Acting · London, England, UK · Born November 5, 1960
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.
MovieHeart of Light: Eleven Songs for Fiji
2026
MovieWOLF
2026
as Narrator (voice)
MovieA Flower of Forgetfulness
2026
MovieBroken English
2026
as The Overseer
MovieThe Coen Brothers - An American Story
2025
as Self
MovieThe Tree
2025
MovieFlat 19
2025
MovieBallad of a Small Player
2025
as Cynthia Blithe
MovieCamaraderie
2025
MoviePhantoms
2025
MovieTimeslip
2025
Karl
2025
as Self
Tilda Swinton: The Wildcards
2025
as Self (archive)
MovieInstant Coffee
2025
as Self
MovieThe End
2024
as Mother
MovieImpulse: Playing with Reality
2024
as Narrator
MovieA Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things
2024
as Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (voice)
MovieThe Room Next Door
2024
as Martha / Michelle
MovieJanuary Stories
2024
MovieObertura
2024
as The Gardenerette
MovieChroma
2024
MovieThe Hexagonal Hive and a Mouse in a Maze
2024
as Self
MovieTransparent
2024
TVFantasmas
2024
as Water (voice)
MovieProblemista
2024
as Elizabeth
MovieThe Killer
2023
as The Expert
MoviePersonal History
2023
MoviePasolini On Pasolini
2023
as narrator
All Kinds of Love
2023
as Self
MovieSome Thoughts On The Common Toad
2023
as Narrator (voice)
MovieCannes Uncut
2023
as Self
MovieAsteroid City
2023
as Dr. Hickenlooper
MovieGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema
2022
as Self
MovieThe Eternal Daughter
2022
as Julie / Rosalind
MovieDurmiente
2022
MovieGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio
2022
as Wood Sprite / Death (voice)
MovieThree Thousand Years of Longing
2022
as Alithea
Sleep Song
2022
MovieThe Storms of Jeremy Thomas
2021
as Self
MovieGoliath: Playing with Reality
2021
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe French Dispatch of the Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun
2021
as J.K.L. Berensen
MovieThe Souvenir: Part II
2021
as Rosalind
MovieMemoria
2021
as Jessica Holland
TVWhat If...?
2021
as The Ancient One (voice)
TVMarvel Studios Legends
2021
as The Ancient One (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieThe Human Voice Q&A With Pedro Almodovar And Tilda Swinton, Hosted By Mark Kermode
2020
as Self
MovieThe Human Voice
2020
as Woman
MovieSchlingensief – A Voice That Shook the Silence
2020
as Self (archive footage)
TVWomen Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema
2020
as Narrator (voice)
MovieLast and First Men
2020
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Personal History of David Copperfield
2019
as Betsey Trotwood
MovieUncut Gems
2019
as Anne - Adley's Auction Manager (voice)
TVThe Boys
2019
as Ambrosius (voice)
MovieThe Souvenir
2019
as Rosalind
MovieThe Dead Don't Die
2019
as Zelda Winston
MovieAvengers: Endgame
2019
as The Ancient One
TVWhat We Do in the Shadows
2019
as Tilda
MovieSuspiria
2018
as Madame Blanc / Dr. Klemperer / Helena Markos
MovieIsle of Dogs
2018
as Oracle (voice)
MovieLetters from Generation Rx
2017
as Narrator (voice)
MovieOkja
2017
as Lucy Mirando / Nancy Mirando
MovieThe Seasons in Quincy: Four Portraits of John Berger
2017
as Self
MovieWar Machine
2017
as German Politician
MovieLetters from Baghdad
2017
as Gertrude Bell (voice)
Movieasync - first light
2017
Tania Libre
2017
as Narrator (voice)
MovieDoctor Strange
2016
as The Ancient One
MoviePhantom of the Universe
2016
as Narrator
MovieHail, Caesar!
2016
as Thora Thacker / Thessaly Thacker
MovieA Bigger Splash
2015
as Marianne Lane
MovieExploring the Set of 'Moonrise Kingdom'
2015
as Self / Social Services
MovieMoonrise Kingdom Extras - Eleven iPhone Videos by Edward Norton.
2015
as Self
TVThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
as Self
MovieTrainwreck
2015
as Dianna
MovieB-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989
2015
as Self
MovieDreams Rewired
2015
as Narrator (voice)
TVVariety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014
as Self
MovieTilda in de Menil Land
2014
MovieThe Gospel According to St Derek
2014
as Self
MovieAntarctica: On the Edge
2014
as Narrator (voice)
MovieTravelling at Night with Jim Jarmusch
2014
as Self
MovieSnowpiercer: Transperceneige, From the Blank Page to the Black Screen
2014
as Self
MovieThe Grand Budapest Hotel
2014
as Madame D.
TVLate Night with Seth Meyers
2014
as Self - Guest
Hot Dollar
2014
MovieOnly Lovers Left Alive
2013
as Eve
TVRick and Morty
2013
as The Collective (voice)
MovieThe Zero Theorem
2013
as Dr. Shrink-Rom
MovieSnowpiercer
2013
as Mason
MovieDeath for a Unicorn
2013
as Narrator (voice)
MovieWhen Björk Met Attenborough
2013
as Narrator (voice)
MovieDavid Bowie: Five Years
2013
as Self (archive footage)
MovieOne Water
2013
MovieThe Stars (Are Out Tonight)
2013
MovieLove Flesh
2013
as Self
MovieDiaghilev and the Ballets Russes
2013
as Narrator (voice)
MovieRadioman
2012
as Self
MovieAshes
2012
as Self
MovieMoonrise Kingdom
2012
as Social Services
MovieSong 1
2012
as Self
MoviePlanet Tilda
2011
Cinema Is Everywhere
2011
as Self
TVWomen, War & Peace
2011
as Narrator (voice)
MovieWe Need to Talk About Kevin
2011
as Eva Khatchadourian
MovieThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
2010
as White Witch
Behind Jim Jarmusch
2010
as Self
Orlando In Uzbekistan
2010
as Self
MovieClimate of Change
2010
as Narrator (voice)
MovieI Am Love
2010
as Emma Recchi
MovieThe Invisible Frame
2009
as The Cyclist
TVGetting On
2009
as Elke
MovieThe Limits of Control
2009
as Blonde
MovieMoments on the Set of I Am Love
2009
as Self
MovieThe Curious Case of Benjamin Button
2008
as Elizabeth Abbott
Finding the Burn
2008
as Self / Katie Cox (archive footage)
DC Insiders Run Amuck
2008
as Self
MovieThe Man from London
2008
as Camélia
MovieBurn After Reading
2008
as Katie Cox
MovieThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
2008
as White Witch
MovieJulia
2008
as Julia
MovieDerek
2008
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe New Ten Commandments
2008
as Self
MovieCannes: All Access
2007
as Self
MovieMichael Clayton
2007
as Karen Crowder
MovieStephanie Daley
2007
as Lydie Crane
MovieFaceless
2007
as Narrator (voice)
MovieHere’s Looking at You, Boy
2007
as Self
MovieStrange Culture
2007
as Hope Kurtz
MovieSleepwalkers
2007
as Violinist Working As a Copy Clerk
MovieHitler's Favourite Royal
2007
as Narrator
MovieDeep Water
2006
as Narrator (voice)
TVGalapagos
2006
as Self - Presenter
MovieThumbsucker - Behind the Scenes
2006
as Self
MovieThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2005
as White Witch
MovieThe Somme
2005
as Narrator (voice)
TVMade in Hollywood
2005
as Self
MovieThumbsucker
2005
as Audrey Cobb
MovieBroken Flowers
2005
as Penny
Absent Presence
2005
MovieConstantine
2005
as Gabriel
MovieThe Statement
2003
as Annemarie Livi
MovieYoung Adam
2003
as Ella Gault
MovieAdaptation.
2002
as Valerie Thomas
MovieTilda Swinton: The Love Factory
2002
as Self
MovieTeknolust
2002
as Rosetta / Ruby / Marinne / Olive
MovieVanilla Sky
2001
as Rebecca Dearborn
MovieThe Deep End
2001
as Margaret Hall
MovieThe Dilapidated Dwelling
2000
as Narrator (voice)
MoviePossible Worlds
2000
as Joyce
MovieThe Beach
2000
as Sal
MovieThe Protagonists
1999
as Actress
MovieThe War Zone
1999
as Mum
MovieConceiving Ada
1999
as Ada Augusta Byron King, Countess of Lovelace
MovieLove Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
1998
as Muriel Belcher
MovieFemale Perversions
1996
as Evelyn Stephens
TVThe Daily Show
1996
as Self
MovieRemembrance of Things Fast: True Stories Visual Lies
1994
MovieGlitterbug
1994
as Self
MovieVisions of Heaven and Hell
1994
as Narrator (voice)
MovieThe Open Universe
1993
as Carla
MovieBlue
1993
as (voice)
MovieWittgenstein
1993
as Lady Ottoline Morrell
MovieOrlando
1992
as Orlando
MovieHamlet
1992
as Ophelia
TVShakespeare: The Animated Tales
1992
as Ophelia (voice)
MovieMan to Man
1992
as Ella / Max Gerike
MovieEdward II
1991
as Isabella
MovieThe Party: Nature Morte
1991
as Queenie
MovieDerek Jarman: A Portrait
1991
as Self
MovieYour Cheatin' Heart
1990
TVYour Cheatin' Heart
1990
as Cissie Crouch
MovieThe Garden
1990
as Madonna/Voice Overs
MoviePlay Me Something
1989
as Hairdresser
MovieWar Requiem
1989
as The Nurse
MovieVolcano Saga
1989
as Gudrun
MovieA Call to Arms
1989
MovieCycling the Frame
1988
as The Cyclist
MovieDegrees of Blindness
1988
MovieThe Last of England
1987
as The Maid
MovieFriendship's Death
1987
as Friendship
MovieAria
1987
as Young Girl
MovieDepuis le Jour
1987
MovieEgomania: Island Without Hope
1987
as Sally
MovieCaravaggio
1986
as Lena
TVScreenPlay
1986
as Ella / Max Gerike
MovieCaprice
1986
as Lucky
TVZastrozzi: A Romance
1986
as Julia
MovieThe Sluggard
1986
as The Sluggard
TVScreen Two
1985
as Isabella
TVThe Oscars
1953
as Self
TVGolden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Nominee
Untitled Apichatpong Weerasethakul Dreams Project
MovieDeath in Her Hands
as Vesta Gul
Jenjira’s Magnificent Dream
