Uma Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1970 into a highly unorthodox and Eurocentric family -- her mother is a European socialite and former model, her father one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. As a result, hers was a household in which the Dalai Lama was an occasional guest; she and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology; and Middle American behavior was little understood, much less pursued.

And so it was that the young Thurman confronted childhood with an odd name and eccentric home life -- and nature seemingly conspired against her as well. Currently six feet tall, from an early age she towered over everyone else in class. Her famously large feet would soon sprout to size 11 -- and even beyond that -- and although they would eventually be lovingly filmed by director Quentin Tarantino, as a child she generally wore the biggest shoes in class, which only provided another subject of ridicule. Even her long nose moved one of her mother's friends to helpfully suggest rhinoplasty -- to the ten-year-old Thurman. To make matters worse yet, the family constantly relocated, making the gangly, socially inept Thurman perpetually the new kid in class. The result was an exceptionally awkward, self-conscious, lonely and alienated childhood.

Unsurprisingly, the young Thurman enjoyed making believe she was someone other than herself, and so thrived at acting in school plays -- her sole successful extracurricular activity. This interest, and her lanky frame, perfect for modeling, led the 15-year-old Thurman to New York City for high school and modeling work (including a layout in Glamour Magazine) as she sought acting roles. The roles soon came, starting with a few formulaic and forgettable Hollywood products, but immediately followed by Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons, both of which brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality and performances that intriguingly combined innocence and worldliness. The weird, gangly girl became a sex symbol virtually overnight.

Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early '90s, the least commercially successful but probably best-known of which was her smoldering, astonishingly-adult performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June, the first movie to actually receive the dreaded NC-17 rating in the USA.

After a celebrated start, Thurman's career stalled in the early '90s with movies such as the mediocre Mad Dog and Glory. Worse, her first starring role was in Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, which had endured a tortured journey from cult-favorite book to big-budget movie, and was a critical and financial debacle. Fortunately, Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace, that most unorthodox of all gangster's molls, in Tarantino's lauded, hugely successful Pulp Fiction, a role for which Thurman received an Academy Award nomination.

Since then, Thurman has had periods of flirting with roles in arty independents such as A Month by the Lake, supporting roles in which she has lent some glamorous presence to a mixed batch of movies such as Batman & Robin, and the occasional starring role now and then, such as her role as a martial arts assassin in Tarantino's controversial Kill Bill: Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, a grueling stretch for Thurman which proved her game for virtually any acting challenge.

Thurman had been briefly married to Gary Oldman, from 1990 to 1992. In 1998, she married Ethan Hawke, her co-star in the offbeat futuristic thriller Gattaca. The couple had two children, Levon and Maya. Hawke and Thurman filed for divorce in 2004.



My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006): $14,000,000
The Producers (2005): $12,000,000
Prime (2005): $12,000,000
Be Cool (2005): $3,000,000
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004): $12,000,000
Paycheck (2003): $12,500,000
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003): $12,000,000
Vatel (2000): $2,000,000
The Avengers (1998): $8,000,000
Gattaca (1997): $5,000,000
Batman & Robin (1997): $5,000,000
The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996): $500,000
Beautiful Girls (1996): $300,000
A Month by the Lake (1995): $300,000
Pulp Fiction (1994): $300,000
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993): $250,000
Mad Dog and Glory (1993): $250,000
Jennifer Eight (1992): $200,000
Final Analysis (1992): $200,000

French cosmetics firm Lancome have employed her as a spokesmodel for their company. [June 2000] Ranked #99 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997] Her father, Robert Thurman, is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University School of Religion. He was the first westerner to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Uma was named for a Hindu goddess. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#20). [1995] Uma's middle name, Karuna, is one of the four sublime abodes in Buddhism. It means "compassion." The other 3 sublime abodes are Metta (Loving kindness), Mudita (Sympathetic joy), and Upekkha (Equanimity). Attended Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts, during her freshman and sophomore years, approximately twenty five miles from her home town at the time, Amherst, Massachusetts. Uma and Ethan Hawke's daughter's name is Maya; which is also the name of the character that Uma played in Duke of Groove (1996) (TV). Her mother, Nena Thurman, was once married to LSD proponent Timothy Leary. The marriage lasted less than a year (1964-1965). Their marriage, which took place in Nepal, was the subject of a 15-minute documentary entitled "You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You". Nena married Uma's father, Robert Thurman, two years later in 1967. Sister of Dechen Thurman and Ganden Thurman and the daughter of Nena Thurman and Robert Thurman She is on the Board of Directors of Room to Grow, a non-profit organization founded by Rob Reiner, dedicated to enriching the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first 3 years of development. Supported the Junior Senator (John Kerry) from her native state (Massachusetts) for President of the United States. In Polynesian, her name means "kiss". Former sister-in-law of Laila Morse. Named #21 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list. She and her first husband, Gary Oldman, have both appeared in separate Batman films. Uma appeared in Batman & Robin (1997) as Poison Ivy. Gary Oldman has appeared in Batman Begins (2005) & The Dark Knight (2008) as James Gordon. Ranked as #67 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005) Named #59 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006). Uma and her hotelier boyfriend, André Balazs, have ended their three-year romance. They started dating in 2003 [March 20, 2007]. Was 5ft 10in by the age of 13. Called off her engagement to Arpad Busson on November 15, 2009. Auditioned for the role of Geneva Backman in Cheaters (2011), but Winona Ryder was cast instead.