Emma Thompson (born 15 April 1959) is an English (England) actress, comedienne and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy (Academy Award) and a BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End (Howards End (film)). The following year Thompson garnered dual Academy Award nominations, as Best Actress (Academy Award for Best Actress) for The Remains of the Day (The Remains of the Day (film)) and as Best Supporting Actress (Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress) for In the Name of the Father (In the Name of the Father (film)).

In 1995, Thompson scripted and starred in Sense and Sensibility (Sense and Sensibility (film)), a film adaptation of the Jane Austen novel of the same name (Sense and Sensibility), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Other notable film and television credits have included the Harry Potter (Harry Potter (film series)) film series, Wit (Wit (film)) (2001), Love Actually (2003), Angels in America (Angels in America (TV miniseries)) (2003), Nanny McPhee (2005), Stranger than Fiction (Stranger than Fiction (2006 film)) (2006), Last Chance Harvey (2008), An Education (2009), and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang (2010).

Thompson is also a patron of the Refugee Council.