Emma Thompson Shares Daughter’s Career Plans

Tags: Adoption, Parenting

Jason Merritt/FilmMagic

Splitting the difference will hopefully pay off in spades someday for Emma Thompson’s 8-year-old daughter Gaia Romilly. During a Wednesday appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Emma revealed that at the moment Gaia intends to pursue a "double-headed" career path of becoming both "an artist and a cocktail waitress." Joked Emma,

"It’s good, she’s aiming both high and very, very low simultaneously. So somewhere in-between, it’s going to happen."

Gaia’s ambitions recently came to light when a school assignment required her to complete a job application. While there were "lovely ones" written by some children, Emma says Gaia opted to apply for the position of "bar assistant." Among her listed qualifications? "She wrote, ‘Because I can mix the following drinks,’ and — and I quote — ‘There’s nothing I like less than a cluttered bar,’" Emma recalled with a laugh.

As for Emma’s 21-year-old son Tindyebwa ‘Tindy’ Agaba, the 49-year-old actress says she was initially hesitant to speak out about his adoption because he was "just settling in." They were introduced when Tindy, a former refugee from Rwanda, came to their house for Christmas. "Slowly in an organic fashion, he became part of the family," Emma says. With Tindy — described by his mom as "a remarkable boy" — now studying social and political science at Exeter University, the family was understandably inspired by the recent U.S. presidential election. "When Obama got it, my husband woke me up, and I texted it to Tindy and said ‘I expect you to be in office by 2012,’" Emma reveals.

Gaia and Tindy are Emma’s children with actor Greg Wise, whom she married in 2003.

Source: The Ellen DeGeneres Show

• Posted on Nov 21, 08 at 7:00PM
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12 Responses to “Emma Thompson Shares Daughter’s Career Plans”

1. Jane Says:
   November 21st, 2008 at 10:02 pm

   Aww, her daughter sounds adorable, and it’s so sweet that Emma texted her son about the Presidental election right away! She seems very close to her family.

2. April Says:
   November 21st, 2008 at 10:03 pm

   I love that she is married to Willoughby!

3. Sarita Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 5:40 am

   Thanks for that info April, I had no idea her husband was Willoughby! Wow, hope he treats her right

4. minx Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 6:03 am

   I just adore Emma. She is so witty and has a great sense of humor. I don’t recall seeing Gaia’s photo though. I wonder if she looks more like Emma or Greg.

5. Molly Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 6:09 am

   Okay, for some reason I didn’t realize she had two kids. I knew she had a daughter, but I didn’t know she had a son.

6. Sanja Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 6:18 am

   I love that they adopted a teenager (I think he was 15 or so) and not a newborn like everyone seems to be doing.

7. KarenA Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 11:10 am

   I love that too, April. It was meant.

8. r9lee Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm

   If there are any cocktail waitresses reading this, they may be somewhat offended….

9. Allison Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 5:57 pm

   Ha! Gaia’s comment about wanted to be an actor and a cocktail waitress cracks me up!

   It reminds me of my son’s assignment recently for the second grade. When asked what he’d like to be when he grows up, he said, “A children’s book writer and a janitor.”

10. marshy Says:
    November 22nd, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    I do not think of cocktail waitressing as very very low!! Come on, not all people get to live a dream life or to be as privileged.. She should know, she adopted a child who didn’t have the fortune to have a wonderful life, and maybe otherwise that kid would had to be thankful to be a cocktail waiter.. JMHO

11. Sarah Says:
    November 23rd, 2008 at 10:22 am

    are people seriously getting offended over this? of course there is no shame in being a cocktail waitress, but it’s not like it’s every parent’s dream to have their child grow up to work in a bar. and being a waitress is obviously different from being an artist, which is what she was pointing out.

    can no one make a joke anymore without having someone making a big deal out of it?

12. Sarita Says:
    November 23rd, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    There are many artists that have no success at all and probably make less money than a cocktail waitress, or maybe they do some waitressing on the side! It seems like a good combination of two jobs.

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