Uma Thurman Trivia | 60 facts about the actress

Uma Thurman is an American actress and former model, who has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies to science fiction and action films.

Let’s find out more about the actress!

1. Uma Karuna Thurman is her full name.
2. She was born on April 29th 1970.
3. Her zodiac sign is Taurus.
4. She is an American actress and former model.
5. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films.
6. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 covers of British Vogue, Thurman starred in Dangerous Liaisons (1988).
7. She rose to international prominence with her performance as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
8. For her role in «Pulp Fiction» she was nominated for the Academy Award, the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe Award, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress.
9. Often hailed as Tarantino’s muse.
10. She reunited with the director to play the main role in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2 (2003, 2004), which brought her two additional Golden Globe Award nominations.
11. Established as a Hollywood actress, Uma Thurman’s other notable films include Henry & June (1990), The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), Batman & Robin (1997), Gattaca (1997), Les Misérables (1998), Paycheck (2003), The Producers (2005), My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Lars von Trier’s Nymphomaniac (2013), The House That Jack Built (2018), and Hollywood Stargirl (2022).
12. In 2011, she was a member of the jury for the main competition at the 64th Cannes Film Festival.
13. In 2017, she was named president of the 70th edition’s “Un Certain Regard” jury.
14. Uma Thurman made her Broadway debut in The Parisian Woman (2017–2018).
15. Thurman won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Film for her performance in the made-for-HBO film Hysterical Blindness (2002).
16. She received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her five-episode role in the NBC musical series Smash (2012).
17. She has also starred in the miniseries The Slap (2015) and the series Imposters (2017–2018), Chambers (2019) and Super Pumped (2022).
18. When their 18-month marriage ended, she and Gary Oldman made a pact not to talk about each other.
19. She attended Amherst Regional Middle School, Massachusetts, for grade 7 and 8 and had Ester Haskell as an English teacher. She later visited that school to contribute to the Women’s History assembly. The children were thrilled.
20. Before she began work on Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Uma had to shed 60 lbs. of pregnancy weight. She trained in three styles of kung fu and two styles of sword fighting, plus knife throwing, knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat.
21. Named after the goddess of light and beauty in Indian Mythology.
22. In 2018, Ethan Hawke revealed that he is still paying Thurman alimony 15 years after they split.
23. She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant: Pulp Fiction (1994).
24. Ranked as #67 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005” special supplement.
25. 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. Robert’s family has been in the United States for many generations, and he has English, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), Scottish, and German ancestry.
26. Was 3 months pregnant with her daughter Luna when she filmed her guest appearance on Smash (2012).
27. In 2010, Thurman’s £6,000,000 ($10,000,000) lawsuit against London-based Handmade Films, the production company behind Eloise in Paris, was settled.
28. Uma Thurman had hired Bert Fields to represent her, claiming that not only had Handmade not paid her an agreed £2,800,000 pay-or-play fee for the film, but that she had also lost earnings waiting for it to begin production.
29. Refused two proposals from Ethan Hawke before agreeing to marry him. She was 7 months pregnant at their wedding and gave no explanation for the delay.
30. Gave birth to her third child, a daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (aka Luna) on July 15, 2012. Father is boyfriend Arpad Busson.
31. Danced with John Travolta in two movies: Pulp Fiction (1994) and Be Cool (2005).
32. Former husband Ethan Hawke’s book was dedicated to her (“For Karuna”).
33. Has three brothers with equally unusual, exotic names: Ganden Thurman, Dechen Thurman and Mipam Thurman.
34. 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 (1995).
35. Regrets turning down the role of Arwen, in Lord Of The Rings.
36. Appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: February ’95 and December ’03.
37. She has no high school degree.
38. Despite the potential for complications with childbirth because of problems with her blood vessels, she gave birth to 3 children.
39. 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).
40. 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.
41. Turned down the part of mirror queen, eventually played by Monica Bellucci, in Brothers Grimm (2005).
42. Former model.
43. Close friend Natasha Richardson, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) co-star David Carradine and half-nephew Dash Snow all died in quick succession in 2009, each under tragic circumstances: Richardson from a head injury whilst skiing, Carradine from an apparent sex game gone wrong, and Snow from a heroin overdose.
44. Has shades of Lancome lipsticks named after her (available only in Asia).
45. Was 5ft 10in by the age of 13.
46. She has size 11 feet, which she reportedly hates.
47. Lobbied for the female lead in How to lose a guy in 10 days *2003), but lost out to Kate Hudson.
48. Called off her engagement to Arpad Busson on November 15, 2009.
49. Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1994.
50. Was set to portray Marlene Dietrich in a biopic directed by Louis Malle, but after the death of Malle the project was canceled.
51. Attended Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts during her freshman and sophomore years, approximately 25 miles from her home town at the time, Amherst, Massachusetts.
52. Ranked #99 in Empire (UK) magazine’s “The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time” list. (October 1997)
53. Briefly dated John Cusack in 1992, then again in 2003 briefly.
54. Was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l’Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France on February 7, 2006. Presenting the prize on behalf of the French Ministry of Culture, Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob told Thurman she was “admired throughout the world” and that her career would “make her the favorite actress of an entire generation.” The Order of Arts and Letters is given out twice annually to a few hundred people worldwide.
55. Her mother, Nena Thurman, was once married to LSD proponent Timothy Leary. The marriage lasted less than a year (1964-1965). Their wedding, 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.
56. In Portuguese, her name means “one”.
57. Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#20). (1995)
58. Auditioned for the Julia Roberts role in Pretty Woman (1990).
59. Ex-stepmother of Alfie Oldman.
60. Uma and her hotelier boyfriend, André Balazs, have ended their 3½ year romance. They started dating in 2003. (March 20, 2007)