Tilda Swinton Biography: In Her Own Words – Exclusive Video, News, Photos, Age

Katherine Matilda Swinton, better known as Tilda Swinton, is a renowned British actress known primarily for her distinct roles in numerous independent films and blockbusters. She is best known for her inspiring performance as a merciless corporate lawyer in Michael Clayton, where she received the prestigious honor of earning an Academy Award for best supporting actress.

TILDA SWINTON BIOGRAPHY: AGE, EARLY LIFE, FAMILY, EDUCATION

Tilda Swinton was born on November 5, 1960 (Swinton: age 62) in London, England. Her parents are Judith Balfour and Sir John Swinton, the Laird of Kimmerghame House. Swinton also has three brothers, Alexander, William and James Swinton.

Growing up in an artistic and cultured home, Swinton had become immersed in a world of creativity and innovation from a young age. She embarked on a powerful journey through the arts until ultimately uncovering something that sparked her interest and excitement.

In an exclusive video from SXSW in March 2023, Swinton spoke about her true passion as she first enrolled in the illustrious Cambridge University.

“I went to University as a writer and that’s what I’d always been,” Swinton explained. “The second I got to University I stopped writing. Yeah, it happens,” she said. “Years later, I met my tutor and I told her this with great shame and she was very flippant and said oh, that’s very, very usual,” Swinton explained, visibly disturbed by her former tutor’s discouraging response. “So awful, isn’t it? Confidence, yeah they just like cut me.”

“Anyway, I made some friends, like you do,” Swinton continued. “A lot of the friends that I made happened to be making theater, in which I have very little interest. I never did. My friends who were making plays, they asked me to kind of join them, and I liked them. I liked hanging out with them, so I kind of directed a play first and then I started performing in their plays. I just went where the crack was, you know? I liked those people, and so I hung out with them.”

After graduating from New Hall at the University of Cambridge with a degree in political and social sciences, however, Swinton admitted she “never thought of doing it after University.”

TILDA SWINTON BIOGRAPHY: CAREER

Swinton’s acting career began after she’d been approached by an agent once she’d left the world of theater with her friends behind. Swinton knows just how lucky she is, acknowledging how “there are so many people who long to be actors and they are desperate to be able to say that an agent came to see them and asked to sign them. I didn’t want it,” Swinton explained. “Sometimes you get somebody else’s great good fortune and you have to kind of recycle it for your own purposes.”

Swinton then went on to explain how after spending much quality time with former artist and filmmaker Derek Jarman, the world of acting and the community in which she’d suddenly found herself a part of had started to feel like her “natural home.”

Swinton started her acting career by appearing in experimental independent films such as Caravaggio (1986), The Last of England (1988), War Requiem (1989) and The Garden (1990). Additionally, Swinton played The Ancient One in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while also making appearances in a myriad of other well-known films, such as the 2016 film Doctor Strange, and the popular 2019 film Avengers: Endgame. The Volpi Cup for best actress at the Venice film festival for her performance of Isabella of France in Edward II was the first officially recognized award she’d won.

Swinton is perhaps most famous for her role in the 2007 film Michael Clayton, where she portrayed ruthless general counsel Karen Crowder in an unforgettable performance. It was a role that earned her the BAFTA award for best supporting actress, along with Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

Swinton was also given high praise for her captivating portrayal of the White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and both of its two sequels.

TILDA SWINTON BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE

Swinton currently lives in Nairn, Scotland along with her two children and partner Sandro Kopp. In a recent interview with Vogue, Swinton admitted that she identified as queer. Apparently, she’d always viewed herself as an odd child and was happy to discover a sense of belonging in the queer community.

In January of last year, Swinton admitted that she had been recovering from long COVID, with symptoms that included a bad cough, memory loss and vertigo.

Swinton also acknowledged that she was considering quitting her acting career, while instead focusing her time on training to give palliative care to those in need. Swinton admitted that the palliative care in which her parents had received toward the end of their lives impacted her greatly, and provided her with a much deeper appreciation for the professionals that specialize in this area.