Kristin Scott Thomas's acting career garnered early attention when she was cast as Mary Sharon in
Under the Cherry Moon, released in 1986, the first but widely panned film directed by and starring the already well-known musical artist,
Prince. Her breakthrough role was playing Brenda Last in an adaptation of
Evelyn Waugh's
A Handful of Dust (1988), winning her the
Evening Standard British Film Award for the most promising newcomer. This was followed by roles opposite
Hugh Grant in
Bitter Moon and
Four Weddings and a Funeral where she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress. In 1994, she starred in the Romanian–French film
An Unforgettable Summer, in which she played Marie-Thérèse Von Debretsy. Rather than learn Romanian for the part, she read her lines phonetically. She had all the lines translated into French, which she speaks fluently, so she knew what she was saying. In an interview for
Gloucester Citizen on 22 March 2015, she cited
An Unforgettable Summer as one of the films that she is most proud of alongside
The English Patient and
Only God Forgives. In the 1996 film
The English Patient, her role as Katharine Clifton gained her Golden Globe and Oscar nominations as well as critical acclaim. This was followed by a brief period working in Hollywood on films such as
The Horse Whisperer with Robert Redford and
Random Hearts with Harrison Ford. However, growing disillusioned with Hollywood, she took a year off to give birth to her third child. She returned to the stage in 2003 when she played the title role in a French theatre production of
Racine's
Bérénice, and appeared on-screen as Lady Sylvia McCordle in Robert Altman's
Gosford Park. This started a critically acclaimed second career on stage, in which she has received four nominations for a
Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress, including one win, for her performance of Arkadina in a
London West End production of
Anton Chekhov's
The Seagull. She reprised the role in New York in September 2008. In summer 2014, Scott Thomas returned to
London's West End to star as Emma in
Harold Pinter's
Betrayal at the
Comedy Theatre. The revival was directed by
Ian Rickson. Her husband was played by
Ben Miles and the love triangle was completed by
Douglas Henshall. In January 2013, she starred in another Pinter play,
Old Times, again directed by Ian Rickson. In 2014, she appeared at
The Old Vic in the title role of
Sophocles's
Electra. Scott Thomas has also acted in French films. In 2006, she played the role of Hélène, in French, in
Ne le dis à personne (
Tell No One), by French director
Guillaume Canet. In 2008, Scott Thomas received many accolades for her performance in ''Il y a longtemps que je t'aime
(I've Loved You So Long), including BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress. In 2009 she played the role of a wife who leaves her husband for another man in Leaving''. In ''
Sarah's Key'' (2010) – the story of the
Vel' d'Hiv Roundup – Scott Thomas starred as an American journalist in Paris who discovers that the flat her husband is renovating for them was once the home of an evicted Jewish family. Other roles include
Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire and Ormond, mother of
Henry VIII's second wife
Anne, in
The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), the role of a
fashion magazine creator and editor in the film
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009), and as a love interest of George Duroy (played by
Robert Pattinson) in the 2012 film
Bel Ami, based on the 1885
Maupassant novel. She was also seen in
The Woman in the Fifth (2011), a film adaptation of
Douglas Kennedy's novel of the same name,
Lasse Hallström's
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2011),
Ralph Fiennes's
The Invisible Woman (2013),
Philippe Claudel's
Before the Winter Chill (2013), and in
Nicolas Winding Refn's
Only God Forgives, which premiered at the 2013
Cannes Film Festival. In 2014, she voiced the narration of
Kay Summersby, General Eisenhower's driver, in the documentary series
D-Day Sacrifice. She appeared in
Israel Horovitz's
My Old Lady (2014) and
Suite Française, the 2015 film adaptation of
Irène Némirovsky's World War II novel directed by
Saul Dibb. In 2017 she was nominated for the
BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the
71st British Academy Film Awards for portraying
Clementine Churchill in
Joe Wright's
Darkest Hour. In May 2017, it was reported that Scott Thomas had signed on to star as
BMW heiress
Susanne Klatten in the thriller
Paramour, directed by
Alexandra-Therese Keining. In 2020, Scott Thomas played
Mrs. Danvers in director
Ben Wheatley's
adaptation of
Daphne du Maurier's Gothic romance
Rebecca, with
Armie Hammer and
Lily James. Also that year, she appeared in the BBC television remake of
Alan Bennett's monologue series,
Talking Heads, playing the role of Celia in the episode "Hand of God". In April 2022, Scott Thomas starred in the British spy thriller series
Slow Horses, based on the Slough House series of novels by
Mick Herron. She appeared as Diana Taverner, Deputy Director General of MI5. Premiering on Apple TV+, the series was renewed in January 2024 for a fifth season. In June 2022, Thomas began filming on her directorial debut, ''
My Mother's Wedding'', starring
Scarlett Johansson,
Sienna Miller,
Emily Beecham, and
Freida Pinto. ==Personal life==