (1988)_ (qv), but it was with her role in Stephen Frears' _Dangerous Liaisons (1988)_ (qv) as Cecile de Volanges, the impressionable convent girl deflowered by John Malkovich's slimy Vicomte de Valmont, that Thurman first gained recognition. Her scenes with Malkovich, particularly the one in which he offered to teach her a few bedroom terms in Latin, proved to be some of the most memorable of the year, resulting in a sizable helping of fame for the young actress. Further recognition followed with Thurman's portrayal of Henry Miller's wife -- and the object of both his and Anais Nin's affections -- in Philip Kaufman's _Henry & June (1990)_ (qv). Unfortunately, the actress' role in the NC-17 film -- which required her to take part in explicit love scenes with Maria de Medeiros -- inspired a great deal of unwelcome, stalker-like attention from any number of "fans," causing Thurman to shy away from doing a subsequent number of films. The projects she did take part in -- _Robin Hood (1991/I) (TV)_ (qv), _Final Analysis (1992)_ (qv), _Jennifer Eight (1992)_ (qv), _Mad Dog and Glory (1993)_ (qv), Gus Van Sant's _Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1994)_ (qv) -- all proved to be forgettable affairs. By the time she received the script for Quentin Tarantino's _Pulp Fiction (1994)_ (qv), Thurman's career was in great need of resuscitation. Fortunately, Pulp Fiction provided just that. A huge, unanticipated success, Pulp Fiction was the most talked-about film of the year, eventually becoming recognized as one of the most influential films of the decade. For her part, Thurman gave a sly, smoldering performance as Mia Wallace, the coke-snorting wife of gangster Marsellus Wallace, and soon found herself enjoying both a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and an accompanying resurgence in Hollywood popularity. She followed the success of Pulp Fiction with three relatively modest romantic comedies, _Month by the Lake, A (1995)_ (qv), _Truth About Cats and Dogs, The (1996)_ (qv), and _Beautiful Girls (1996)_ (qv). The 1997 future dystopia _Gattaca (1997)_ (qv) did little for Thurman but introduce her to co-star and future husband Ethan Hawke (the two married in May of 1998 and had a daughter later that year; Thurman had been married once before, to Gary Oldman); _Batman & Robin (1997)_ (qv), that same year, was less than a bright spot in Thurman's career. 1998 proved to be similarly disappointing, with both _Avengers, The (1998)_ (qv), which cast the actress as the cat-suited Emma Peel opposite Ralph Fiennes' John Steed, and Bille August's _Misérables, Les (1998)_ (qv) experiencing swift deaths at the box office. Thurman resurfaced in 1999 in Woody Allen's widely acclaimed _Sweet and Lowdown (1999)_ (qv). The story of a famed jazz guitarist (Sean Penn) whose talent is inversely proportional to his merits as a human being, it cast Thurman as his brilliant but unfaithful wife. In the spring of 2000 Uma signed on to become the new "face" of cosmetics giant Lancome. This, needless to say, catapulted Uma's popularity, nabbing her over 9 magazine covers in just 12 months. Her new-found model status garnered her many movie offers, and in late 2000 she played Anne in _Vatel (2000)_ (qv), followed by a very strong performance as Charlotte Stant in _Golden Bowl, The (2000)_ (qv), co-starring Anjelica Huston. With several films due for release and her second child on the way, it looks like the second decade of Uma Thurman's career will be even more interesting than the first. |
