Tilda Swinton Birthday, Age, Partner, Twins & Best Movies

Scottish actress Tilda Swinton — full name Katherine Matilda Swinton — was born on November 5, 1960, in London. An Oscar winner known for her shape-shifting roles in art-house films and Hollywood blockbusters alike, she is 66 years old and one of the most distinctive performers in world cinema.

Tilda Swinton at a Glance

Detail	Information
Full name	Katherine Matilda Swinton
Education	University of Cambridge (New Hall), degree in social and political sciences, 1983
Breakthrough	Orlando (1992)
Oscar	Best Supporting Actress, Michael Clayton (2007)
Home	Nairn, on Scotland’s Moray Firth

From Cambridge to Cult Cinema

Swinton was educated at schools in England and Scotland and graduated from Cambridge in 1983. She began her screen career with the experimental British director Derek Jarman, starting with Caravaggio (1986), and became internationally known as the gender-switching, centuries-spanning hero of Sally Potter’s Orlando (1992).

Film Career Highlights

Period	Films
1990s	Orlando, Female Perversions
Early 2000s	The Beach, The Deep End (Golden Globe nomination), Vanilla Sky, Adaptation
2005–2009	Constantine, The Chronicles of Narnia (the White Witch), Michael Clayton, Burn After Reading, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, I Am Love
2010s	We Need to Talk About Kevin, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Doctor Strange, Suspiria
2020s	The French Dispatch, Asteroid City and more collaborations with Wes Anderson

Awards and Honours

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress — Michael Clayton, as ruthless lawyer Karen Crowder.
• Two BAFTA Awards and the Volpi Cup from the Venice Film Festival.
• Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement at Venice (2020) and an Honorary Golden Bear at Berlin (2025).
• A special tribute by New York’s Museum of Modern Art (2013) and a British Film Institute Fellowship.

Partner and Twins

In 1997 Swinton gave birth to twins, Honor and Xavier Swinton Byrne, with the Scottish artist and playwright John Byrne. She has since shared her life with the German painter Sandro Kopp, and the family lives in Nairn in the Scottish Highlands.

Did You Know?

• In 1995 she spent a week asleep — or apparently so — in a glass case at London’s Serpentine Gallery as a live art piece called The Maybe.
• She often works with the same directors again and again, including Derek Jarman, Jim Jarmusch, Luca Guadagnino, Bong Joon-ho and Wes Anderson.
• She shares her November 5 birthday with Canadian singer Bryan Adams.

👉 Born on November 5: See every famous November 5 birthday

Frequently Asked Questions

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