Tilda Swinton was born Katherine Matilda Swinton on November 5, 1960 in London, England. She graduated from Cambridge University in 1983 with a degree in English Literature. Tilda then worked with the Traverse Theatre for a year, appearing in productions such as “Mann ist Mann,” followed by numerous stage productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company such as “Mozart and Salieri.”

By 1985, Tilda Swinton began a professional friendship with experimental director Derek Jarman. For the next nine years, she worked with Jarman in developing several highly acclaimed movies such as Tilda’s film debut “Caravaggio,” “The Last of England,” “The Garden,” “Edward II” and “Witgenstein.” During this time, Tilda Swinton also worked on a non-Jarman film “Orlando” in 1992, which earned her numerous award nominations for her notable performance.

Tilda Swinton continued to choose experimental projects even after Jarman died of AIDS in 1994. Some of her notable performances include roles on the movies “Female Perversions” (1996), “Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon” (1998), “Teknolust” (2002), “Young Adam” (2003) and “Broken Flowers” (2005). Although she excelled on independent films, Tilda Swinton also appeared on Hollywood blockbusters, choosing mainly ‘character roles’ in box office hits like “The Deep End,” “The Beach,” “Constantine,” “Michael Clayton” and both parts of “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Aside from acting, Tilda Swinton has also written a movie – the 2008 documentary “Derek.” She has also worn the hat of a producer in films such as “Thumbsucker,” “Stephanie Daley,” “Derek” and “Lo sono l’amore.”

Tilda Swinton dated Scottish playwright and painter John Byrne with whom she has a twin (a son named Xavier Byrne and a daughter named Honor Byrne) born in 1997. Since 2004, Tilda has been in a relationship with New Zealand painter Sandro Kopp.