Uma Thurman to make comeback in series about the rise of Uber

Yes, Thurman has made appearances on TV in recent years, most notably in the Netflix series, ‘Chambers’; but it has been a while since we have really seen her work her magic in front of the camera. She is about to return in the new Showtime series, ‘Super Pumped’ which will document the rise of the car company, Uber.

According to Variety, Uma Thurman has been cast as Arianna Huffington in the series, based on Mike Isaac’s book of the same name. The plot will centre around Uber CEO and co-founder Travis Kalanick (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and depict the roller-coaster ride of the beginnings of the transportation company.

“We’ve been eager to work with Uma Thurman for a long time, and we’re thrilled to have found the perfect role for her in Arianna Huffington – a role to which Uma will lend her innate complexity, intelligence and magnetism,” said Amy Israel, executive vice president of scripted programming for Showtime. “Uma, Joseph, Kyle and our incredible ensemble will undoubtedly bring this propulsive, culture defining and wildly entertaining story of ‘Super Pumped’ to life. We can’t wait for the world to see it.”

Before this announcement, Uma Thurman seemed to have completely given up the life in the limelight. As she turned 51 earlier this year (in private) many people have been wondering where Ms Thurman was and if she did indeed have any plans to return to the big screen.

Ms Thurman may not exactly be the centre of public attention, but she has still been doing an awful lot behind ’closed’ doors. She is a member of a wide range of charities and even board member for Room to Grow, a charity set up to take children away from poverty.

In February this year she posted an instagram photo seemingly at a past event for cancer research. In the post, she praises her friend who has worked on the research and hopes to be reunited one day. It would seen Ms Thurman has been taking the pandemic very seriously and this could be why no one has seen her out and about in the recent years.

No matter if you are a celebrity or millionaire, it takes some hard work to raise three young children and, in Uma’s case, on her own.

Uma Thurman has one child with ex husband Ethan Hawke who is now 23. Maya Hawke, who is a dead ringer for her mother, by the way, has followed in her mother’s footsteps and entered into the world of acting. She made her big Netflix debut in season 3 of the hit show, ‘Stranger Things’ and impressed audiences with her performance. Mum was very proud, taking to her Instagram to write, “A weekend of triumph on Stranger Things. Congratulations beloved @maya_hawke.”

Maya’s brother, who also shares both parents, is now 19 years old. It is said that he will be joining his sister on the screen and appearing in the fourth season of ‘Stranger Things’. He was apparently spotted filming alongside his sister in October 2020. Gauging from Levon’s instagram, he is a real family guy and loves spending time with his family and little sister, Luna

Uma Thurman’s marriage with Arpan Busson, London-based millionaire, produced little Luna in 2012. Now 9 years old, she lives with her doting mother who actually gave her youngest child 6 names: Rosalind, Arusha, Arkadina, Altalune, Florence, Thurman-Busson and a nickname Luna. This is because she know wouldn’t have any more children, so she gave every name that she liked to Luna.

Perhaps another reason Uma Thurman hasn’t been seen much in film these days is because she has spent most of her time in past years in front of a judge. The messy break-up between Uma and Luna’s father, Arpad Busson, led an ugly custody battle which saw both parties slinging accusations wildly at each other in public.

In fact, on the eve of this custody battle, Busson threatened that if Ms Thurman made a movie, she wouldn’t be able to see Luna anymore. The motivation might be completely unfair, but it does seem a pretty good reason not to jump back on the screen.

Even back in 2009, she had told The Times, "My big wish now is to make a little time for myself. I think many women, working women, get this. I mean, how do you justify that hour and a half to yourself? When you have this to do and that to do and you want to be there…”. Perhaps that is what she is finally doing.

Post Kill Bill, Uma Thurman was reportedly asking a whopping $12.5 million per film. Her disappearance on the screen could possibly be due to the rather high asking price this actress puts on the table.

In April 2019, Uma appeared in Netflix’s ‘Chambers’, but was cancelled after one season. The show did not go down well with the critics with one, from IndieWire, saying, “Chambers” marks the most slow-moving, bloated, and boring Netflix mystery since “Gypsy”. Uma’s acting ability was in no way criticised but, in general, it was anything but exciting.

Back to her hardcore acting roots, Uma Thurman tackled Henrik Ibsen in a revival of ‘Ghosts’ and the Williamstown Theatre Festival in August 2019. She played the role of Helene Alving and wowed critics with her performance, with many congratulating her on the delicate emotional shades and facets she brought to the character that has been played by many famous actresses in the past.

Although she has only appeared in a play and a TV series that didn’t make it past the first hurdle, Thurman doesn’t actually need the money and this could be a big explanation as to why she’s disappeared form the public eye. The custody battle was finally sorted with her millionaire ex which must be pulling in a pretty penny and she even settled a whopping $10m against British production company, HandMade Films, for not being paid on time for film, Eloise, and claiming for losses.

21 years ago, on her 30th birthday, she received one of the best birthday presents ever. She was cast as Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill. Did you know, Quentin Tarantino specifically wrote this role for Uma?

Everyone remembers the shot of the bride walking through the House of Blue Leaves in “Kill Bill: Vol. 1”. Perhaps it would surprise you that this tiny snippet took six house to rehearse and 17 takes. Talk about perfectionists. This is how you make screen history.

Uma Thurman has always been a spiritual woman from birth with her father a leading Buddhist scholar, and as such raised his whole family as Buddhists. The Dalai Llama himself was a guest at their house many times.

“Uma is actually Sanskrit and literally means “splendour, light”, while her second name “Karuna” means “compassion” or “empathy”. Uma’s name symbolises the traits and characteristics of Hindu Goddess Parvati.

“When asked if I consider myself Buddhist, the answer is, Not really. But it's more my religion than any other because I was brought up with it in an intellectual and spiritual environment. I don't practice or preach it, however.”

Thurman was born in Massachusetts in 1920, brought up well and then at 15 began her career. She signed with the agency Click Models and immediately started working as a fashion model.

According to sources, Thurman was an ‘awkward and introverted girl who was teased for her tall frame, angular bone structure, enormous feet and unusual name.’ She herself said, “I was not particularly bright, I wasn't very athletic, I was a little too tall, odd, funny looking, I was just really weird as a kid.”

After initially responding with ‘no comment’ regarding the Harvey Weinstein sexual abuse allegations, she later joined the “Me too” hashtag, confirming to the world that she, as well as a long list of other women, had suffered sexual harassment.

In a New York Times interview, on February 3, 2018, Thurman finally revealed that Weinstein had sexually assaulted her in 1994 at the Savoy Hotel. The actress also stated that she had been sexually assaulted by an actor 20 years her senior when she was just16 years old.

Uma has had a string of harassment issues and had a very serious stalker between 2004 and 2001. Back in court again, Uma testified and the man was locked up but later released on probation. Once out, he tried to contact the actress again and went straight back behind bars. When his trial finally came around, he had already served the time his sentence would have given him.

So, it seems that despite all this going on, Uma Thurman has not had enough of life in the spotlight. She is a woman who has been severely put through her paces and challenged both professionally and personally, and it is always an excitement for fans to see her out and about at red carpet events.

Although one particular event had viewers and fans wondering if Uma had swapped bodies or had an awful lot of plastic surgery. She looked almost unrecognisable when she stepped out in 2015 at a red carpet event.

She later appeared on The Today Show and in response to the plastic surgery allegations, she said that it was down to a lack of eye makeup. "I know I look weird," she said. "I don't know, I guess nobody liked my makeup."
"I've been doing this for years and years and years -- people say things nice and they say things mean and it's like whatever. You take the good with the bad."

Uma has had her fair share of all three. Only time will tell if this new venture will have the desired success rate that, on paper, it should surely deserve.