Uma Karuna Thurman (pronounced /ˈuːmə ˈθərmən/; born April 29, 1970) is an American actress. She has performed predominantly in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action thrillers. She is best known for her work under the direction of Quentin Tarantino. Her most popular films include Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Pulp Fiction (1994), Gattaca (1997) and Kill Bill (2003–04).

Thurman's mother, Nena Birgitte Caroline von Schlebrügge, was a fashion model born in Mexico City, Mexico in 1941, to German Friedrich Karl Johannes von Schlebrügge, and Birgit Holmquist, from Trelleborg, Sweden. In 1930, Birgit Holmquist, Thurman's grandmother, modeled for a nude statue that stands overlooking the harbor of Smygehuk. Thurman's father, Robert Alexander Farrar Thurman (b. 3 Aug 1941), was born in New York City to Elizabeth Dean Farrar, a stage actress, and Beverly Reid Thurman, Jr., an Associated Press editor and U.N. translator. Thurman's mother was introduced to LSD guru Timothy Leary by Salvador Dalí; and married Leary in 1964; then wed Thurman's father in 1967.

Thurman's father, Robert, a scholar and professor at Columbia University of Tibetan Buddhist studies, was the first westerner to be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He gave his children a Buddhist upbringing: Uma is named after an Dbuma Chenpo (in Tibetan, the "db" is silent; from Mahamadhyamaka in Sanskrit, meaning "Great Middle Way"). She has three brothers, Ganden (b. 1971), Dechen (b. 1973) and Mipam (b. 1978), and a half-sister named Taya (b. 1960) from her father's previous marriage. She and her siblings spent time in Almora, India, during childhood, and the Dalai Lama sometimes visited their home.