KatherineMathilda"Tilda"Swinton (born 5 November 1960) is aBritish actress known for both arthouse and mainstream films. Shewonthe Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance inMichael Clayton. She is one of our most admired Actress, specially In 2005, Swintonperformed as the White Witch Jadis, in the film version of TheChronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Swinton worked with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, starring in Mannist Mann by Manfred Karge, and the Royal Shakespeare Company, beforeembarking on a career in film in the mid-1980s. She appeared asJulia in the 1986 television mini-series Zastrozzi: A Romance based onthe Gothic novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Her early film workincluded several film roles for director Derek Jarman, notably WarRequiem (1989) playing a nurse opposite Sir Laurence Olivier as an oldsoldier. In 1991, Swinton won the Volpi Cup Best Actressaward for her role in the postmodern film Edward II. Swinton alsoplayed the title role in Orlando, Sally Potter's film version of thenovel by Virginia Woolf. In 1995, with producer and friend Joanna Scanlan, Swinton developed aperformance/installation live art piece in the Serpentine Gallery,London, where she was on display to the public for a week, asleep orapparently so, in a glass case, as a piece of performanceart. The piece is sometimes credited to Cornelia Parker, whom Swintoninvited to collaborate for the installation in London. Thefollowing year, the performance, entitled The Maybe, was repeated atthe Museo Barracco in Rome. She also appeared in the music video forOrbital's "The Box". She has collaborated with the fashiondesigners Viktor & Rolf. She was the focus of their 'One WomanShow' 2003, in which they made all the models look like copies ofSwinton, and she read a poem (of her own) that included the line,"There is only one you. Only one".  Swinton's appearance at the Oscars was remarkable in that she chose towear very little makeup, and a silk Lanvin gown. Of Swinton's aunaturel appearance, friend and sometimes stylist Jerry Staffordremarked, "This is skin born of the Scottish highlands, sowhy hide it? Why the hell put foundation on it and all this garishlipstick ?". Swinton next appeared in the 2008 Coen Brothers film, Burn AfterReading. Swinton said of the film, in which she plays opposite GeorgeClooney, "I don't know if it will make anybody else laugh, but itreally made us laugh while making it.". She was cast for the role of Elizabeth Abbott in The Curious Case ofBenjamin Button, alongside Burn After Reading co-star BradPitt. Her performance in Erick Zonca's Julia, whichpremiered at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival and later sawa limited U.S. release in May 2009. Some critics claimed it should havewon her an Academy Award. She is due to star in the upcoming film adaptation of We Need to TalkAbout Kevin. We look forward to see more films or movies from this very dynamicActress. This page celebrates the life, art and achievements ofTilda Swinton. |  Swinton was born in London, England. Herfather, Major-General Sir JohnSwinton of Kimmerghame House, Duns, Berwickshire, KCVO, OBE, DL, whowas Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (1989-2000), is Scottish, and hermother, Judith Balfour, Lady Swinton (nee Killen), wasAustralian. The Swinton family is an ancient Anglo-Scots familythat can trace its lineage to the High Middle Ages. Swinton attended two independent schools, the West Heath Girls' School(the same class as Diana, Princess of Wales), and also Fettes Collegefor a brief period. In 1983, she graduated from NewHall (now known as Murray Edwards College) at Cambridge with a degreein Social and Political Sciences. While at Cambridge she joined theCommunist Party of Great Britain. She has two Honorary Doctorates: one from Napier University inEdinburgh, received in August 2006 and one from the Royal ScottishAcademy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow, received July 2006 Shewas a contributing editor to the literary magazine Zembla. Mainstreamfilms Recent years have seen Swinton move towards more mainstream projects,including the leading role in the American filmThe Deep End (2001), for which shewas nominated for a Golden Globe Award. She appeared as a supportingcharacter in films such asThe Beach(2000), featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Vanilla Sky (2001) with Tom Cruiseand, as thearchangel Gabriel inConstantine (2005) with Keanu Reeves. Swinton hasalso appeared in the British filmsTheStatement (2003) andYoungAdam (2003), and sat on the jury of the 2004 Cannes FilmFestival. In 2005, Swinton performed as the White Witch Jadis, in the filmversion of TheChronicles of Narnia:The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and as Audrey Cobb in theMike Mills film adaptation of the novelThumbsucker. Swinton later hadcameos in Narnia's sequels,TheChronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian andThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage ofthe Dawn Treader. In 2007, Swinton's performance as Karen Crowder inMichael Clayton earned her both aBAFTA award for Best SupportingActress as well as theOscarfor Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 200880th Academy Awards, the film's sole win. |
