Emma Thompson has been winning over audiences for years with her charm, talent, and down-to-earth personality. She’s one of Britain’s most loved stars, known for playing roles that feel real and full of life. From heartfelt dramas to light-hearted comedies, her work has made her a favorite with viewers around the world.
Her road to success began early. Growing up with actor parents, she was surrounded by the world of theatre and film from the start. She first gained attention at Cambridge University, performing with the famous Footlights group. That led to standout roles on television and, soon after, big-screen success.
Movies like Howards End and Sense and Sensibility made her a household name, while her ability to write as well as act set her apart from most in Hollywood. Along the way, she picked up Oscars, BAFTAs, and Golden Globes, all while staying true to herself.
In this article, we’re focusing on Emma Thompson’s husband, giving you a closer look at the man by her side and the story behind their relationship.
Emma Thompson’s Marriage to Greg Wise
Thompson is married to actor and producer Greg Wise, best known for his roles in both television and film. The pair first met in 1995 while filming Sense and Sensibility, where Thompson played Elinor Dashwood and Wise took on the role of the charming John Willoughby.
At the time, Thompson was emerging from the emotional strain of her previous marriage, and the connection with Wise quickly became something deeper. As she later shared, “Work saved me, and Greg saved me. He picked up the pieces and put them together again.”
Interestingly, Wise had briefly dated Thompson’s co-star Kate Winslet before his attention shifted to her. Thompson has never been shy about acknowledging her attraction to him, calling him “really beautiful” and admitting it’s “a great aesthetic pleasure” to see him each day. Their relationship grew steadily in the years that followed, becoming a source of stability and joy.
After eight years together, they tied the knot in 2003 in Dunoon, Scotland. Since then, they have built a home in West Hampstead, London, on the very street where Thompson spent her childhood, while also keeping residences in Scotland and Venice. In February 2020, they were declared official residents of Venice.
She Has Two Children With Her Husband, Greg
Emma Thompson and Greg Wise are parents to two children, each joining the family in very different ways, but both deeply loved. Their daughter, Gaia Wise, was born in 1999 after Thompson underwent IVF at the age of 39. Named after the Greek goddess of the Earth, Gaia has grown up with a quick wit and a bold sense of humor, often showing flashes of her mother’s playful spirit.
She has followed her parents into acting, with credits in Last Chance Harvey and A Walk in the Woods, as well as a theatre debut alongside Thompson in Sweeney Todd. Recently, she was cast as the voice of Héra in the upcoming anime film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
Gaia’s path hasn’t been without challenges. At 15, she left London’s Highgate School after classmates mocked her environmental activism, sparked by a Greenpeace expedition to the Arctic with her mother. She has also spoken openly about her battle with anorexia, crediting her parents’ intervention and rehab in 2017 for saving her life.
The couple’s second child, Tindyebwa Agaba, came into their lives in 2003 when Thompson met the Rwandan orphan and former child soldier at a Refugee Council event. She invited him to spend Christmas with her family, and over time, he became a permanent part of their lives.
Informally adopted, Tindy became a British citizen in 2009 and subsequently attended a university in London.
Emma Thompson’s First Marriage and Divorce
Thompson’s first marriage was to actor and director Kenneth Branagh, whom she met in 1987 while filming the BBC series Fortunes of War. The pair quickly became one of Britain’s most talked-about couples, tying the knot in 1989 and earning the media’s “golden couple” label.
They appeared together in several of Branagh’s films, including Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing, while maintaining a famously private stance, refusing joint interviews or staged photographs despite public fascination.
Behind the scenes, however, the marriage was under strain. By the mid-1990s, both were immersed in demanding projects that kept them apart for long stretches. Thompson was riding a wave of acclaim, winning the 1993 Best Actress Oscar for Howards End and earning back-to-back nominations the following year, while Branagh juggled directing and acting in multiple productions.
In September 1995, they announced their separation, citing the pressures of conflicting schedules. It later emerged that Branagh had begun an affair with his Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein co-star Helena Bonham Carter, a relationship that continued publicly after his split from Thompson.
Thompson has since spoken candidly about the heartbreak, admitting the breakup left her emotionally shattered at the time but also gave her the emotional depth to play her Love Actually role years later. She says she and Bonham Carter made peace long ago, even acknowledging their similarities with humor.
Looking back, Thompson calls the episode “all blood under the bridge,” crediting both time and her later marriage to Greg Wise for helping her move on from the painful split.
