Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan and his film producer wife Emma to receive a knighthood and damehood

• Their recognition comes after biopic Oppenheimer swept the awards season

British filmmaker Christopher Nolan and his film producer wife Emma Thomas are to receive a knighthood and damehood for their services to the industry after their blockbuster biopic Oppenheimer swept the awards season.

Nolan and Thomas have collaborated for nearly two decades on all of his major feature films including The Dark Knight trilogy, 2010’s Inception, 2014’s Interstellar, 2017’s Dunkirk and 2020’s Tenet.

Earlier this month, Nolan won his first Oscar for directing the story of the life of the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, which starred Irish actor Cillian Murphy in the titular role.

Nolan had previously been nominated for six Academy Awards for pondering important questions throughout his body of work, but had never won an Oscar for directing until this year’s ceremony.

He was previously awarded a CBE by Prince William in 2019, and described receiving the honour as a ‘tremendous thrill’.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas after winning the Best Film award for Oppenheimer during the Bafta Film Awards 2024

Nolan was previously awarded a CBE by Prince William in 2019, and described receiving the honour as a ‘tremendous thrill’

Nolan won his first Oscar for directing the story of the life of the ‘father of the atomic bomb’, which starred Irish actor Cillian Murphy (pictured) in the titular role

Born in London to a British father and American mother, Nolan read English at University College London (UCL), choosing the school because of its filmmaking facilities.

The couple met at university and have four children together – Flora, Oliver, Rory and Magnus.

They co-founded and run a production company, Syncopy, which has been behind many of their blockbusters.

Speaking as he was awarded his CBE in 2019, Nolan spoke of his love of film and pride that it had gained him the prestigious honour.

‘As a passionate advocate of film and the importance of film culturally, it is really thrilling to me that film would be honoured in this way and is considered worthy of this kind of honour,’ he said.

‘I think film is one of the great collective pastimes, one of the great art forms.

‘It is lovely to see it accorded this kind of status.’

When Nolan was presented with the British Film Institute (BFI) Fellowship for being ‘one of the world’s most innovative and influential film directors’, he credited his wife.

The co-chief executive officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, has been made an honorary CBE

He said he never felt alone making films as Thomas ‘always saw things the same way I did in terms of the importance of the medium’.

The co-chief executive officer of Netflix, Ted Sarandos, has been made an honorary CBE for his services to the creative industries.

The American businessman joined the streaming giant in 2000 and has been responsible for content operations since. He was appointed to his top position in July 2020.

Demis Hassabis, the London-born co-founder of tech startup DeepMind, has been awarded a knighthood for services to Artificial Intelligence.

March 2024 honours list 

Creative Industries Honours

Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

• Emma Thomas Nolan; Film producer. For Services to Film. 

Knight Bachelor

• Christopher Nolan CBE; Filmmaker. For Services to Film. 

Honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Ted Sarandos; Co-Chief Executive Officer of Netflix. For services to Creative Industries. 

Technology & Artificial Intelligence

Honours Knight Bachelor

• Dr Demis Hassabis CBE FRS FREng FRSA; CEO and Co-Founder of DeepMind. For Services to Artificial Intelligence. 

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Matthew Clifford MBE; Co-Founder of Entrepreneur First, Adviser to His Majesty’s Government on Artificial Intelligence and Chair of Advanced Research and Invention Agency. For Services to Artificial Intelligence. 

• Ian Hogarth; Chair of the Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute. For Services to Artificial Intelligence. 

Political Honours

Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire

• Harriett Baldwin MP; Member of Parliament (MP) for West Worcestershire. Formerly Minister of State for Africa and International Development. Currently Chair of the Treasury Select Committee. For Public and Parliamentary Service. 

• Tracey Crouch CBE MP; Member of Parliament (MP) for Chatham and Aylesford. Formerly Minister for Sport, Civil Society and Loneliness. For Public and Parliamentary Service. 

Knight Bachelor

• Philip Davies MP; Member of Parliament (MP) for Shipley. For Public and Parliamentary Service. 

• Mohamed Mansour; Businessman, Philanthropist and Senior Treasurer of the Conservative Party. For Business, Charity and Political Service. 

• The Rt Hon Mark Spencer MP; Minister of State for Food, Farming and Fisheries and Member of Parliament (MP) for Sherwood. For Public and Parliamentary Service. 

Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)

• Gregory Campbell MP; Member of Parliament (MP) for East Londonderry, and the Democratic Unionist Party Spokesperson for International Development. For Public and Parliamentary Service. 

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