"I still love the people I've loved, even if I cross the street to avoid them."
Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American actress and model.
She's best known for starring in Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill, Dangerous Liaisons, Gattaca, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, where she plays Venus. Yes, that Venus. She also played Poison Ivy and Emma Peel.
Known for being Quentin Tarantino's (platonic) muse. She's an ex-wife to Gary Oldman and Ethan Hawke, and ex-partner to French financier Arpad Busson; she has two children with Hawke (both of whom, Maya and Levon, are also actors) and one with Busson.
Filmography:
Film roles
- Johnny Be Good (1988) as Georgia Elkans
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988) as Venus / Rose
- Dangerous Liaisons (1988) as Cécile de Volanges
- Henry & June (1990) as June Miller
- Robin Hood (1991) as Maid Marian
- Pulp Fiction (1994) as Mia Wallace
- Beautiful Girls (1996) as Andera
- Duke of Groove (1996) as Maya
- The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996) as Noelle Slusarsky
- Batman & Robin (1997) as Pamela Isley / Poison Ivy
- Gattaca (1997) as Irene Cassini
- The Avengers (1998) as Dr. Emma Peel
- Les Misérables (1998) as Fantine
- Sweet and Lowdown (1999) as Blanche Williams
- Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004) as The Bride / Beatrix Kiddo
- Paycheck (2003) as Rachel Porter
- Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (2005) as Kushana (voice, English dub)
- Be Cool (2005) as Edie Athens
- Prime (2005) as Rafi Gardet
- The Producers (2005 musical version) as Ulla
- My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) as Jenny Johnson / G-Girl
- The Accidental Husband (2008) as Emma
- Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) as Medusa
- Bel Ami (2012) as Madeleine Forestier
- Nymphomaniac (2013) as Mrs. H
- Movie 43 (2013) as Fake Lois Lane
- Burnt (2015) as Simone Forth
- The Con is On (2018) as Harriet "Harry" Fox
- Down a Dark Hall (2018) as Madame Duret
- The House That Jack Built (2018) as Lady 1
- Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) as President Ellen Claremont
Television roles
- A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa (2008) as Joy
- Smash (5 episodes, 2012) as Rebecca Duvall
- American Dad! (1 episode, 2014) as Gwen Ling (voice)
- The Slap (3 episodes, 2015) as Anouk
- Imposters (2017–18) as Lenny Cohen
- Super Pumped (2022) as Arianna Huffington
Thurman's work provides examples of:
- Action Girl: A couple of her roles later on in her career are good examples.
- Actor-Inspired Element: Kill Bill opening with the shot of her beaten up and wearing a wedding dress was her idea.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Well-known for averting this trope in a number of Tarantino films including Pulp Fiction where she overdoses and its shown in all its gory horror with blood and spittle everywhere, and Kill Bill where she's knocked senseless and drenched in blood by the end of the bigger set-pieces.
- Career Resurrection: Kill Bill provided one for her after the flops described below.
- Celebrity Song: Fall Out Boy has one named after her, where the chorus references her dancing scene in Pulp Fiction.
- Creator Backlash: She doesn't have fond memories of Kill Bill, the film that ironically saved her acting career. During filming, Quentin Tarantino pushed her to do a dangerous vehicle stunt herself rather than swapping in a stunt driver; sure enough, she ended up crashing and suffered permanent injuries to her knees and back, all of which were revealed in an op-ed
for The New York Times. Although she has forgiven Tarantino (who was regretful over what happened but caught in a place that could compromise his own career), she still has misgivings over the film. - Deleted Role: She filmed scenes for Savages but they were cut.
- Dented Iron: She unfortunately suffered permanent injuries to her knees and spine doing a comparatively "simple" stunt on Kill Bill. Tarantino has called his demand that she do all her own driving stunts "the biggest regret of my life" as a result.
- Dyeing for Your Art: From the usual changing color of her hair, using her own voice for musical roles (uncommon for non-singing actresses), to the extremes such as doing full nude scenes, learning martial arts for months, and doing her own stunts.
- Hostility on the Set: She and Daryl Hannah did not get along while filming Kill Bill. As well, she and Tarantino were not on good terms due to a car accident while filming, it took years to repair their relationship and wasn't fully resolved until he gave her footage of the accident in 2018.
- Large Ham: In Batman and Robin as Poison Ivy and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief as Medusa.
- Method Acting: To prepare for Medusa in Percy Jackson, she interacted with several live snakes. Reportedly it helped imagine how Medusa would feel having live snakes sprouting out of her head.
- Ms. Fanservice: In Baron Munchausen, Dangerous Liaisons, Batman and Robin and The Avengers.
- Playing Their Own Twin: In The Avengers (1998) as a clone of Emma Peel.
- Production Posse: Quentin Tarantino considers her his muse.
- Romance on the Set: With Ethan Hawke, with whom she starred in Gattaca.
- Star-Derailing Role: Batman & Robin and The Avengers (1998) did serious damage to her career. It should be noted however that - despite being nominated for a Razzie Award as Poison Ivy - Uma's performance was in fact praised. Most reviews cited her as the only reason to see the movie in the first place.
- Star-Making Role: After Pulp Fiction, everyone knew who she was.
- Statuesque Stunner: At a solid 6' she can tower over most cast mates, especially in heels, as seen in The Producers where she easily has a full head over Love Interest, Matthew Broderick.
- What Could Have Been:
- She was the early favorite for the Melanie Griffith role in Brian De Palma's The Bonfire of the Vanities. De Palma and his producers loved her audition but her prospective co-star, Tom Hanks, nixed the idea. One of her noted attributes at the time was she was easily as tall as Hanks while wearing flats.
- She was offered the role of Eowyn in The Lord of the Rings, but turned it down because she'd just had a baby; the role instead went to Miranda Otto. She later told Stephen Colbert she considered it one of the worst decisions she'd ever made.
- Among films she auditioned for - Pretty Woman, The Princess Bride, Enchanted, Contact. Films she turned down - Almost Famous, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Knocked Up.
- A film based on the Kay Thompson children's book Eloise in Paris was slated to be in the works with Thurman starring as Nanny and Jordana Beatty in the title role; however, next to nothing was done apart from appearances by Beatty at the Plaza Hotel and a few announcements, and Uma wasn't pleased with the abortive development to say the least, suing HandMade Films for "a film that never was".
