Oppenheimer director Nolan and producer wife to receive knighthood and damehood

Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan will receive a knighthood, documents published by the government show.

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas at this year’s Governors Ball after the Oscars. Pic: Reuters

His wife, movie producer Emma Thomas, is to receive a damehood.

British filmmaker Nolan won a best director Oscar this month for his biopic Oppenheimer, which also won the prize for best picture and swept the awards season.

He had previously been nominated for six Academy Awards.

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

Nolan and Thomas have collaborated 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.

Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer. Pic: Universal Pictures

The couple, who have four children, co-founded and run a production company, Syncopy, that has been behind many of their blockbusters.

Nolan has spoken in the past of how his wife “always saw things the same way I did in terms of the importance of the medium”.

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.

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Dr Demis Hassabis, CEO and co-founder of DeepMind, has been knighted for services to Artificial Intelligence, while Conservative MP Philip Davies has been knighted for his public and parliamentary service.

Christopher Nolan at the Oscars earlier this month

Conservative MP Mark Spencer MP has also been knighted for his public and parliamentary service.

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

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