Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian, screenwriter and author. Cited as one of the greatest British actresses of her generation, she is known for her portrayal of reticent women in period dramas and literary adaptations, often playing haughty or matronly characters with a sense of irony. Born in Paddington, London to English actor Eric Thompson and Scottish actress Phyllida Law, she was educated at Camden School for Girls and Newnham College, University of Cambridge, where she became a member of the Footlights troupe. After appearing in several comedy programmes, she first came to prominence in 1987 in two BBC TV series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in both. Her first film role was opposite Jeff Goldblum in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy, and in the early 1990s she frequently collaborated with then-husband actor and director Kenneth Branagh, appearing on stage together in A Midsummer Night's Dream and King Lear and in such films as Dead Again, Peter's Friends and Much Ado About Nothing. [More at Wikipedia]

April 15th, 1959 in Paddington (Age 65)