Katherine Matilda Swinton was born in London, England, November 5, 1960. After earning her Bachelor’s Degree, she performed with the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, later moving on to cinema in 1985.
Her best known is perhaps as the title character in Orlando (1992), director Sally Potter’s adaptation of the Virginia Woolf novel about a man who transforms into a woman over the course of centuries. Her chilly portrayal of the Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and its two sequels (2008 and 2010) and a number of other roles landed her numerous awards, among them – an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.