10 Reasons We Can't Get Enough of Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson has been a regular on Anglophenia for a while now. She just popped up again this week,  set to star in the feature-length comedy Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Her character is a widow, who hires a "sex therapist" for a night of bliss.
We're keen to see how this plays out on screen.
In the meantime, let's take a look back at why we adore this actress so much:
1. She's comfortable in her own skin.
 

At the 2014 Golden Globes, Thompson was invited to present the Best Screenplay award. One might be nervous, standing in front of such a large audience. But, not Thompson. She felt so at home, that she even slipped out of her red-bottomed heels, carrying them with her. And to even things out, she had a martini in her other hand.
2. She's says it how it is.
 

She took part in a Q&A with the folks over at LADbible. They volleyed questions at her like, "When was the first time you got drunk?" She doesn't only answer the question, but provides a candid anecdote. She describes getting to university and going to an all-day party. What happened after that, is best told by Thompson. You can hear the entire story in the above clip.
3. She has a presence.
 

Thompson's filmography is not only long, but filled with memorable roles, including 1992's Howards End, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2003's Love Actually. Recently, she took the lead in 2019's Late Night. There are too many standout performances to include all of them, with her first on-screen role in 1982's There's Nothing to Worry About! series.
4. She can write. 

Thompson not only acts, but she's an award-winning writer. And not any ol' award, either. She won an Academy Award in 1996 for her work on Sense and Sensibility, adapting the screenplay. She didn't stop there, writing screenplays for movies like 2005's Nanny McPhee, 2014's Effie Gray, 2016's Bridget Jones's Baby and 2019's Last Christmas, in which she also starred.
6. She has a good sense of humor. 

Thompson swung by The Graham Norton Show in 2016 for a chat. While guests come to talk about their latest project, the conversation can get slightly personal. Thompson told a story about opening the door to a "massive" policeman. It turns out, there had been a report of a naked man on her land, except... it was actually her. She took it on the chin!
7. She's a good dancer. 

When chat show host Stephen Colbert introduced Thompson as his first guest, she came out dancing. She didn't just do a quick shimmy, but she slowed-danced with the host himself. It then morphed into a bit of the jitter bug, with a double-arm swing thrown in. It was so impressive, we stopped watching the clip there and didn't even make it to the actual interview.
8. She speaks up.
In 2015, Thompson addressed sexism in Hollywood, saying to Radio Times, "I don’t think there’s any appreciable improvement, and I think that, for women, the question of how they are supposed to look is worse than it was even when I was young. So no, I am not impressed, at all. I think it’s still completely s—, actually." Her words are strong, and can possibly make change.
9. She has her priorities straight. 

While Thompson is an actress and writer, she's also a wife and mum, saying to The Guardian, "Family is the center of everything to me." She and husband Greg Wise have two grown children together, Gaia and Tindyebwa. In the above clip, Thompson tells her and Tindy's story, starting off with, "Tindy is not the fruit of my loins, but in every other respect... [they are mother and son]."
10. She's appreciative.
Thompson turned 60 last year, and in an interview with WebMD, she reflects, saying, "Time is precious, and it is not unlimited. One feels immortal, I think, until one is about 40. Then intimations of mortality come." She has a handle on life, knowing to make the most of it. You know, like becoming a Dame and befriending Mindy Kaling.
Why do you heart Emma Thompson?