he tall blonde beauty is rarely just noticed for her looks, with a series of critically acclaimed acting accolades and notable roles, Uma Thurman has become known for taking risks in her career. Her personal life is more subdued, as a dedicated mother of two, and former wife of heartthrob Ethan Hawke, and actor Gary Oldman before him.
Uma rose to fame with her roles in films like Dangerous Liaisons, and Pulp Fiction, but it was her role in Kill Bill that showed her range and a decidedly edgy side of the very feminine star. Here, Uma talks about her life, passions, weaknesses and what makes her just another girl that can swing a sword with the best of them.
On choosing her unique roles: "In show business, to pry open doors in new areas is really tough. Until you have a successful comedy, people don't think you could be funny, which is what makes a director like Quentin Tarantino so special. He sees beyond the things on the resume that you've done to date and opens up wonderful cans of worms for you to crawl into. That's a cool thing."
On her role as a mother: "Having children flips the game from being about you to being about what you can create in a home and what your responsibilities are. I've thought about quitting, but I love what I do so much - it's the big conundrum of my life.... So I'm fighting to keep my foot in the business, be creative and stimulated, and still take care of my children."
On her less-than-perfect Oscar choice: "Everyone looked the same, everyone had it down to such a perfect T. You get bored. That's when you have to say, 'I will be worst-dressed.'"
On her true passion: "I'm very happy at home. I love to just hang out with my daughter, I love to work in my garden. I'm not a gaping hole of need."
On men: "It is better to have a relationship with someone who cheats on you than with someone who does not flush the toilet."
On her childhood: "I was not particularly bright, I wasn't very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid."
On Hollywood: "Desperation is the perfume of the young actor. It's so satisfying to have gotten rid of it. If you keep smelling it, it can drive you crazy. In this business a lot of people go nuts, go eccentric, even end up dead from it. Not my plan."
On what baffles her: "My washing machine overwhelms me with its options and its sophistication."
On unconditional love: "Before I had my child, I thought I knew all the boundaries of myself, that I understood the limits of my heart. It's extraordinary to have all those limits thrown out, to realize your love is inexhaustible."
On keeping grounded: "I think we all exude essential truths about ourselves, and then, as an actress, there's what you do with it. There's your wit and your imagination, and what you can cook up from your experience and understanding of what makes a human being tick."
On herself: "Tall, sandy blonde, with sort of blue eyes, skinny in places, fat in others. An average gal."
