How Christopher Nolan and his university sweetheart Emma Thomas 'fell in love at first sight' on their first night in halls of residence - and went on to become an unstoppable filmmaking duo

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They're one of the most prominent couples in the film industry, working collaboratively on the likes of Tenet, Oppenheimer, and The Prestige. 

And after winning a string of awards, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas can now add knighthood and damehood to their list of achievements.

But away from their lucrative Hollywood careers, the pair share a love story that could make a feature film in itself.

The British-American director, 53, who is now predominantly based in Los Angeles, married his university sweetheart Emma Thomas in 1997, and the couple share four children. 

The director-producer power duo have gone from spending their teenage years together to winning big at the BAFTAs last month when Oppenheimer scooped six awards, scoring them knighthood and damehood for their services to the industry.

Despite Hollywood stardom, the pair remain true to one another, and in his touching speech at the BAFTAs, Christopher paid tribute to his 'incredible producer' wife - who has worked on all his major productions - and gushed: 'I love you.'

Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan have established themselves as stars in the film industry. But behind all of the glamour is a humble love story (seen together in 2002)

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

Little did he know that UCL would lead him to the love of his life - Emma Thomas, who was born in London but spent time living in the Middle East as a child as a result of her father's work in the Civil Service. 

Despite being on different courses (Emma studied Ancient History) it was at their halls of residence that set the scene for their romance.  

They were placed in the same halls of residence in 1989 and went on to arrange movie screenings as part of their work with UCL's Film Society.

In 2017, the director was granted an honorary doctorate and told graduating students: 'We have four children. We have a body of work that we have made together.

'So the moral of the story is: pay a lot of attention to who you meet on your first night at your halls of residence.' 

During his Desert Island Discs interview in 2008, Christopher said: 'I’ve come to believe in the concept of love at first sight because I realise it actually happened to me.' 

Their journey into filmmaking commenced in 1998 when Nolan developed the idea for his first feature film, Following, after a burglary took place in his London flat. 

It was at their University College London halls of residence that the pair first met (seen in 2005)

With a shared passion for filmmaking, the couple quickly set up film screenings together at university (seen in 2016)

Together, the pair have gone on to achieve an incredible amount on top of parenting four children (seen in 2024)

The film features a young writer trailing through London following strangers for material inspiration but who enters the city's criminal underbelly when he he comes to meets a thief. 

Christopher wrote, directed, photographed, and edited Following, while Emma co-produced it. The duo made the film on the weekends over the course of a year.

Despite only having a £2,000 budget and hiring friends to act in the feature, the couple scooped a plethora of awards for Following and before long, Nolan was established in the industry as a director to watch. 

'As British filmgoers reel under the onslaught of sub-par homegrown movies brought into being by the flood of funding currently available, it's a relief when a genuine original comes along,' wrote The Guardian at the time. 

The pair's success with Following led them to develop the next big hit and Nolan's breakout film - Memento. 

The pair notoriously keep their lives out of the public eye but one thing has remained obvious - their love for one another 

Co-produced by Emma, the film followed a man with short-term memory loss as he attempted to track down his wife's murderer. 

It managed a budget of $9million (approximately £7.1million) and raked in an impressive $40 million (approximately £31 million), according to MovieWeb - it was the start of a great career for the couple.

In 2001, the couple welcomed their daughter Flora together - just one year before the critically acclaimed film Insomnia, starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, hit screens.

The same year they became parents, the couple opened their own production company, Syncopy Films.

In 2003, a conversation with Warner Bros, led Nolan and Thomas to create Batman Begins - catapulting the pair from small-time indie film creators to some of the biggest names in Hollywood. 

It was a project that determined the rest of their lives and the film created a launchpad for them develop movies with their own creative license. 

It led to some of the most revered films of the 2000s, including Interstellar and Inception.  

The couple are pictured at the Batman Begins premiere in Los Angeles Premiere with from L to R Gary Oldman, Charles Roven, producer, Jeff Robinov of Warner Bros, Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Katie Holms, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Christopher Nolan, director and Emma Thomas

Although the couple are fiercely private, they have shed light on their relationship in previous interviews.

They shared four children together - Flora, Magnus, Rory, and Oliver, and they've all starred in the films. 

In an interview with Variety, Emma gushed about her husband's most 'underrated' quality.

She replied: 'He’s funny! People think he’s dead serious, they accuse his films of also being so serious.

'Even in Oppenheimer there are moments I find funny, even in the actor’s expressions. There is humour in his movies, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for it.'

In an interview with Screen Daily in 2018, Emma shed light on their creative partnership and detailed how she'll often give her husband books she thinks could be adapted on screen.

Christopher sweetly kissed his wife's cheek during the 96th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California

Christopher and Emma shared four children together, including Rory (far left), Oliver (left), and Flora (right) (seen at the 2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party) 

She joked: 'Yes, I’ll continue to give him books and he’ll continue to not be excited by some.' 

In 2018, Christopher said he enjoys working with Emma and writing scripts with his brother because their 'only agenda is making the best film possible'.

During his appearance on Desert Island Discs, the director - who was promoting Dunkirk at the time - said the key to his success was 'surrounding yourself with the people who understand and support what it is you’re trying to do, but are unafraid to criticise… You’re looking for honest feedback without an agenda.'

What's more, Christopher has also previously credited his wife for coming out with the 'correct answer' regarding the end of the 2010 movie Inception.

Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Christopher explained how he was constantly being asked if Leonardo DiCaprio's character Cobb was still dreaming at the end when the movie first came out.

Praising his wife's interpretation, Christopher said: 'I think it was Emma who pointed out the correct answer, really, is that the character, Leo’s character - the point of the shot is the character doesn’t care at that point. It’s not a question I comfortably answer.'