Kristin Scott Thomas - Actress

Kristin Scott Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall on 24 May 1960.

She was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (Number 50).

She was also chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World.

She speaks French fluently and dubbed herself in French in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).

She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2003 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to drama.

She was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of 2003 for her performance in "Three Sisters" at the Playhouse.

She was awarded Legion d'Honneur, France's highest civilian award, in the January 2005 honors list.

She also dubbed herself in French for Random Hearts (1999).

She was a member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000

She made her feature film debut in the 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon (1986), which was directed by and starred Prince.

In the late 1990s she was scheduled to appear opposite Harrison Ford in a doomed production titled "Age of Aquarius," but the project fell through due to financing complications. Yet again when she was up for the role of Harrison Ford's leading lady in Six Days Seven Nights (1998), she lost the part to Anne Heche. She finally succeeded in appearing with Ford in Random Hearts (1999).
Has lived in Paris since she was 19.

She won a 2008 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actress of her performance in "Seagull" at the Playhouse.

She has the rare distinction of being in two movies that opened on the same day in the U.S - The Golden Compass (2007) and The Walker (2007).

The Golden Compass (2007), in which she had a small role, finished it's domestic box office run on March 6 2008. The day after, March 7 2008, her movie The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) opened in theaters.

She has played the mother of Scarlett Johansson's characters in two movies: The Other Boleyn Girl (2008) and The Horse Whisperer (1998).

Kristin's paternal grandfather, Commander William Scott Thomas, DSC, RN, was Welsh, born in St Asaph, Flintshire, Wales.

Speaking an almost perfect French, she provided her own dubbing in most of her movies shot in English.

She is starring as "Arkadina" in "The Seagull" at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. [October 2008]

Stars in the Luigi Pirandello play "As You Desire Me" at the Playhouse Theatre, West End, London, up in England. [January 2006]

The casting choice of her as Katherine Clifton in The English Patient (1996) led to a dispute between the studio and the producers of the film. Originally, 20th Century Fox was to finance the film, but they preferred a more well-known actress to play Katharine instead of Thomas. Demi Moore lobbied particularly hard for the role. After the producers refused to give in on a series of casting choices, Fox backed out of the film, and the project was uncertain just as production was about to begin. However, within a few weeks - during which the cast and crew stayed on in Italy without knowing if the film would be made - the film was picked up by Miramax.

As of 2014, has appeared in three films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The English Patient (1996) and Gosford Park (2001). Of those, only The English Patient (1996) won in the category.

She was awarded the prestigious Laurence Olivier best actress award for her performance in Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", on London's West End Stage. She was also nominated for the same award for her performance in Harold Pinter's "Old Times".

She was awarded the DBE (Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2015 Queen's New Year Honours List for her services to drama.

Has starred in 3 films with good friend Ralph Fiennes: The English Patient (1996), Chromophobia (2005) and The Invisible Woman (2013).

Starred in three movies about World War II: The English Patient (1996), Sarah's Key (2010) and Suite Française (2014).

This article has been kindly provided by Kernow Matters to Us and is the third in a series on Famous Folk of Kernow (Cornwall).