Uma Thurman

Thurman's family background is as distinctive as her film career. Her mother, Birgitte Caroline "Nena" von Schlebrügge, was a fashion model born in Mexico City, and her grandmother posed for a nude statue that overlooks the harbor of Smygehuk in Sweden. Her father, Robert Thurman, was a Columbia University professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies and the first Westerner ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Uma's name comes from the Tibetan Dbuma Chenpo, meaning "Great Middle Way," and she and her three brothers spent time in India as children, with the Dalai Lama occasionally visiting their home. She is the goddaughter of Timothy Leary.

Her breakthrough came with Dangerous Liaisons (1988), followed by Henry & June (1990) and, most famously, Pulp Fiction (1994), which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She played Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin (1997) and Emma Peel in The Avengers (1998), then reunited with Quentin Tarantino for the two-part Kill Bill (2003–2004), a role that brought her critical acclaim. She also won a Golden Globe for Hysterical Blindness (2002). Her daughter, Maya Hawke, is an actress. She has a large Instagram following of 1.8 million.