Early life and family
Thurman's mother, Nena Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge, was a fashion model born in Mexico City.In 1930, Birgit Holmquist, Thurman's grandmother, modeled for a nude statu
e that stands overlooking the harbor of Smygehuk.Thurman's father, Robert, a scholar and professor at Columbia University of Tibetan Buddhist studies, was the first westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He gave his children a Buddhist upbringing: Uma is named after an Dbuma Chenpo (in Tibetan, the "db" is silent; from Mahamadhyamaka in Sanskrit, meaning "Great Middle Way"). She has three brothers, Ganden (b. 1971), Dechen (b. 1973) and Mipam (b. 1978), and a half-sister named Taya (b. 1960) from her father's previous marriage.
Thurman grew up mostly in Amherst, Massachusetts and Woodstock, New York. She is described as having been an awkward and introverted girl who was teased for her tall frame, angular bone structure.
As a child, she suffered bouts of body dysmorphic disorder, which she discussed in an interview with Talk magazine in 20Thurman attended Northfield Mount Hermon, a college preparatory boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts, where she earned average grades, but excelled in acting.01.
Career
Early works, 1987–1989
Thurman began her career as a fashion model at age 15. She signed with the agency Click Models. Her modeling credits included Glamour Magazine. In 1989, she appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine's annual Hot issue.Thurman made her movie debut in 1988, appearing in four films that year. Her first two were the high school comedy Johnny Be Good and the teen thriller Kiss Daddy Goodnight.
Major works, 1990–1993
In 1990, Thurman co-starred with Fred Ward in the sexually provocative drama Henry & June, the first film to receive an NC-17 rating. Because of the rating, it never played in a wide release but critics embraced her; The New York Times wrote, “Thurman, as the Brooklyn-accented June, takes a larger-than-life character and makes her even bigger.Thurman was nominated for a Worst Actress Razzie. The Washington Post described her acting as shallow, writing that, “Thurman’s strangely passive characterization doesn’t go much deeper than drawling and flexing her prosthetic thumbs”.
1994–1998
After Mad Dog and Glory, Thurman auditioned for Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, which grossed over $107 million on a budget of only $8 million USD.Thurman was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar the following year. Entertainment Weekly claimed that, “of the five women nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category this year, only [Thurman
] can claim that her performance gave the audience fits”.In 1997, she starred opposite her future husband Ethan Hawke in the dystopian science fiction film Gattaca.Her next role was Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, the fourth film of the popular franchise. Batman & Robin became one of the largest critical flops in history, though it did garner nearly $100 million over its production budget in box office receipts making it a financial success.She closed out 1998 with Les Misérables, a film version of Victor Hugo’s novel of the same name, directed by Bille August, in which she played Fantine.
Hiatus, 1998–2002
After the birth of her first baby in 1998, Thurman took a rest from major roles to concentrate on motherhood.In 2000 she narrated a theatrical work by composer John Moran entitled Book of the Dead (2nd Avenue) at The Public Theater. She won a Golden Globe award for Hysterical Blindness, a film for which she also served as executive producer. In the film she played a New Jersey woman in the 1980s searching for romance.
2003–present
After a five-year hiatus, Thurman returned in 2003 in John Woo's film Paycheck, which was only moderately successful with critics and at the box office.Her next film was Tarantino's Kill Bill, which relaunched her career. In Kill Bill she played assassin Beatrix Kiddo, out for revenge against her former lover.Production was delayed for several months after Thurman became pregnant, as Tarantino refused to recast the part. The film took nine months to shoot, and was filmed in five different countries. The role was also her most demanding , and she spent three months training in martial arts, swordsmanship, and Japanese.By 2005, Thurman was one of Hollywood's highest paid actresses, commanding a salary of $12.5 million per film. Her first film of the year was Be Cool, the sequel to 1995's Get Shorty, which reunited her with her Pulp Fiction castmate John Travolta. In the film she played the widow of a deceased music business executive.
With a successful film career, Thurman once again became a desired model.In 2005, she became a spokeswoman for the French fashion house Louis Vuitton.On February 7, 2006, Thurman was named a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France for outstanding achievement in the field of art and literature.In May 2006 Thurman bought the film rights to the Frank Schätzing novel The Swarm, which is in development and due for release in 2008.In July 2006 Thurman starred opposite Luke Wilson in My Super Ex-Girlfriend. Thurman portrayed a super-heroine named "G-Girl" who is dumped by her boyfriend and then takes her revenge upon him. Thurman received a reported $14 million for the role, but the film flopped.
In February 2008 she starred opposite Colin Firth and Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Accidental Husband, a romantic comedy about a woman who finds herself married while engaged to another man.
She finished filming Motherhood, an indie comedy, about the challenges faced by a mother preparing for her daughter's birthday.
She will star in the film version of the 1950s books Eloise In Paris, playing the role of Nanny, this film is to be directed by Charles Shyer.
Bollywood director Vishal Bharadwaj has announced his interest in Thurman to star in his latest film venture opposite Hrithik Roshan, in a biographical film of the life of actress Nadira. The film is still in its pre-production stage. Uma Thurman has shown interest in playing either Marlene Dietrich or Greta Garbo.
Activism and charity work
Thurman supports the United States Democratic Party, and has given money to the campaigns of John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, and Joseph Driscoll.Thurman is a member of the board of the New York- and Boston-based organization Room to Grow, a charitable organization providing aid to families and children born into poverty. In 2007, Thurman hosted the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway with actor Kevin Spacey.
Personal life
Thurman owns a townhouse in New York's Greenwich Village, but lives in Hyde Park, New York. Raised as a Buddhist, she considers herself agnostic.
Thurman is engaged to marry London based Franco-Swiss financier Arpad Busson, whom she began dating in late 2007. Prior to becoming engaged to Busson, Thurman dated Andre Balazs from 2004 -2006. People magazine confirmed on June 27, 2008 that Thurman and Busson are engaged.On May 1, 1998, she married actor Ethan Hawke, whom she met on the set of Gattaca; his novel Ash Wednesday is dedicated to "Karuna", Thurman's middle name. Thurman acknowledged that they had married because she was pregnant; at their wedding she was seven months along. The marriage produced two children, daughter Maya Ray Thurman-Hawke (b. July 8, 1998) and son Levon Roan Thurman-Hawke (b. January 15, 2002).In 2003, Thurman and Hawke separated, and in 2004 they filed for divorce. When asked on The Oprah Winfrey Show if there was “betrayal of some kind” during the marriage, Thurman said, “There was some stuff like that at the end. We were having a difficult time, and you know how the axe comes down and how people behave and how people express their unhappiness”.However, in a 2004 Rolling Stone cover story, Thurman and Tarantino denied having had a romantic relationship, despite Tarantino once having told a reporter, “I’m not saying that we haven’t, and I’m not saying that we have”.
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