Tilda Swinton
Katherine Matilda Swinton (born November 5, 1960) is an award-winning British actress of Scottish descent, known for her versatile roles in independent films and blockbusters. She is a recipient various accolades throughout her long career, including an Academy Award and two BAFTA Awards, in addition to being nominated for three Golden Globe Awards and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. Swinton began her career by appearing in experimental films starting with Caravaggio (1986), followed by The Last of England (1988), War Requiem (1989), and The Garden (1990). She won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of Isabella of France in Edward II (1991). She next starred in Sally Potter's Orlando (1992), for which she received a nomination for the European Film Award for Best Actress. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in The Deep End (2001), and followed this with appearances in Vanilla Sky (2001), Adaptation (2002), Constantine (2005), Julia (2008), and I Am Love (2009). For the film Young Adam (2003), she won the British Academy Scotland Award for Best Actress. Her performance in Michael Clayton (2007) won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Additionally, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress and received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for the psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011). Swinton has also played the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia series (2005–2010) and the Ancient One in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise. Swinton was awarded the Richard Harris Award by the British Independent Film Awards in recognition of her contributions to the British film industry. In 2013, she was given a special tribute by the Museum of Modern Art. In 2020, Swinton was awarded the British Film Institute Fellowship, the highest honour presented by the institution, for her "daringly eclectic and striking talents as a performer and film-maker and recognizes her great contribution to film culture, independent film exhibition and philanthropy." That same year, The New York Times ranked her thirteenth on its list of the greatest actors of the 21st century up to that point.
Known For
Credits
- 2025 · Die Coen-Brüder - Eine amerikanische Geschichte as Self
- 2025 · Ballad of a Small Player as Cynthia Blithe
- 2025 · Karl as Self
- 2024 · The End as Mother
- 2024 · Impulse: Playing with Reality as Narrator
- 2024 · A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things as Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (voice)
- 2024 · The Room Next Door as Martha / Michelle
- 2024 · January Stories (version Harinezumi) as
- 2024 · Chroma as
- 2024 · The Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze as Self
- 2024 · Fantasmas as Water (voice)
- 2024 · Problemista as Elizabeth
- 2023 · The Killer as The Expert
- 2023 · All Kinds of Love as Self
- 2023 · Some Thoughts On The Common Toad as Narrator (voice)
- 2023 · Asteroid City as Dr. Hickenlooper
- 2022 · Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema as Self
- 2022 · The Eternal Daughter as Julie / Rosalind
- 2022 · Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio as Wood Sprite / Death (voice)
- 2022 · Three Thousand Years of Longing as Alithea
- 2021 · The Storms of Jeremy Thomas as Self
- 2021 · Goliath: Playing with Reality as Narrator (voice)
- 2021 · The French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun as J.K.L. Berensen
- 2021 · The Souvenir: Part II as Rosalind
- 2021 · Memoria as Jessica Holland
- 2021 · What If...? as The Ancient One (voice)
- 2021 · Marvel Studios Legends as The Ancient One (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 2020 · The Human Voice Q&A With Pedro Almodovar And Tilda Swinton, Hosted By Mark Kermode as Self
- 2020 · The Human Voice as Woman
- 2020 · Schlingensief – A Voice That Shook the Silence as Self (archive footage)
- 2020 · Last and First Men as Narrator (voice)
- 2019 · The Personal History of David Copperfield as Betsey Trotwood
- 2019 · Uncut Gems as Anne - Adley's Auction Manager (voice)
- 2019 · The Boys as Ambrosius (voice)
- 2019 · The Souvenir as Rosalind
- 2019 · The Dead Don't Die as Zelda Winston
- 2019 · Avengers: Endgame as The Ancient One
- 2019 · What We Do in the Shadows as Tilda
- 2018 · Suspiria as Madame Blanc / Dr. Klemperer / Helena Markos
- 2018 · Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema as Narrator (voice)
- 2018 · Isle of Dogs as Oracle (voice)
- 2017 · Letters from Generation Rx as Narrator (voice)
- 2017 · Okja as Lucy Mirando / Nancy Mirando
- 2017 · The Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger as Self
- 2017 · War Machine as German Politician
- 2017 · Letters from Baghdad as Gertrude Bell (voice)
- 2017 · async - first light as
- 2016 · Doctor Strange as The Ancient One
- 2016 · Hail, Caesar! as Thora Thacker / Thessaly Thacker
- 2015 · A Bigger Splash as Marianne Lane
- 2015 · Exploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom' as Self / Social Services
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · Trainwreck as Dianna
- 2015 · B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 as Self
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · Antarctica: On the Edge as Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · Snowpiercer: Transperceneige, From the Blank Page to the Black Screen as Self
- 2014 · The Grand Budapest Hotel as Madame D.
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2013 · Only Lovers Left Alive as Eve
- 2013 · The Zero Theorem as Dr. Shrink-Rom
- 2013 · Snowpiercer as Mason
- 2013 · Death for a Unicorn as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · When Björk Met Attenborough as Narrator (voice)
- 2013 · David Bowie: Five Years as Self (archive footage)
- 2013 · One Water as
- 2013 · The Stars (Are Out Tonight) as
- 2013 · Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes as Narrator (voice)
- 2012 · Radioman as Self
- 2012 · Ashes as Self
- 2012 · Moonrise Kingdom as Social Services
- 2011 · Cinema Is Everywhere as Self
- 2011 · We Need to Talk About Kevin as Eva Khatchadourian
- 2010 · The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as White Witch
- 2010 · Behind Jim Jarmusch as Self
- 2010 · I Am Love as Emma Recchi
- 2009 · The Invisible Frame as The Cyclist
- 2009 · Getting On as Elke
- 2009 · The Limits of Control as Blonde
- 2009 · Moments on the Set of I Am Love as Self
- 2008 · The Curious Case of Benjamin Button as Elizabeth Abbott
- 2008 · The Man from London as Camélia
- 2008 · Burn After Reading as Katie Cox
- 2008 · The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian as White Witch
- 2008 · Julia as Julia
- 2007 · Cannes: All Access as Self
- 2007 · Michael Clayton as Karen Crowder
- 2007 · Stephanie Daley as Lydie Crane
- 2007 · Here’s Looking at You, Boy as Self
- 2007 · Hitler's Favourite Royal as Narrator
- 2006 · Deep Water as Narrator (voice)
- 2006 · Galapagos as Self - Presenter
- 2005 · The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as White Witch
- 2005 · The Somme as Narrator (voice)
- 2005 · Made in Hollywood as Self
- 2005 · Thumbsucker as Audrey Cobb
- 2005 · Broken Flowers as Penny
- 2005 · Constantine as Gabriel
- 2003 · The Statement as Annemarie Livi
- 2003 · Young Adam as Ella Gault
- 2002 · Adaptation. as Valerie Thomas
- 2002 · Tilda Swinton: The Love Factory as Self
- 2002 · Teknolust as Rosetta / Ruby / Marinne / Olive
- 2001 · Vanilla Sky as Rebecca Dearborn
- 2001 · The Deep End as Margaret Hall
- 2000 · The Dilapidated Dwelling as Narrator (voice)
- 2000 · The Beach as Sal
- 1999 · The War Zone as Mum
- 1999 · Conceiving Ada as Ada Augusta Byron King, Countess of Lovelace
- 1998 · Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon as Muriel Belcher
- 1997 · Female Perversions as Evelyn Stephens
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1994 · Death of a World Star as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
- 1994 · Remembrance of Things Fast: True Stories Visual Lies as
- 1994 · Visions of Heaven and Hell as Narrator (voice)
- 1993 · Blue as (voice)
- 1993 · Wittgenstein as Lady Ottoline Morrell
- 1992 · Orlando as Orlando
- 1992 · Shakespeare: The Animated Tales as Ophelia (voice)
- 1992 · Man to Man as Ella / Max Gerike
- 1991 · Edward II as Isabella
- 1991 · The Party: Nature Morte as Queenie
- 1990 · Your Cheatin' Heart as Cissie Crouch
- 1990 · The Garden as Madonna/Voice Overs
- 1989 · War Requiem as The Nurse
- 1989 · Volcano Saga as Gudrun
- 1988 · Cycling the Frame as The Cyclist
- 1987 · The Last of England as The Maid
- 1987 · Friendship's Death as Friendship
- 1987 · Egomania: Island Without Hope as Sally
- Future · Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul Dreams Project as
- 2025 · The Tree as
- 2025 · Phantoms as
- 2025 · Camaraderie as
- 2025 · Timeslip as
- 2025 · Broken English as The Overseer
- 2025 · Instant Coffee as Self
- 2024 · Transparent as
- 2023 · Cannes Uncut as Self
- 2022 · Durmiente as
- 2022 · Sleep Song as
- 2017 · Tania Libre as Narrator (voice)
- 2016 · Phantom of the Universe as Narrator
- 2015 · Dreams Rewired as Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · The Gospel According to St Derek as Self
- 2014 · Travelling at Night with Jim Jarmusch as Self
- 2013 · Love Flesh as Self
- 2012 · Song 1 as Self
- 2011 · Women, War & Peace as Narrator (voice)
- 2010 · Climate of Change as Narrator (voice)
- 2008 · Finding the Burn as Self / Katie Cox (archive footage)
- 2008 · DC Insiders Run Amuck as Self
- 2008 · Derek as Narrator (voice)
- 2008 · The New Ten Commandments as Self
- 2007 · Faceless as Narrator (voice)
- 2007 · Strange Culture as Hope Kurtz
- 2007 · Sleepwalkers as Violinist Working As a Copy Clerk
- 2005 · Absent Presence as
- 1999 · The Protagonists as Actress
- 1994 · Glitterbug as Self
- 1991 · Derek Jarman: A Portrait as Self
- 1989 · Play Me Something as Hairdresser
- 1989 · A Call to Arms as
- Future · Death in Her Hands as Vesta Gul
- 1988 · Degrees of Blindness as
- Future · Hamlet as Ophelia
- 2006 · Thumbsucker - Behind the Scenes as Self
- 2000 · Possible Worlds as Joyce
- 1993 · The Open Universe as Carla
- 1986 · Zastrozzi: A Romance as Julia
- Future · Jenjira’s Magnificent Dream as
- 1990 · Your Cheatin' Heart as
- 1987 · Aria as Young Girl
- 1987 · Depuis le Jour as
- 1986 · Caravaggio as Lena
- 1986 · Caprice as Lucky
- 1986 · The Sluggard as The Sluggard
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee
- Future · WOLF as