Uma Thurman
Birthday:
29 April 1970, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Birth Name:
Uma Karuna Thurman
Height:
183 cm
Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and Eurocentric family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the natio...
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Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and Eurocentric family. She is the daughter of Nena Thurman (née Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge), a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and of Robert Thurman (Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman), a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma's mother was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to a German father and a Swedish mother (who herself was of Swedish, Danish, and German descent). Uma's father, a New Yorker, has English, Scots-Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry. Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College.Thurman's household was one in which the The Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behavior was little understood, much less pursued. And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life -- and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. She is six feet tall, and from an early age towered over everyone else in class. Her famously large feet would soon sprout to size 11 -- and even beyond that -- and although they would eventually be lovingly filmed by director Quentin Tarantino, as a child she generally wore the biggest shoes in class, which only provided another subject of ridicule. Even her long nose moved one of her mother's friends to helpfully suggest rhinoplasty -- to the ten-year-old Thurman. To make matters worse yet, the family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely and alienated childhood.Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays -- her sole successful extracurricular activity. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came, starting with a few formulaic and forgettable Hollywood products, but immediately followed by Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) and Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons (1988), both of which brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality and performances that intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early '90s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June (1990), the first movie to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA. After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early '90s with movies such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory (1993). Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget movie, and was a critical and financial debacle. Fortunately, Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction (1994), a role for which Thurman received an Academy Award nomination.Since then, Thurman has had periods of flirting with roles in arty independents such as A Month by the Lake (1995), and supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of movies, such as Beautiful Girls (1996) and The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996). Thurman returned to smaller films after playing the villainess Poison Ivy in the reviled Joel Schumacher effort Batman & Robin (1997) and Emma Peel in a remake of The Avengers (1998). She worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown (1999), and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape (2001) opposite Hawke. Thurman also won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness (2002), directed by Mira Nair.A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Thurman redeemed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), a revenge flick the two had dreamed up on the set of Pulp Fiction (1994). She also turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck (2003) that same year. The renewed attention was not altogether welcome because Thurman was dealing with the break-up of her marriage with Hawke at about this time. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride. She garnered critical acclaim for her work in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) and was hailed as Tarantino's muse. Thurman reunited with Pulp Fiction (1994) dance partner John Travolta for the Get Shorty (1995) sequel Be Cool (2005) and played Ulla in The Producers (2005).Thurman had been briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca (1997). The couple had two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004. Show less «
Tall, sandy blonde, with sort of blue eyes, skinny in places, fat in others. An average gal. - Uma Thurman, self description.
Tall, sandy blonde, with sort of blue eyes, skinny in places, fat in others. An average gal. - Uma Thurman, self description.
I'm very happy at home. I love to just hang out with my daughter, I love to work in my garden. I'm not a gaping hole of need.
I'm very happy at home. I love to just hang out with my daughter, I love to work in my garden. I'm not a gaping hole of need.
It is better to have a relationship with someone who cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet.
It is better to have a relationship with someone who cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet.
I was not particularly bright, I wasn't very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid.
I was not particularly bright, I wasn't very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid.
Desperation is the perfume of the young actor. It's so satisfying to have gotten rid of it. If you keep smelling it, it can drive you crazy....Show more »
Desperation is the perfume of the young actor. It's so satisfying to have gotten rid of it. If you keep smelling it, it can drive you crazy. In this business a lot of people go nuts, go eccentric, even end up dead from it. Not my plan. Show less «
My washing machine overwhelms me with its options and its sophistication.
My washing machine overwhelms me with its options and its sophistication.
"Everyone looked the same, everyone had it down to such a perfect T. You get bored. That's when you have to say, 'I will be worst-dressed.'"...Show more »
"Everyone looked the same, everyone had it down to such a perfect T. You get bored. That's when you have to say, 'I will be worst-dressed.'", on her questionable choice of Oscar attire this year (2004) Show less «
I had to go to a mirror and look at it. I couldn't picture myself in my own head. I had no image beyond a stick figure. I wasn't a mean pers...Show more »
I had to go to a mirror and look at it. I couldn't picture myself in my own head. I had no image beyond a stick figure. I wasn't a mean person as a kid, or dumb, and something has to be said to justify excluding you. Show less «
Before I had my child, I thought I knew all the boundaries of myself, that I understood the limits of my heart. It's extraordinary to have a...Show more »
Before I had my child, I thought I knew all the boundaries of myself, that I understood the limits of my heart. It's extraordinary to have all those limits thrown out, to realize your love is inexhaustible. Show less «
I think we all exude essential truths about ourselves, and then, as an actress, there's what you do with it. There's your wit and your imagi...Show more »
I think we all exude essential truths about ourselves, and then, as an actress, there's what you do with it. There's your wit and your imagination, and what you can cook up from your experience and understanding of what makes a human being tick. Show less «
In show business, to pry open doors in new areas is really tough. Until you have a successful comedy, people don't think you could be funny,...Show more »
In show business, to pry open doors in new areas is really tough. Until you have a successful comedy, people don't think you could be funny, which is what makes a director like Quentin Tarantino so special. He sees beyond the things on the resume that you've done to date and opens up wonderful cans of worms for you to crawl into. That's a cool thing. Show less «
Having children flips the game from being about you to being about what you can create in a home and what your responsibilities are. I've th...Show more »
Having children flips the game from being about you to being about what you can create in a home and what your responsibilities are. I've thought about quitting, but I love what I do so much - it's the big conundrum of my life.... So I'm fighting to keep my foot in the business, be creative and stimulated, and still take care of my children. Show less «
I've known some great rock chicks, and it seems to me they're allowed to have a lot more edge than movie people, where everybody's got the l...Show more »
I've known some great rock chicks, and it seems to me they're allowed to have a lot more edge than movie people, where everybody's got the latest youth serums going, the newest exercise and, if that won't cover it, they'll do something else. There's this sort of improve-yourself aspect, whereas the music business seems to have this much more funky attitude, with, like, a slight respect for damage. Show less «
I've learned that every working mom is a superwoman.
I've learned that every working mom is a superwoman.
By the time I was 27, when I had my daughter, I felt I had danced on every tabletop - which I hadn't. Now I know that I hadn't. At all. Ther...Show more »
By the time I was 27, when I had my daughter, I felt I had danced on every tabletop - which I hadn't. Now I know that I hadn't. At all. There are plenty of tabletops left, should I wish to dance on them. (In Style - February 2006 - "Uma In Full Swing" by Joanne Kaufman) Show less «
Growing up in a small town in New England was one of the most aesthetically pleasant experiences that you can have. (In Style - February 200...Show more »
Growing up in a small town in New England was one of the most aesthetically pleasant experiences that you can have. (In Style - February 2006 - "Uma In Full Swing" by Joanne Kaufman) Show less «
It's a shakedown. But I feel grateful that the hard things have been survivable - I've been able to learn from them and grow - and that the ...Show more »
It's a shakedown. But I feel grateful that the hard things have been survivable - I've been able to learn from them and grow - and that the things that have been like a gift, I've had the wherewithal to realize are a gift. (In Style - February 2006 - "Uma In Full Swing" by Joanne Kaufman) Show less «
As they say in gambling, I've gotten to stay at the table. I've hung in! They pull the plug on people all the time. The sky hook comes out, ...Show more »
As they say in gambling, I've gotten to stay at the table. I've hung in! They pull the plug on people all the time. The sky hook comes out, and it's all over. But there are much bigger sky hooks - as well we know. (In Style - February 2006 - "Uma In Full Swing" by Joanne Kaufman) Show less «
I think a lot of our lives we spend moving forward, leaping from rock to rock, trying to figure it out. But it's wonderful to feel in the pr...Show more »
I think a lot of our lives we spend moving forward, leaping from rock to rock, trying to figure it out. But it's wonderful to feel in the prime of your life. I feel like I'm in the right place and in the right time with myself. (In Style - February 2006 - "Uma In Full Swing" by Joanne Kaufman) Show less «
You learn that the first failure isn't the end. I thought I'd seen the end of my career 10 times over. I've experienced them as death blows....Show more »
You learn that the first failure isn't the end. I thought I'd seen the end of my career 10 times over. I've experienced them as death blows. What's nice - after numerous efforts, successes, failures, losses, professional and personal - is to actually accept you're not going to ace your life. You suffer, then you get on with it. You may spend three months in bed, but, eventually, you're going to have to get up. Show less «
When I was a teenager people often referred to me as jaded or knowing. It's a classic teen illusion to think you know it all, but I've certa...Show more »
When I was a teenager people often referred to me as jaded or knowing. It's a classic teen illusion to think you know it all, but I've certainly learned I don't. Show less «
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