Trivia

Her warm friendship with director Quentin Tarantino (who calls her his muse) nearly ended following an accident on the set of Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004). Tarantino had apparently pressured her into doing a car stunt that went wrong, causing chronic neck and knee injuries that persist to this day. The production company, Miramax, withheld all proof of the accident unless Thurman agreed to sign a waiver (which she refused to do), releasing them and Tarantino from any liability. Despite Tarantino's profuse apologies, things remained very acrimonious between the two, until they finally reconciled their friendship nearly a decade later. Thurman only came forward with the incident in 2018 after Tarantino had finally given her access to footage from the accident, and Tarantino stated multiple times that he regretted asking her to do the stunt in the first place since the footage never even made it into the film.

When their 18-month marriage ended, she and Gary Oldman made a pact not to talk about each other.

Before she began work on Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Uma had to shed 60 lbs. of pregnancy weight. She trained in three styles of kung fu and two styles of sword fighting, plus knife throwing, knife fighting and hand-to-hand combat.

She attended Amherst Regional Middle School, Massachusetts, for grade 7 and 8 and had Ester Haskell as an English teacher. She later visited that school to contribute to the Women's History assembly. The children were thrilled.

Named after the goddess of light and beauty in Indian Mythology.

In 2018, Ethan Hawke revealed that he is still paying Thurman alimony 15 years after they split.

She has appeared in one film that has been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Pulp Fiction (1994).

In 2010, Thurman's £6,000,000 ($10,000,000) lawsuit against London-based Handmade Films, the production company behind Eloise in Paris, was settled. Thurman had hired Bert Fields to represent her, claiming that not only had Handmade not paid her an agreed £2,800,000 pay-or-play fee for the film, but that she had also lost earnings waiting for it to begin production.

Her father, Robert Thurman, is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Studies at Columbia University School of Religion. He was the first westerner to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Uma was named for a Hindu goddess. Robert's family has been in the United States for many generations, and he has English, Scots-Irish (Northern Irish), Scottish, and German ancestry.

Danced with John Travolta in two movies: Pulp Fiction (1994) and Be Cool (2005).

Was 3 months pregnant with her daughter Luna when she filmed her guest appearance on Smash (2012).

Ranked as #67 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement.

Former husband Ethan Hawke's book was dedicated to her ("For Karuna").

Refused two proposals from Ethan Hawke before agreeing to marry him. She was 7 months pregnant at their wedding and gave no explanation for the delay.

Gave birth to her third child, a daughter Rosalind Arusha Arkadina Altalune Florence Thurman-Busson (aka Luna) on July 15, 2012. Father is boyfriend Arpad Busson.

Has three brothers with equally unusual, exotic names: Ganden Thurman, Dechen Thurman and Mipam Thurman.

Regrets turning down the role of Arwen, in Lord Of The Rings.

Was nearly cast as Eleanor Arroway in Contact (1997) after Jodie Foster initially turned it down in 1995. Foster agreed to do the film after seeing a new revision of the script.

Uma's middle name, Karuna, is one of the four sublime abodes in Buddhism. It means "compassion." The other 3 sublime abodes are Metta (Loving kindness), Mudita (Sympathetic joy), and Upekkha (Equanimity).

She has no high school degree.

She is on the Board of Directors of Room to Grow, a non-profit organization founded by Rob Reiner, dedicated to enriching the lives of babies born into poverty throughout their critical first 3 years of development.

Despite the potential for complications with childbirth because of problems with her blood vessels, she gave birth to 3 children.

Uma and Ethan Hawke's daughter's name is Maya; which is also the name of the character that Uma played in Duke of Groove (1995).

Appeared twice on the cover of GQ magazine: February '95 and December '03.

Turned down the part of mirror queen, eventually played by Monica Bellucci, in The Brothers Grimm (2005).

Was 5ft 10in by the age of 13.

Close friend Natasha Richardson, Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) co-star David Carradine and half-nephew Dash Snow all died in quick succession in 2009, each under tragic circumstances: Richardson from a head injury whilst skiing, Carradine from an apparent sex game gone wrong, and Snow from a heroin overdose.

Has shades of Lancome lipsticks named after her (available only in Asia).

Former model.

Both she and her co-star in Batman & Robin (1997), Elle Macpherson were respectively engaged to Arpad Busson. She ended her engagement with him in 2005 and Thurman ended it with him in 2009.

Briefly dated John Cusack in 1992, then again in 2003 briefly.

Next to Quentin Tarantino, she presented the Palme D'or to Winter Sleep (2014) at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. She attended the stage barefoot.

Lobbied for the female lead in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), but lost out to Kate Hudson.

She has size 11 feet, which she reportedly hates.

Uma's mother, Nena Thurman, who was born as Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge in Mexico City, Mexico, is a model-turned-psychotherapist, who was a young teenager when she was discovered in Stockholm by photographer Norman Parkinson. Uma's maternal grandfather, Friedrich Karl Johannes von Schlebrügge, was a Prussian nobleman. Uma's maternal grandmother, Brigit Holmquist, was born in Sweden, to a father of Swedish descent and a mother of German and Danish ancestry. Brigit's father was a famous local industrialist, and Brigit was herself a famous beauty. A nude statue, called 'Famntaget' (The Embrace), of Brigit, stands in the port town of Trelleborg. Uma's maternal grandparents moved to Mexico, where Nena was born. Artist Salvador Dalí introduced Nena to her first husband, Timothy Leary.

Attended Northfield Mount Hermon boarding school in Northfield, Massachusetts during her freshman and sophomore years, approximately 25 miles from her home town at the time, Amherst, Massachusetts.

Called off her engagement to Arpad Busson on November 15, 2009.

Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1994.

Ranked #99 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. (October 1997)

Director Brian De Palma wanted her to play Maria in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990); however Tom Hanks, who had casting approval, dismissed Thurman's acting as "high school." The role went to Melanie Griffith.

She wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post in 2021 in response to Texas passing strict antiabortion laws and revealed that she had an abortion in her late teens after becoming pregnant from a much older man while working in Europe. She said, "Choosing not to keep that early pregnancy allowed me to grow up and become the mother I wanted and needed to be".

Was set to portray Marlene Dietrich in a biopic directed by Louis Malle, but after the death of Malle the project was canceled.

Theres a nude statue of her grandmother in a Swedish port.

Had on and off relationship with Timothy Hutton for about a year (1995-1996).

Auditioned for the Julia Roberts role in Pretty Woman (1990).

Has appeared in two films quoting the proverb "revenge is a dish best served cold", Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Batman & Robin (1997) as well as Dangerous Liaisons (1988), an adaptation of the novel often credited with originating that expression.

Auditioned for the role of Geneva Backman in The Dilemma (2011), but Winona Ryder was cast instead.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#20). (1995)

Was made a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier De l'Ordre Des Arts Et Des Lettres) by France on February 7, 2006. Presenting the prize on behalf of the French Ministry of Culture, Cannes Film Festival President Gilles Jacob told Thurman she was "admired throughout the world" and that her career would "make her the favorite actress of an entire generation." The Order of Arts and Letters is given out twice annually to a few hundred people worldwide.

Followed in the footsteps of both her mother and grandmother into the world of modeling.