Thandie Newton Biography

Fine-boned and soft-spoken, Thandie Newton displays a deceptive fragility that is betrayed by the strong, resilient characters she often portrays. The actress was born in Zambia in 1972 to a Zimbabwean mother and British father who moved their family to London when Newton was four. It was while a student at a private school in North London that the actress met Australian director John Duigan, who was casting his coming-of-age tale Flirting (1991). Newton won a leading role as the smart, worldly girlfriend of the film's protagonist and starred alongside a then-relatively unknown Nicole Kidman. Her next film of any significance was 1994's Interview With the Vampire, in which she had a minor role alongside Kidman's then-husband, Tom Cruise.The same year, Newton acted as part of an ensemble cast in Loaded, a fairly obscure film directed by Anna Campion, sister of The Piano's Jane Campion. She was then reunited with Flirting director Duigan in 1995 for The Journey of August King, a little-seen feature in which she starred with Jason Patric. Greater recognition came in the form of the same year's Jefferson in Paris, a critically maligned but impressively cast film, in which Newton played Sally Hemings, slave and lover of Nick Nolte's Thomas Jefferson. Acting alongside individuals such as Nolte, James Earl Jones, and Gwyneth Paltrow certainly did little to hurt Newton's reputation and the next year she had yet another starring role, this time opposite Jon Bon Jovi in her third film with director Duigan, The Leading Man.Despite her leading status, Newton still hovered on the border of relative obscurity, something that finally began to change with three 1998 films in which she had major roles. The first was Vondie Curtis-Hall's Gridlock'd, a film that won Newton raves for her turn as a heroine-addicted jazz singer opposite Tim Roth and Tupac Shakur. Beloved, Newton's second film that year, won her further recognition, both for her mere presence in the highly anticipated adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel, and for her portrayal of the mysterious, ghostly girl who torments Oprah Winfrey's Sethe. Finally, it was with her third film of 1998, Besieged, that Newton graduated from relative obscurity to the rank of Hollywood Up and Comer. The film, which was directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and co-starred David Thewlis, received stellar reviews, many of which singled out Newton's performance for particular praise. This, along with a coveted spot on the April 1999 cover of Vanity Fair's annual Hollywood Issue, further cemented the actress' well-deserved status as one of the industry's latest Forces to Be Reckoned With.In 2000, Newton further ascended the ranks of recognition when she starred opposite former Interview With the Vampire co-star Tom Cruise in John Woo's Mission: Impossible II; although the film received mixed reviews, Newton earned almost unanimous approval from critics, who praised her strong, dynamic performance.Over the coming decade, Newton would remain a charismatic and beloved force on screen, appearing in films like Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness, W., and Retreat. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

• 1. Rosemary: Why is this one working and the others don't?
  2. Luke: It's a Chevy.
  From Vanishing On 7th Street. Submitted by Frances H (4 months ago)

• 1. Lindsey: I'm not talking to you midget! I'm talking to this ass!
  From Tyler Perry's Good Deeds. Submitted by Noleen N (5 months ago)

• 1. Lindsey: You should never apoligize for sayin what you feel.
  From Tyler Perry's Good Deeds. Submitted by Robert S (10 months ago)

• 1. Norbit Albert Rice: This wedding is a sham, and I'm here to stop it!
  2. Kate: Norbit, what are you doing?!
  3. Norbit Albert Rice: I'm being a man for the first time in my life. Kate... Kate I love you!
  4. Kate: [Gasps; the doors then burst open and Rasputia and two of her brothers rush in]
  5. Rasputia: [To Norbit] What the hell did you just say?! [Everyone gasps in surprise]
  6. Mr. Wong: [In disgust] Ick...
  7. Norbit Albert Rice: You heard what I said, strumpet! [Rasputia has a shocked look on her face] I love Kate! That's right! I love you, Kate! And the last 2 weeks I spent with you have meant more to me than my whole entire miserable life with you Rasputia! It's over! Norbit Albert Rice is no longer your BITCH! [Everyone gasps while Kate smiles]
  8. Rasputia: AAAAAAAAAHHH!!! YOU'RE DEAD!!!
  From Norbit. Submitted by Anthony A (13 months ago)

• 1. Kate: NO!
  From Norbit. Submitted by Anthony A (13 months ago)

• 1. Preacher: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today--
  2. Norbit Albert Rice: I OBJECT!
  3. Preacher: [Agitated] Oh, for Christ's sake!
  4. Mr. Wong: [Glad] Norbit.
  5. Pope Sweet Jesus: [Overjoyed] Norbit!
  6. Kate: [Astonished] Norbit!
  7. Choir Member: [Singing] NORBIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!
  From Norbit. Submitted by Anthony A (13 months ago)

• 1. Kate: I'm so sorry, Norbit. I just don't trust you anymore.
  2. Rasputia: [Laughs] Well, well, well, Norbit! Ya lose again! Once a loser, always a loser, huh?! Now come on! Let's go!
  From Norbit. Submitted by Anthony A (13 months ago)

• 1. Lindsey Wakefield: A lot of times in relationships, people don't say what they feel cos they're afraid of being hurt or let down.
  From Tyler Perry's Good Deeds. Submitted by Kookiie T (14 months ago)

• 1. Lindsey: Tell me how much a gallon of milk costs.
  From Tyler Perry's Good Deeds. Submitted by Chris P (15 months ago)

• 1. Tangie: Being alive and being a woman is all I got, but being colored is a metaphysical dilemma I haven't conquered yet.
  From For Colored Girls. Submitted by Chris P (2 years ago)