Uma Thurman has shared a childhood memory that remains one of her scariest experiences. The Pulp Fiction star was about 3 or 4 years old when a trip to a shoe store led to an unexpected encounter with police. Her plan involved buying a pair of bright red high heels, but the innocent adventure ended with officers taking her away in a police car.
Uma Thurman remembers being taken to the police station as a child
During a recent appearance on The Tonight Show, Thurman told Jimmy Fallon about the childhood adventure. She recalled moving with her family to Amherst, Massachusetts, when she spotted red high heels in a store window. The shoes caught her attention as her family drove through town. The next day, she took 75 cents while her mother slept and went to the shop alone.
Thurman said she tried on the shoes and told the shopkeeper that her mother would come soon. After deciding they fit, she handed him the 75 cents. The man soon doubted her story and called the police. Officers arrived and asked where she lived, but the young Thurman could not remember her street name.
“I said, ‘But I’ll just go right back. It’s just over here!’” Thurman recalled. Instead, the officers took her with them in a police car. She said she was terrified and thought she was under arrest. One officer held her on his lap as they tried to find her home, but she could no longer recognize the house.
Thurman remembered seeing her mother running in the street in a loose dress, with her long hair flowing down her back. She described her mother as a “beautiful, hippie, Miss Clavel” figure who screamed as the police drove by. The officers recognized her mother and realized they had found the right person.
Looking back, Thurman believes the story reflects her independent nature, saying, “From a young age… I just get ideas.” She also joked that the red shoes reminded her of Dorothy’s slippers in The Wizard of Oz.
