Uma Thurman's Real Name: Uma Karuna Thurman

Quick answer: Uma Thurman's full name is Uma Karuna Thurman. She was born on April 29, 1970, in Boston, Massachusetts. She is best known for playing Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) and Beatrix Kiddo, "The Bride," in Kill Bill. Thurman is her birth surname, not a stage name (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica lists her as "Also known as: Uma Karuna Thurman." The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Thurman, Uma," with the note "b. Apr. 29, 1970, Boston, Mass.; actress." Karuna is her middle name.

Her father, Robert Thurman, is a professor of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist studies at Columbia University. Britannica describes him as the first known Westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. Her mother, Nena von Schlebrügge, was a fashion model who became a psychotherapist. Thurman grew up with three brothers, and her childhood was split among India, Woodstock, New York, and Amherst, Massachusetts. She modeled as a teenager in New York, attended the Professional Children's School, and by 16 was living on her own in Manhattan.

Career highlights

Her first film was Kiss Daddy Goodnight (1987). In 1988 she appeared in Johnny Be Good, Terry Gilliam's The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and Dangerous Liaisons, where her performance as Cécile de Volanges drew critical praise. Henry & June, in which she played June Miller, was the first film to receive an NC-17 rating.

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) was her breakthrough and earned her an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. Later 1990s roles include Beautiful Girls, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, Gattaca, and Fantine in Les Misérables (1998).

She and Tarantino developed the two Kill Bill films (2003–04), and the role made her an action star. Other films include Paycheck, Be Cool, Prime, The Producers, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, and The Kill Room (2023). On television she earned an Emmy nomination for Smash and appeared in Imposters, Chambers, Suspicion, and Super Pumped. She made her Broadway debut in 2017 in The Parisian Woman. She was married to Gary Oldman (1990–92) and Ethan Hawke (1998–2005). With Hawke she has two children, Maya and Levon.

Name notes for searchers

"Uma" and "Karuna" are her given names, and Thurman is her father's surname. Her mother's family name, von Schlebrügge, is not part of her billing. Searches for "Uma Thurman maiden name" lead back to Thurman, because she kept the name through both marriages.