Biography And Filmography:

Red haired and green eyed, Scottish born actress Tilda Swinton began her career as a leading lady in European films, and gained critical recognition by portraying a man in the Academy Award nominated “Orlando” (1992). She become well known in American film with her roles in “The Deep End” (2001), “Vanilla Sky” (2001) starring Tom Cruise, and “Adaptation” (2002) with Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, about a lovelorn screenwriter who turns to his less talented twin brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book go nowhere.

Tilda Swinton was born on Nov. 5, 1960 to Australian mother Judith and career army father John . Her father’s military duties forced her, and her three brothers, to live in various countries while growing up, though they always returned to the family estate in Scotland – an estate which had been in the family since the ninth century. She attended the fashionable West Heath Girls School in Kent, England, where the goal was training privileged young women for a future as the wife of royalty. She tired of the nobility training and began to study writing and literature at Cambridge University, where she graduated in 1983 with a degree in Social and Political Science. She also became involved with the school’s drama and theater department, participating in various stage productions. 

She returned to Scotland and started her show business career in Edinburgh, before spending a year onstage with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The actress was then offered an opportunity to work in movies. Cementing her status as a successful actress, she drew attention to herself in the complex role in "Orlando" (1992), a film version of Virginia Woolf's story of a noble who evolves in both gender and social lifestyle, and she doubled as the young Elizabeth I. 

She was then hired and cast as a lawyer in "Female Perversions" (1996), about an ambitious female attorney who wallows in excess and meaningless sex with both male and female partners, while dealing with her personal life problems including helping her kleptomaniac sister. Next was the sci-fi fantasy "Conceiving Ada" (1997), a fascinating story about a computer genius who devises a method of communicating with the past by tapping into undying information waves. 

Swinton was next hired to portray a lesbian in "Love Is the Devil" (1998), a biography of British painter Francis Bacon, who focuses on his relationship with his gay lover, George Dyer, a former small time crook. Next was a role opposite a young Colin Farrell as the mother of a family torn apart by incest in Tim Roth’s "The War Zone" (1999). 

Another big Hollywood role came working with Leonardo DiCaprio in the dramatic thriller "The Beach" (2000), where twenty-something Richard travels to Thailand and finds himself in possession of a strange map. Rumors say that it leads to a solitary beach paradise, a tropical bliss - excited and intrigued, he sets out to find it with his beer drinking friends. 

The actress followed up with a mystery thriller that won her the best reviews of her career in "The Deep End" (2001), about a woman who spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation of his gay lover who is found dead on the beach. Her next movie made her a household name in America when she took the supporting role of Rebecca Dearborn in the mystery thriller "Vanilla Sky" (2001), starring Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz and Penélope Cruz, a tale about a successful publisher who finds his life taking a turn for the worst after a car accident with a jaded lover.

The actress then tried her hand at comedy in "Adaptation" (2002), starring opposite Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep, about a screenwriter who turns to his brother for help when his efforts to adapt a non-fiction book into a movie go nowhere. She the took a co-starring roles opposite Ewan McGregor in the thriller "Young Adam" (2003) and followed the same year with "The Statement" (2003), starring Michael Caine, the story of a former Nazi executioner who becomes a target for hit men and Police investigators. She was then cast with Keanu Reeves and Benjamin Bratt in the comedy "Thumbsucker" (2005), where a man throws himself, and everyone around him, into chaos when he tries to break free from his addiction to his thumb.

Tilda was a rising star in Hollywood and critics loved her, and audiences wanted to see more of her. Everyone got their wish when she took the role of androgynous, morally complicated angel Gabriel in the horror thriller "Constantine" (2005), working alongside Keanu Reeves, Rachel Weisz and Shia LaBeouf, a film based on the DC comic book "Hellblazer", and written by Kevin Brodbin, Mark Bomback and Frank Capello. "Constantine" tells the story of supernatural detective John Constantine, who has been to hell and back. 

She then appeared in a small independent project titled "Broken Flowers" (2005) starring Bill Murray, the story of a man who is dumped by his latest girlfriend and receives an anonymous letter telling him he has a son who is searching for him. The film won the Grand Prize at the Canes Film Festival, and was nominated for eleven different theatrical awards. 

She wrapped her year in the family adventure "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", playing the role of the White Witch. The magical film is based on the classic novel by CS Lewis about four London children who are sent to a professor's country home for protection during World War II. There they find a magic wardrobe which leads to a mystical land called Narnia, which is being ruled by an evil witch. "The Chronicles of Narnia" won an Oscar Award and was nominated for a Golden Globe, MTV Movie Award and a Grammy. The now famous movie star would reprise her role in the 2008 sequel "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (2008), where the Pevensie children return to Narnia where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land's throne, Prince Caspian.

The following year, Swinton appeared with Amber Tamblyn in the drama "Stephanie Daley" (2006), where pregnant forensic psychologist Lydie Crane is hired to learn the truth behind the case of 16-year-old Stephanie Daley (Amber Tamblyn), who is accused of hiding her pregnancy and murdering her infant. For her role, Tilda was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama. Another big break came for the actress in "Michael Clayton" (2007), starring with George Clooney, where an attorney known as the Fixer in his law firm comes across the biggest case of his career, but it could produce disastrous results for those involved. She was awarded her first Oscar win for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, and the film was nominated for an astounding fifty-one other nominations.

In 2008, she once again teamed with Clooney and A-lister Brad Pitt for the comedy adventure "Burn After Reading" (2008), where a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it. 

She then teamed again with Pitt for the strange and sad tale "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button" (2008), also starring Cate Blanchett. Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the movie features Benjamin Button, played by Brad Pitt, as an old man who physically ages backward. He is born an old man and ages in reverse until he becomes a baby and then finally vanishes from the earth. At age 50, he falls in love with a 30-year-old woman (Cate Blanchett), and must come to terms with the relationship as they literally grow in opposite directions.

Another starring role followed in the crime thriller "The  Limits Of Control" (2009), with John Hurt and Bill Murray, the story of a mysterious loner, a stranger, in the process of completing a criminal job. The actress wrapped her year in the mystery thriller "The Ghost" (2009), starring alongside Nicolas Cage and Pierce Brosnan, about a ghostwriter who is hired to complete the memoirs of a former British prime minister and uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.

Watch Tilda Swinton And Brad Pitt In "The Curious Case Of Benjamin Buttons" Movie Trailer 

[Home]     [Male Celebrities]     [Female Celebrities]