8 Reasons We Love Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson turns 57 today and there's no denying that the British actress is one of the world's most treasured stars.

Her roles are amazing - like her Academy Award-winning performance in Howard’s End, or her heartbreaking role as Karen in Love Actually.

But here are eight more examples of why we can’t get enough of Thompson...

1. She’s an award-winning actor and writer. Thompson was nominated for both Best Actress and Best Screenplay at the Academy Awards and Golden Globes in 1996 for her adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. Here’s her Golden Globes acceptance speech that she wrote in the style of Jane Austen:

2. She’s really funny. She has roots in sketch comedy working with a couple of funny men, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, at the University of Cambridge’s sketch comedy troupe Footlights. Here’s a skit from a televised version of The Cellar Tapes:

3. Thompson originally aimed to work as a social worker and help disabled children and the elderly. While her career took a turn, she’s held onto her altrusitic views. Watch Thompson along with Octavia Spencer, Julia Roberts, Oprah Winfrey, Lupita Nyong’o, and Amy Adams talking about tropes female characters are put into and the changing dynamics in Hollywood for actresses:

4. She’s been wildly successful, but family comes first with Thompson telling The Guardian, “Family is the center of everything for me.” She expands on what that means to her, saying, “But family is about connection, not necessarily about blood ties. It’s about extended family and extending family.” She and her adopted son, whom she met when he was 16, share their story via the United Nations YouTube page:

5. Thompson is so connected to her family - which includes actress mum Phyllida Law and actor husband Greg Wise - we felt that highlighting her commitment to her family calls for two spots on our list. We’d like to share a clip of her sharing life lessons she’s taught her daughter Gaia with David Letterman on The Late Show:

6. She knows how to make an entrance and give a great interview. Watch her bust a move as she comes out to greet Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show:

7. With all that moviemaking, dancing, and child-rearing, a girl’s feet can get tired. Thompson is so comfortable in her own skin that she felt okay kicking off her shoes to present at the 2014 Golden Globes:

8. In addition to her being a fun presenter at awards shows, Thompson tells a zinger of a story making fellow guest Hugh Grant blush on The Graham Norton Show: