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Emily Watson

Over the last several years, Emily Watson has quickly become one of the entertainment industry's most acclaimed actresses. She first caught the world's attention for her memorable performance as Bess in Lars Von Trier's BREAKING THE WAVES, her first feature film. For her heartbreaking performance, she received Oscar and Golden Globe Award nominations and won the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the Felix Award for Best Actress, and the London Film Critics Circle Award for British Newcomer of the Year in 1997.

She received her second Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, in addition to SAG and BAFTA nominations for Best Actress in 1999 for her riveting performance as Jackie in October Films' HILARY AND JACKIE. The film is the poignant and tragic story of famed classical cellist Jacqueline du Pre, directed by Anand Tucker.

Recently Ms. Watson was seen in WAH-WAH which premiered at the TriBeCa Film Festival in April. WAH-WAH is written and directed by Richard E. Grant. This family drama set in Swaziland in 1969 follows 13 year-old Ralph (Nicholas Hoult) and how he deals with the break-up of his parents' (Gabriel Byrne and Miranda Richardson) marriage. She was also recently seen in THE PROPOSITION alongside Guy Pearce, Liam Neeson, and John Hurt; Tim Burton's CORPSE BRIDE; and SEPERATE LIES directed by Julian Fellowes (GOSFORD PARK).

Ms. Watson has completed filming on CRUSADE the English-language adaptation of Thea Beckman's novel Crusade in Jeans about a time-traveling teen.

Ms. Watson received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Anne Sellers in the critically acclaimed film THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS. Over the past several years, Ms. Watson has starred in a number of prestigious films including: Paul Thomas Anderson's off-beat romantic comedy PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE in which she co-starred with Adam Sandler; RED DRAGON, the prequel to SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, directed by Brett Ratner and co-starring Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes and Sir Anthony Hopkins; Robert Altman's GOSFORD PARK; Tim Robbin's CRADLE WILL ROCK; as the title character in Alan Parker's ANGELA'S ASHES, an adaptation of Frank McCourt's Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir; Alan Rudolph's TRIXIE in which she starred with Nick Nolte. She also starred with John Turturro in THE LUZHIN DEFENSE, directed by Marleen Gorris, based on the Nobokov novel; Jim Sheridan's THE BOXER with Daniel Day-Lewis; and METROLAND with Christian Bale, which is based on the Julian Barnes novel.

On television, Ms. Watson starred as Maggie Tulliver in the acclaimed BBC Masterpiece Theatre production of George Eliot's The Mill on the Floss.

A veteran of the London stage, Ms. Watson's theatre credits include Three Sisters, The Children's Hour at the Royal National Theatre and The Lady From The Sea. In the Fall of 2002, Ms. Watson starred at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre in two concurrent productions-Uncle Vanya (Sonya) and Twelfth Night (Viola), both directed by Academy-Award winning director Sam Mendes (AMERICAN BEAUTY, THE ROAD TO PERDITION). These critically acclaimed productions also ran in a very limited engagement at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City. She has also worked extensively with the Royal Shakespeare Company in such productions as Jovial Crew, The Taming of the Shrew, All's Well That Ends Well and The Changeling.

Ms. Watson lives in London with her husband Jack Waters.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Emily Watson Facts

OccupationActress
BirthdayJanuary 14, 1967 (57)
SignCapricorn
BirthplaceLondon, England, United Kingdom
Height5' 8" (1m73)  How tall is Emily Watson compared to you?

Selected Filmography

Oranges and Sunshine
Punch-Drunk Love
North Star
The Theory of Everything
The Book Thief
Everest
Red Dragon
Miss Potter
War Horse
The Secret in the Soil
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