The actress who entered our lives with her successful role in "Breaking the Waves": Who is Emily Watson?

Her full name is Emily Margaret Watson, she was born on January 14, 1967 in London. She was born to her father, architect Richard Watson, and mother, English teacher Katharine Venables. Watson has an older sister named Harriet. Raised as an Anglican, Watson has spoken of her childhood as "a lovely middle-class English girl". She is also childhood friends with actress and writer Clara Salaman.

Educated at St. James Independent Schools in West London, Watson also witnessed "extreme persecution" that would profoundly affect people's lives while there. She later enrolled at the University of Bristol, where she graduated in 1988 with a bachelor's degree in English. Watson then signed up to study at Drama Studio London. She continued her education with an honorary master's degree from the University of Bristol in 2003. Watson continued as a member of the School of Economics for many years. However, she was expelled from school after her role in the psychological drama film "Breaking the Waves" in 1996.

Watson's career first began on the stage. Among Watson's theatrical works; drama play "The Children's Hour" (at the Royal National Theatre), Anton Chekhov's play "Three Sisters", William Shakespeare's comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" and Henrik Ibsen's play "The Lady from the Sea" . In addition, she appeared in the period stage play "A Jovial Crew", William Shakespeare's comedy "The Taming of the Shrew", Shakespeare's comedy "All's Well That Ends Well" and a Jacobin tragedy "The Changeling".

In 1996, she appeared with Stellan Skarsgård as Bess McNeill in the psychological drama film "Breaking the Waves" written and directed by Lars von Trier. Watson's name began to be heard for the first time with this movie. The film, which was well received after its release, was also able to achieve a healthy success at the box office. Receiving great acclaim for her performance, Watson won the Los Angeles, London and New York Critics' Circle Awards for Best Actress, as well as the US National Society of Film Critics' Best Actress Award. She also received nominations at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards and British Academy Film Awards for her performance.

In 1998, she played cellist Jacqueline du Pré in "Hilary and Jackie," a biopic directed by Anand Tucker, co-starring with Rachel Griffiths. The film received great acclaim after its release and was also successful at the box office. This was another controversial role for Watson and her performance caught the public's attention again. Learning to play the cello in three months for the role, Watson earned another Oscar Award nomination for her performance.

The following year, she starred in the historical drama "Cradle Will Rock", the story of a theatrical performance directed by Tim Robbins. The film, which received mostly positive reviews, failed to show the same success at the box office. She then starred as Frank McCourt's mother in the drama film adaptation of Frank McCourt's acclaimed memoir "Angela's Ashes". The film, which won awards and nominations in many categories, did not succeed at the box office. It was also met with mixed and average reviews from critics.

In 2000, she co-starred with John Turturro in the romantic drama film "The Luzhin Defense" directed by Marleen Gorris and based on a novel. Receiving acclaim for her performance, Watson earned "best actress" nominations at the British Independent Film Awards and the London Film Critics Circle Awards. In 2001, she appeared as part of a large cast in "Gosford Park," a satirical black comedy mystery film directed by Robert Altman. The film received great acclaim from critics and was successful at the box office.

She sought a film career in 2002 to play two roles in the repertory plays "Uncle Vanya" and "Twelfth Night" directed by Sam Mendes, first at Mendes' Donmar Warehouse in London and later at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her performance was critically acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic and earned an Olivier Award nomination for Uncle Vanya.

Later that year, she appeared as Reba McClane in the psychological thriller "Red Dragon," based on the novel by Thomas Harris. The movie, which was released on October 4, 2002, managed to receive positive reviews from critics. In addition, it grossed nearly three times its production budget at the box office. Later, she co-starred with Adam Sandler in the romantic comedy-drama film "Punch-Drunk Love" written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Although the film received positive reviews from critics, it failed at the box office, not even meeting its production budget. In the same year, she appeared in the science fiction action thriller "Equilibrium" written and directed by Kurt Wimmer, with Christian Bale and Taye Diggs. The film, which was generally received negatively, failed to achieve success at the box office.

In 2004, Watson appeared as Peter Sellers' first wife, Anne Howe, in the HBO TV movie "The Life and Death of Peter Sellers" based on the book of the same name. In addition to being admired for her performance, she was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award. In 2005, she first appeared as one of the lead roles in the comedy-drama film "Wah-Wah" written and directed by Richard E. Grant. The film resulted in conflicting reviews and unsuccessful box office success. She then appeared with Tom Wilkinson and Rupert Everett in the drama film "Separate Lies" directed by Julian Fellowes and transforming a theatrical play.

Later in the year, she starred alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter in the animated musical dark fantasy movie "Corpse Bride" directed by Mike Johnson and Tim Burton. After the movie was released, it was a success both critically and commercially. Additionally, she received awards and nominations in various categories. In the same year, she appeared in the Australian western film "The Proposition" directed by John Hillcoat.

In 2006, Watson landed a role with Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger in "Miss Potter," a biographical drama film directed by Chris Noonan and about children's book author Beatrix Potter. The film resulted in both positive reviews and moderate success at the box office. She also appeared in the Dutch movie, a film adaptation of Thea Beckman's children's novel "Crusade in Jeans". In 2007, she starred in the fantasy drama film "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep" directed by Jay Russell and adapted from the Dick King-Smith children's novel about the origin of the Loch Ness Monster. The film, which received generally positive reviews from critics, was also a healthy financial gain at the box office.

In 2007, the movie "Mood Indigo", a screenplay written by Watson and her husband, was chosen by Capitol Films. The film is about a love story set during the Second World War and tells of a young woman who falls in love with a pilot.

In 2008, Watson appeared with Julia Roberts and Carrie-Anne Moss in the drama film "Fireflies in the Garden," written and directed by Dennis Lee. She then appeared as Caroline in the Lifetime Television movie "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" based on the novel of the same name. Later in the year, she appeared in the psychological drama film "Synecdoche, New York" written and directed by Charlie Kaufman.

In 2009, she starred with Paul Giamatti and David Strathairn in the comedy-drama film "Cold Souls" directed by Sophie Barthes. The film was met with highly positive reviews from critics. In the same year, she got the lead role in "Within the Whirlwind", the biopic of Russian poet and Gulag survivor Evgenia Ginzburg, directed by Marleen Gorris. The film was not selected for distribution, although Watson's performance was considered her best recent role.

In 2010, she took the lead role in "Oranges and Sunshine," a drama directed by Jim Loach that tells the true story of children sent to abusive care homes in Australia. The film and its actors received many awards and nominations in various categories. The following year, she appeared in the war movie "War Horse," adapted from Michael Morpurgo's award-winning novel and directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie, which was a box office success after its release, also garnered positive reviews. In 2011, she starred as Janet Leach in the ITV two-part crime drama TV movie "Appropriate Adult" about serial killer Fred West. She won the BAFTA Award as well as her performance acclaim.

In the following years, she co-starred with Geoffrey Rush and Sophie Nélisse in the war drama movie "The Book Thief" directed by Brian Percival. The movie was a box office success and received mixed reviews from critics. She then appeared with Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones in the Oscar-nominated biographical romantic drama film "The Theory of Everything" directed by James Marsh. The film chronicled the life of Stephen Hawking and featured a supporting role as Wston Hawking's mother-in-law, Jane Wilde.

In 2015, she appeared in the war drama movie "Little Boy" directed by Alejandro Gómez Monteverde. The film did not do well at the box office or critically. In the same year, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy-drama film "A Royal Night Out," directed by Julian Jarrold, as Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, and in the drama film "Testament of Youth," based on the memoir of the same name. She also garnered rave reviews for her performance as Julie Nicholson in the BBC drama film "A Song for Jenny". Later that year, she appeared in the biographical adventure film "Everest" directed by Baltasar Kormákur. The film, which received positive reviews from critics after its release in theaters, also achieved success at the box office. That same year, she starred in the fantasy film "Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism" directed by Christopher N. Rowley.

In 2017, she appeared in a supporting role in the spy action comedy movie "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" directed by Matthew Vaughn. That same year, she starred as Violet Ponting in the drama film "On Chesil Beach" directed by Dominic Cooke. Additionally, she was a voice actor in the animated monster comedy movie "Monster Family" directed by Holger Tappe. In 2017, she starred as the lead character Yvonne Carmichael in the BBC mini psychological thriller "Apple Tree Yard" based on the novel of the same name. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actress for her performance.

The following year, she starred in "The Happy Prince," a biographical drama film written and directed by Rupert Everett. In 2019, she acted as a nuclear scientist in the historical drama TV series "Chernobyl", which consists of several real scientists. The series, which received great acclaim and positive reviews after its release, received many awards and nominations.

In 2021, she got the same voiceover role in the sequel "Monster Family 2". In 2022, she played a lead role in the psychological drama movie "God's Creatures" directed by Saela Davis and Anna Rose Holmer. The film, which received generally positive reviews, was also appreciated by Watson's performance.

Personal life

In 1995, Watson married Jack Waters, a former actor who now works as a potter. The couple has a daughter born in 2005 and a son born in 2009. Watson and her family live in Greenwich, London.

Watson was declared an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) at the 2015 New Year's Honor for her service. Watson supports "NSPCC", a charity for children. In 2004, she was inducted into the association's hall of fame for spearheading the successful campaign to appoint a Children's Commissioner for the UK. She is also one of the owners of "Scene & Heard", a charity for children in London, she.