In the public eye, Uma Thurman is fierce. Iconic. Untouchable. Her roles in Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill turned her into a cinematic legend—an icy-eyed force of nature, the woman who made vengeance look like art. But behind the camera, behind the awards and accolades, is a story of betrayal, pain, and survival.

At 55, Uma Thurman is no longer acting. She’s speaking. And for the first time, she’s naming the five men who changed her life—not with love, but with damage she carried for decades.

1. Quentin Tarantino — The Betrayal That Broke Trust

They were the golden pair of indie cinema: Thurman, the muse; Tarantino, the mastermind. Together, they made Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill, works hailed as art. But behind the brilliance was a moment that nearly ended her life—and their friendship.

On the set of Kill Bill in 2002, Tarantino reportedly insisted that Thurman perform a dangerous driving stunt herself. She refused, citing faulty brakes and her own safety—especially because she was six weeks pregnant. Tarantino pushed. The crew stayed silent. She drove.

The car slammed into a tree. She blacked out. Her knees were bloodied. Her spine was injured. And the crew? They weren’t allowed to help. Tarantino shouted, “Keep rolling.”

When she later requested the footage to seek justice, producer Harvey Weinstein refused. Tarantino—her once-trusted collaborator—chose silence. “I thought he was an artist,” she said, “but he was just a pawn bowing to protect a man who raped women in the dark.”

2. Ethan Hawke — The Love That Turned Publicly Cruel

In the late ’90s, Thurman and Hawke were Hollywood’s fairytale couple. She paused her career, built a home, and had a daughter, Maya Hawke. But the trust shattered in 2003, when Thurman discovered messages between Hawke and their 20-year-old nanny—someone he had taken on a film tour without telling her.

The betrayal was deep. But the public humiliation was worse. In 2004, on the Oscars red carpet, Hawke appeared with his new partner—dressed in the same white gown Thurman had worn on their wedding day. When asked, he told reporters, “I’ve always believed I deserved someone who doesn’t live in the past.”

Thurman said nothing. Later, she revealed: “People don’t just take your heart—they rip it out and put it in a glass box for the world to laugh at.”

3. Steve Bannon — The Man Who Sold Her Out

Before he became a political strategist, Steve Bannon was a film producer. And to Uma Thurman, he was the third man to treat her not as an artist—but as a product.

After her divorce, she signed onto a Bannon-backed film project, hoping for a comeback. What she didn’t know: Bannon saw her as nothing more than a “return on investment.”

She was invited to a “private dinner”—no director, no scriptwriter, just alcohol and two glasses of champagne. When she refused to follow him to his room afterward, he told her coldly, “You’re not a queen anymore. You’re just an investment I need to recoup.”

Days later, she was cut from the film. Her name erased. Her image removed. A leaked internal email read: “She didn’t sleep with the director—cut her.”

4. Harvey Weinstein — The Predator in Power

Perhaps the most public of the five is the fourth: Harvey Weinstein. He once called Thurman his muse. In reality, he was her nightmare.

In 1994, she met him in London for a promotional meeting. He locked the hotel room door behind her and blocked her exit. When she refused him, she wasn’t just rejected—she was punished. She was cut from three consecutive Miramax projects. Directors stopped calling. Even Tarantino turned away.

“I wasn’t silent because I was scared,” she said. “I was silent because I knew speaking out would end my career.”

When she finally broke that silence during the #MeToo movement, she did so not just for herself—but for every woman silenced before her.

5. John Travolta — The Man Who Wanted Control, Not Love

After Pulp Fiction, she and Travolta shared undeniable chemistry. He called her his “goddess of light.” But behind closed doors, his affection turned possessive.

He demanded she change her stylist. He approved her scripts. He became enraged if she saw friends without informing him.

At Cannes, she received flowers from a French director. Travolta shredded the bouquet petal by petal, silently, in front of her. “I don’t need you to be happy,” he told her. “I need you to belong to me.”

Thurman left. Later, Travolta said, “Some people just can’t handle real love.” Her reply? “I don’t hate him for loving me. I hate that he loved me like I was something to trap in a glass box labeled ‘private property.’”

The Final Act: Herself

Now, at 55, Uma Thurman isn’t interested in revenge. She’s interested in truth. In reclaiming her name, her story, and her voice.

For decades, she was the muse, the mystery, the woman who fought on screen while suffering in silence behind the scenes. But now, she is the storyteller. And the story isn’t about the men who tried to break her.

It’s about the woman who refused to stay broken.