Christopher Nolan and Wife Emma Thomas to Receive Knighthood, Damehood in U.K. After Winning Oscars for “Oppenheimer”

Thomas has produced all of Nolan's feature films since 1998

Jesse Grant/Getty

Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas attend the AFI Awards on January 12, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas are receiving a royal honor.

According to a statement on Thursday from the U.K. government to AP, the husband and wife directing and producing duo will be granted knighthood and damehood — which often goes to Brits who have made some contribution to arts, humanities or sports — for their work in the film industry.

The honors for Nolan, 53, and Thomas, 52, come just a few weeks after Oppenheimer — which tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who invented the nuclear bomb used in World War II — swept the Academy Awards, taking home prizes for Best Actor for Cillian Murphy, Best Director for Nolan, Best Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr. and Best Picture. The film also led with the most nominations of any film this year.

Related: Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer Named Best Picture at 2024 Oscars in Impressive Awards Season Sweep

According to AP, the announcement came at an unusual time of year, once during New Year's Day and another on King Charles' birthday. However, the monarch will not confer the honors anytime soon, as he stepped away from public duties while he undergoes cancer treatments.

Nolan and Thomas tied the knot in 1997 after meeting while attending school at University College London, and the pair share four children: Flora, Oliver, Rory and Magnus.

Earlier this month when Oppenheimer took home the prize for Best Picture, Thomas said that she "dreamed" of winning an Oscar.

"I think any of us who make movies know that you kind of dream of this moment. You know you do, right? I could deny it, but I have been dreaming about this moment for so long, but it seemed so unlikely that it would ever actually happen, and now I am standing here and everything has kind of gone out of my head," Thomas said on stage after the win.

Related: See the Stars in 'Oppenheimer' Compared to the Historical Figures They Play

She continued, "The reason this movie was the movie it was was because of Chris Nolan. He’s singular. He’s brilliant and I am so grateful for you."

In January, Thomas also opened up to Variety about how she and her husband work together both as a family and as producing partners.

"For me, Oppenheimer was definitely the riskiest film we have made — with the possible exception of Inception, which felt risky at the time," she told the outlet. "Even with Chris being who he is at this point, I didn’t feel there was a guaranteed audience for this film. I hoped people would feel they needed to see it in theaters, but many people still weren’t back post-COVID. And there’s the fact we’ve heard nothing but 'theaters are over' for a while now."

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"It wasn’t a no-brainer," she added. "Not only did it feel like it was a risky film to make, it felt like the stakes had never been higher. So the fact we had such a good summer was more gratifying than anything."

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