Uma Thurman Biography

NAME: Uma Karuna Thurman

OCCUPATION: Film Actress

BIRTH DATE: April 29, 1970 (Age: 41)

PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts

ZODIAC SIGN: Taurus

Education:

Amherst Regional Junior High School, Amherst , Massachusetts

Professional Children s School, New York , New York

Northfield Mount Herman School, Northfield , Massachusetts

Actress. Born April 29,1970, in Boston, Massachusetts, Uma Thurman was named for a Hindu deity. She made her film debut in Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987), a low budget thriller. Her first well-known role was as Venus in Terry Gilliams's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). Wearing only hair extensions in her brief performance as the Roman goddess of love, the alluring young actress went on to take a number of sexually charged roles over the next few years.

At age 18, she bared all in Dangerous Liasons (1988), a big-budget period piece starring John Malkovich and Glenn Close, and in 1989 starred in Henry and June, the first film to be released with an NC-17 (No Children Under 17) rating.

After appearing in a number of marginally successful Hollywood movies, she stepped off the beaten track to appear in Pulp Fiction (1994), the second movie by acclaimed independent director Quentin Tarantino. For her nuanced performance as a glamorous underworld moll, she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.

Thurman resurfaced in 1999 in Woody Allen's widely acclaimed Sweet and Lowdown. The story of a famed jazz guitarist (Sean Penn) whose talent is inversely proportional to his merits as a human being, the film cast Thurman as his worldly, unfaithful wife. The following year, she had starring roles in two lavish period dramas, Merchant-Ivory's The Golden Bowl and Roland Joffé's Vatel. The former, a Henry James adaptation that premiered to great acclaim at the 2000 Cannes Festival, featured Thurman as a commoner caught up in a forbidden love affair with an impoverished prince (Jeremy Northam); the latter, which also premiered at Cannes, cast Thurman as a French noblewoman during the reign of King Louis XIV. Supporting performances in Richard Linklater's Tape and husband Hawke's Chelsea Walls (both 2001) were soon to follow, and though Thurman's performances were solid as ever, the limited release of both films found her gaining minimal exposure. Though Thurman was virtually unrecognizable in her role as a lovelorn Jersey girl in the HBO feature Hysterical Blindness (2002), her bravado performance earned her a Best Actress Golden Globe and the downbeat drama found audiences once again compelled by her marked versatility. Little did audiences know that her next role couldn't be more different.

Thurman may had done action before in such efforts as Batman & Robin and The Avengers, but her role as the vengeful Bride in Quentin Tarantino's eagerly anticipated Kill Bill nevertheless found viewers' jaws planted firmly on the popcorn-littered multiplex floors. With the production initially delayed due to Thurman's pregnancy, the two-time mother quickly shed her excess weight shortly after giving birth to son Roan; after a vigorous training program, the violent revenge epic was back on track. Even though Thurman made no secret of the fact that balancing the difficult tasks of motherhood and superstardom often took their toll on her during the production of Kill Bill, the dedicated actress pulled off the physically demanding role without a hitch. Debuting in October 2003 to overwhelmingly positive reviews, Kill Bill Vol. 1 (the film was split into two halves after being deemed too long by studio Miramax) still managed to split audiences due to its virtually nonstop, extremely graphic violence. With Kill Bill Vol. 2 scheduled to roll into theaters four months later, fans wasted no time in speculating on The Bride's carnage-laden quest to even the score with the titular Bill (David Carradine) after the ruthless killer gunned her down on her wedding day.

Thurman next joined Luke Wilson for "Super Ex Girlfriend" (2006), in which Wilson learns his girlfriend is a superhero and breaks up with her when she gets too controlling and neurotic, prompting her to use her powers to exact revenge by tormenting and embarrassing him. With her career seemingly taking a step backwards, at least in terms of making high-profile projects, Thurman nonetheless remained a steady presence in films. In a rare appearance on television, she had a small role on "The Naked Brothers Band" (Nickelodeon, 2007), a teen mockumenatary about two brothers (Nat Wolff and Alex Wolff) struggling to balance stardom and friendship. Back in the feature world, Thurman played the adult version of a young woman (also portrayed by Evan Rachel Wood) who suffers a traumatic event prior to her high school graduation that gets revealed years later in "The Life Before Her Eyes" (2008). Meanwhile, Thurman was set to return to more prominent fare with "The Accidental Husband" (2009), a romantic comedy in which she played a radio talk show host specializing in repairing people's damaged romantic lives who suddenly faces the revenge of a caller who took her bad advice.

While her career was going from strength to strength, her private life began to flounder. Whilst she was away in Vancouver filming Paycheck, Hawke was snapped enjoying the company of Canadian model Jen Perzow in Montreal, where he was filming Taking Lives. Tabloid rumours abounded that Hawke was feeling insecure about Uma’s relationship with Quentin Tarantino and was deeply worried that she was actually more than just a muse to the famous director. But whatever the cause of the split, Uma and Ethan’s marriage was over. Uma filed for divorce and soon began seeing hotel tycoon Andre Balazs. After appearing in the sequel to Kill Bill, Thurman starred in Be Cool, alongside John Travolta. She then decided to change pace by turning her hand to comedy. Uma starred in the stylish comedy Prime, and also took a fun minor role in the re-make of The Producers. Most recently, Uma has acted for laughs in the long-delayed movie, Accidental Husband, thus proving that she can do funny.

Despite the ups and downs of her private life , Uma’s stunning looks, fabulous grace, undoubted acting ability and sheer hard work have all served to secure her place as one of Hollywood’s leading ladies - a position she’s certain to enjoy for many years to come.