| Quotes:
| - On the Academy Awards®: "The first Oscarcast, I was definitely functioning in a surreal mode. It was like I was watching myself watch the ceremony. Yet I had a good time. Hey, wearing a beautiful dress and being surrounded by beautiful people is not a terrible way to spend an evening. And I had a great time at all the parties. The second Oscarcast, I just went and planned on enjoying myself. People think of me as such a serious actress, but I find myself behaving like a gadabout."
- On her two 1999 roles, ANGELA'S ASHES and CRADLE WILL ROCK, which had Oscar®-potential: "Angela never rails against the world, she never climbs the walls, she never has a truly big emotional breakdown scene. Neither it nor CRADLE WILL ROCK requires the kind of acting that traditionally wins Oscars, but I don't care. I love both films.''
- On her childhood preparing her for an acting career: "I was a normal, rather dutiful child. I didn't even rebel as a teenager. I was taught the value of imagination at an early age. I didn't have a television. I read a lot of books and developed a good sense of storytelling. I was happy as well, and I think that helped. The more secure you feel, the more unbalanced you can let yourself become."
- On Hollywood's perception of women as beauty objects: "I'm lucky I don't do the kind of work where the main thing is that you're the girl and you look gorgeous. I don't look like that. I'm a funny-looking bugger. I don't feel that I can compete, and I wouldn't want to. Life's too short to spend seven hours a day in the gym and starving yourself."
| Significant Other(s):
| - Jack Waters (1995 - present)
| Family:
| - Father - architect
- Mother - English professor
- Daughter: Juliet Waters, b. 2005
| Factoids:
| - Supports the English soccer team Arsenal.
- Was spotted by Lars von Trier during a presentation of Lilian Hellman's The Children's Hour, in which she played a young student who falsely accuses her teacher of lesbianism.
- She graduted from high school, went to university in Bristol for three years, got a 2.1 ranking [in the English education system], then she applied to drama school but was refused. So she started waitressing and doing secretarial work along with some fringe theater. Then she applied to drama school again and was accepted, and did a one-year course. Her first professional job was in the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 1992.
- She was 25 when she started acting professionally, and was 29 during the filming of BREAKING THE WAVES.
- Won the role of Bess in BREAKING THE WAVES after Helena Bomham Carter dropped out at the last minute because of the film's explicit sexuality.
- Was considered for the lead role in BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY, along with fellow Brits Kate Winslet and Rachel Weisz, and American model-turned-actress Cameron Diaz. The role went to Texan Renée Zellweger.
| Notable Film Roles:
| - BREAKING THE WAVES (1996)
METROLAND (1997)
THE BOXER (1997)
HILARY AND JACKIE (1998)
ANGELA'S ASHES (1999)
CRADLE WILL ROCK (1999)
TRIXIE (2000)
THE LUZHIN DEFENCE (2000)
GOSFORD PARK (2001)
RED DRAGON (2002)
EQUILIBRIUM (2002)
PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (2002)
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS (2004)
| - THE PROPOSITION (2005)
WAH-WAH (2005)
CORPSE BRIDE (voice, 2005)
SEPARATE LIES (2005)
KRUISTOCHT IN SPIJKERBROEK / CRUSADE IN JEANS (2006)
MISS POTTER (2006)
WATER HOURSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP (2007)
FIREFLIES IN THE GARDEN (2008)
COLD SOULS (2008)
SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK (2008)
WITHIN THE WHIRLWIND (2009)
| | Academy Awards®:
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Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1996: BREAKING THE WAVES