Source / Date: Entertainment Weekly June 27/July 4 1997
Title / Page(s): "The It Girl" by Assorted Writers pp 22-23
Age: 27 Why her? Forget that she's one half of the most notorious one-liner
in Oscar history. The willowy, six-foot tall, sleepy-eyed actress is the
unrivaled queen of Hollywood's ethereal realm. Named after a sexy Hindu goddess,
Thurman has a dreamy, Venus-like look that can be played as wistfully romantic
(see: Beautiful Girls, Dangerous Liaisons, Henry & June),
stylishly aloof (à la the cocaine-sniffing moll in Pulp Fiction), brassy
(as the vixenish Poison Ivy in this month's Batman & Robin), or just
plain spaced-out (check out Even Cowgirls Get the Blues or, better yet,
the upcoming futuristic drama Gattaca). How she does it: "Decomposition
and recomposition," says Thurman, sounding more like her father, Robert, who teaches
Indo-Tibetan Buddhism at Columbia University (Uma's mom, Nena, is a model-turned-psychologist
who was once married to LSD guru Timothy Leary). Translation: "When I read a
script, I pull the character apart. `Why is the character saying this? What would she
look like when she's angry?' Then maybe I'll watch a movie. I watched some
Mae West to get ready for Batman & Robin-before coming back to try
to make the character my own." Creative crutch: Pilates, a vigorous workout of
stretching and the strengthening moves. "On a good week when I'm not busy,"
she says, "I'll try to do it three or four times." She also smokes. A lot.
What's next: In Les Misérables, shooting in Prague, she plays the unemployed Fantine, a
street urchin driven to prostitution to support her child. She's already
wrapped production as the star-trooping Irene opposite boyfriend Ethan Hawke
in this fall's Gattaca. And she's currently fine-tuning the part of Emma Peel for a film
version of the super-sleek '60s series The Avengers.
Tao of Uma!: All About Uma! - Articles: Entertainment Weekly June 27/July 4 1997 Unleashed July 10 1998
Age: 27 Why her? Forget that she's one half of the most notorious one-liner
in Oscar history. The willowy, six-foot tall, sleepy-eyed actress is the
unrivaled queen of Hollywood's ethereal realm. Named after a sexy Hindu goddess,
Thurman has a dreamy, Venus-like look that can be played as wistfully romantic
(see: Beautiful Girls, Dangerous Liaisons, Henry & June),
stylishly aloof (à la the cocaine-sniffing moll in Pulp Fiction), brassy
(as the vixenish Poison Ivy in this month's Batman & Robin), or just
plain spaced-out (check out Even Cowgirls Get the Blues or, better yet,
the upcoming futuristic drama Gattaca). How she does it: "Decomposition
and recomposition," says Thurman, sounding more like her father, Robert, who teaches
Indo-Tibetan Buddhism at Columbia University (Uma's mom, Nena, is a model-turned-psychologist
who was once married to LSD guru Timothy Leary). Translation: "When I read a
script, I pull the character apart. `Why is the character saying this? What would she
look like when she's angry?' Then maybe I'll watch a movie. I watched some
Mae West to get ready for Batman & Robin-before coming back to try
to make the character my own." Creative crutch: Pilates, a vigorous workout of
stretching and the strengthening moves. "On a good week when I'm not busy,"
she says, "I'll try to do it three or four times." She also smokes. A lot.
What's next: In Les Misérables, shooting in Prague, she plays the unemployed Fantine, a
street urchin driven to prostitution to support her child. She's already
wrapped production as the star-trooping Irene opposite boyfriend Ethan Hawke
in this fall's Gattaca. And she's currently fine-tuning the part of Emma Peel for a film
version of the super-sleek '60s series The Avengers.