Rachel Portman

About Rachel Portman

Best known for her pastoral orchestral scores for literary adaptations, but also for incorporating diverse ethnic influences and varied tones as called for, Rachel Portman is an Oscar- and Emmy-winning film and television composer from Surrey, England. After getting her start with the BBC in the '80s, she went on to score big-screen adaptations like 1993's Ethan Frome and The Joy Luck Club before her music for the 1996 version of Jane Austen's Emma made her the first female to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score. She was nominated again for 1999's The Cider House Rules and 2000's Chocolat, both of which also garnered Grammy nominations. Also known for such varied films as the 1993 romantic comedy Benny & Joon, the 2004 remake of political thriller The Manchurian Candidate, she won an Emmy in 2015 for her work on the TV movie Bessie, about legendary blues singer Bessie Smith. Again, she became the first female composer to win in the score category. She is also known for fully orchestrating her own scores.