Uma Karuna Thurman was born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a highly unorthodox and internationally minded family. Her mother, Nena Thurman, was a fashion model and socialite who now runs a mountain retreat, and her father, Robert Thurman, is a professor and academic who is one of the nation's foremost Buddhist scholars. Uma's mother was born in Mexico City, Mexico, to a German father and a Swedish mother, while her father has English, Scots-Irish, Scottish, and German ancestry.
Uma grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts, where her father worked at Amherst College. She and her siblings all have names deriving from Buddhist mythology, and Middle American behavior was little understood, much less pursued. As a child, Uma confronted an awkward and lonely childhood, with a tall stature, large feet, and a long nose that made her stand out. She was also perpetually the new kid in class due to her family's constant relocation.
Despite her awkwardness, Uma thrived at acting in school plays and was eventually drawn to New York City for high school and modeling work. Her interest in acting led her to roles in films such as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Dangerous Liaisons, which brought much attention to her unorthodox sensuality and performances.
Thurman continued to be offered good roles in Hollywood pictures into the early '90s, including her performance as June, Henry Miller's wife, in Henry & June. However, her career stalled in the early '90s with mediocre films such as Mad Dog and Glory and Even Cowgirls Get the Blues.
Uma bounced back with a brilliant performance as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, a role for which she received an Academy Award nomination. Since then, she has had periods of flirting with roles in arty independents and supporting roles in a mixed batch of movies.
Thurman has also worked with Woody Allen and Sean Penn on Sweet and Lowdown, and starred in Richard Linklater's drama Tape opposite Ethan Hawke. She won a Golden Globe award for her turn in the made-for-television film Hysterical Blindness, directed by Mira Nair.
A return to the mainstream spotlight came when Thurman re-teamed with Quentin Tarantino for Kill Bill: Vol. 1, a revenge flick the two had dreamed up on the set of Pulp Fiction. She also turned up in the John Woo cautioner Paycheck that same year. Thurman handled the situation with grace, however, and took her surging popularity in stride.
Thurman has been married twice, first to Gary Oldman from 1990 to 1992, and then to Ethan Hawke, her co-star in Gattaca, from 1998 to 2004. The couple had two children, Levon and Maya, before filing for divorce.
