With wit as sharp as her acting chops, Dame Emma Thompson has been delighting audiences for decades. But behind the screens, she’s a devoted wife and mum.
The Oscar-winning screenwriter and actor, known for Sense and Sensibility, Love Actually and Matilda the Musical, shares her life with actor Greg Wise, their daughter Gaia, and their son Tindy, whom the couple adopted as a teenager.
Together, they’ve built a close-knit, creative, and socially conscious family unit that’s as compelling behind the scenes as any film plot she’s brought to life.
Who is Dame Emma Thompson’s husband?
Dame Emma was first married to fellow British actor and director, Kenneth Branagh. The two met in 1987 on the set of the television series, Fortunes of War. They married two years later in 1989.
They were the golden couple of British film, and Kenneth often cast her in his productions.
Despite this, they attempted to keep their relationship out of the spotlight as much as possible. So it was a surprise to the public in 1005 when they announced their separation. They initially said their busy work schedules were the main reason; however, it was revealed that Kenneth was having an affair with Helena Boham Carter, which Emma confirmed in an interview with the UK’s Sunday Times:
“You can’t hold on to anything like that. It’s pointless,” she shared. “I haven’t got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago.”
Surprisingly, Emma revealed in August 2025 at the Locarno film festival in Switzerland that on the day her divorce from Kenneth was finalised, US President Donald Trump (then just a real estate mogul) asked her out on a date.
He called her trailer, and initially, she thought it was a joke. “Then he said: ‘I’d love you to come and stay at one of my beautiful places. Maybe we could have dinner.’ I said: ‘Well, that’s very sweet. Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you.” She never did.
After her relationship with Kenneth ended, Emma was quite open about her depression, but found herself again in her work. In 1995, she adapted and starred in Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. It was on the set of that film where she met Greg Wise, who was portraying the dashing John Willoughby, the ill-fated love interest of Kate Winslet’s Marianne Dashwood.
It was the Oscar-winning film, and Greg, who “saved” Emma. She shared on BBC Radio 4 in 2010: “I used to crawl from the bedroom to the computer, and then I was all right. Sense and Sensibility saved me from going under in a very nasty way… Work saved me, and Greg saved me. He picked up the pieces and put them together again.”
Greg and Emma married in Dunoon, Scotland, in 2003.
Does Emma Thompson have any children?
Yes! Emma has two children.
Greg and Emma conceived a daughter, Gaia, via IVF when Emma was 39 years old.
Gaia Wise, born 4 December 1999, has gone on to follow in the footsteps of her parents and is now an actress who has starred in numerous works, including the upcoming feature film The Dead of Winter alongside her mother.
After their marriage, Emma and Greg also adopted an orphan and former child soldier from Rwanda, Tindyebwa (Tindy) Agaba. They met when Tindyebwa was 16 years old at a refugee council, and Emma invited him around for Christmas dinner. That turned into regular visits, and soon, he was family. He reportedly does have family in Rwanda, his father passed away from AIDs, and he had three sisters, whose whereabouts or health are unknown.
In 2009, Tindy earned his British citizenship and has worked with the Metropolitan Police, helping refugees.
When did Emma become a Dame?
Queen Elizabeth II made Emma Thompson a Dame in 2018 for her contributions to drama. Her entire family were there to celebrate.
Has Emma Thompson won an Academy Award?
She has! In fact, she has two!
Emma won Best Actress for her performance in Howards End (1992), and she won Best Adapted Screenplay for Ang Lee’s Sense and Sensibility (1995). She has also been nominated for three other Oscars: Best Actress for The Remains of the Day, Best Supporting Actress in In the Name of the Father, and Best Actress for Sense and Sensibility.
In addition, Emma has also won three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award (Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance on Ellen), and has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and six Screen Actors Guild Awards, among many others.
