Uma Thurman honored by France

France honored American actress Uma Thurman on Tuesday, proclaiming the "classic and disconcerting beauty" a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters.

Photo: Uma Thurman honored by France

"We welcome Uma Thurman, a model actress, admired throughout the world and especially in our country, France," said Cannes Film Festival Director Gilles Jacob. He awarded the honor at a ceremony on behalf of France's Culture Ministry.

Thurman's career "would make her the favorite actress of an entire generation," he said.

Jacob evoked the actress's "atypical and bohemian" childhood as the daughter of a renowned Tibet scholar, who named Uma after an Indian goddess. "The public discovered your grace and sensuality," Jacob said, outlining an acting career that began on a New York stage at age 16.

Film roles in "Dangerous Liaisons" (1988), "Pulp Fiction" (1994) and the "Kill Bill" saga (2003, 2004) secured Thurman's status as an A-list actress in Hollywood.

Jacob hailed her as a "classic and disconcerting beauty," a "femme fatale" and a "dreamy creature," before pinning a medal on Thurman's black Christian Dior jacket.

"I'm so flattered and touched by your comments," said Thurman, who had been in France promoting her new movie, Susan Stroman's "The Producers", reports AP.

O.Ch.