Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel[1] (born 2 March 1989) is a British actress. Emmanuel began her acting career appearing in theatre in the late 1990s, acquiring roles in various West End productions such as the musicalThe Lion King.[2] In 2006, she began her on-screen career by starring as Sasha Valentine in soap operaHollyoaks, after which she appeared in various British television series until her debut film appearance in Twenty8k.
Emmanuel was born on 2 March 1989 in Southend-on-Sea, a city in Essex, England.[2][3] Her mother is Dominican, and her father is of half-Saint Lucian and half English descent. She has an older sister.[4][5] Emmanuel recalled that her mother first took notice of her passion and desire to become an actress during Emmanuel's attendance at the privateSt Hilda's School, which closed in 2014, and later the Westcliff High School for Girlsgrammar school.[6][7] In an interview with the New York Daily News, she commented, "When I was 3, [I'd] always cause drama that my mum decided maybe I should channel it properly—so she started me on acting, singing and dancing classes".[8] At the age of 10, she played Young Nala in the West End production of the musical The Lion King.[8]
Careeredit
In 2006, she made her television debut, starring as Sasha Valentine in the soap operaHollyoaks. Emmanuel appeared on the show until 2010, her character's storylines included prostitution, and heroin addiction.Emmanuel also appeared in the Pilot episode of New Girl, playing the waitress. [9][10][11]
In January 2012, Emmanuel presented BBC Three's Websex: What's the Harm?, investigating the online sexual habits of 16–24 year olds in the UK.[12] Later in the same year she made her film debut in the thriller Twenty8k.[13][14]
The following year, she was cast as Missandei, Daenerys Targaryen's interpreter, in HBO's fantasy drama series Game of Thrones.[11] In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she confirmed that she received the news about winning the role when she was working in a clothes store as a shop assistant.[15] In 2015, Emmanuel was promoted to a regular cast member on the show.[16] Missandei was the only prominent character that was a woman of colour in the show, and her death scene, which took place whilst she was in chains, was unpopular among fans, being called an example of fridging and evoking an image of slavery.[17][18] Emmanuel later told The Guardian:[19]
The reaction to Missandei's death was so big because she was the only one. I think a lot of the people who felt othered or disenfranchised had connected with her, or felt represented by her, especially women of colour. When she died – and in the way that she did – it was so painful for people because they were like, ‘Wait, no! That's how they’re going to do the only woman of colour?’
In 2017, Emmanuel said that she learnt "the art of subtlety" playing Missandei, and that as she was working on soundstages and with greenscreens when playing Ramsey, that role developed the use of her imagination when acting.[24] She reprised her role of Ramsey in The Fate of the Furious in 2017;[25] she played Ramsey again in F9, which was due to be released in May 2020, but was postponed until June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[26][27]
Emmanuel follows a plant-based diet for health reasons, and told Glamour magazine in 2017 that "I don't trust the food industry, I don't trust what they put in our belly – it makes me feel sick actually."[37]
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^"Celeb Birthdays for the Week of March 1–7". The New York Times. 26 February 2015. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^Stern, Marlow (29 March 2015). "Game of Thrones' Fetching Consigliere: Nathalie Emmanuel on Missandei and Grey Worm vs. Obama". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 6 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^"Lifelong Jacko fan Louise is set for a Thriller of a time". Southend Standard. 30 April 2010. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
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^"St Hilda's school in Westcliff goes into liquidation". BBC News. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
^ ab"'Game of Thrones' puts Nathalie Emmanuel, who plays Emilia Clarke's aide, on the way to royal ranks of acting". Daily News. 6 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
^"'Game Of Thrones' Newbie Nathalie Emmanuel Joins Cast Of 'Fast & Furious 7'". Indiewire. 7 September 2013. Archived from the original on 13 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^"As Hollyoaks' Gemma Merna leaves the show we look at where the soap's biggest stars are now". Liverpool Echo. 12 November 2014. Archived from the original on 18 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ abc"Nathalie Emmanuel goes from Hollyoaks to Hollywood in Game of Thrones". Liverpool Echo. 4 April 2013. Archived from the original on 9 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ ab"Websex: What's the Harm?, Targeting girls for sex on social networks". BBC. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
^ ab"Twenty8k – review". The Guardian. 6 September 2012. Archived from the original on 10 April 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
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^Saulson, Sumiko (22 November 2019). "From sidekick to romantic lead: rise of the strong black woman". In Frankel, John (ed.). Fourth Wave Feminism in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 2. Essays on Television Representations, 2013-2019. McFarland. pp. 93–109. ISBN 978-1-4766-3866-9.
^Romero, Aja (5 May 2019). "Game of Thrones' Missandei controversy, explained". Vox. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^ abcDavies, Hannah (11 December 2019). "No-one gets beheaded: Nathalie Emmanuel on life after Game of Thrones". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
^ abRodriguez, Rene (3 April 2015). ""Furious" franchise running on fumes". Miami Herald. Miami. p. G10. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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^Grater, Tom (21 March 2016). "John Boyega triumphs at Screen Nation awards". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 18 January 2017. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
^Rodriguez, Briana (13 April 2017). "Backstage 5 with. . . Nathalie Emmanuel". Back Stage, National edition. Vol. 58, no. 15. New York. p. 3.
^ abcChang, Justin (13 April 2017). "Franchise is just spinning its wheels / Betrayal is at heart of fate". LA Times. Los Angeles. p. E4. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
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^Colburn, Randall. "John Travolta turns sidekicks into action heroes in this trailer for Kevin Hart's Die Hart". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
^"Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel to Star in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis'". Hollywood Reporter.
^"If you prefer titillated to terrified, RSVP yes to The Invitation". The A.V. Club. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
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^Brotherton, Hollie (14 March 2017). "10 things you need to know about Nathalie Emmanuel". Glamour. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
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^Galuppo, Mia (25 September 2017). "Nathalie Emmanuel, Ron Livingston to Star in Comedy 'Holly Slept Over' for LD Entertainment (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on 24 July 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^Snyder, Zack (17 October 2020). "Busy here in LA editing #AOTD. Meanwhile, in Germany/Prague, the prequel starts filming this week! Nathalie Emmanuel, Stuart Martin, Matthias Schweighöfer, Guz Khan, Ruby O´Fee - and additionally: Jonathan Cohen, Noémi Nakai, Peter Simonischek". Twitter. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
^Kroll, Justin (17 May 2021). "'Game Of Thrones' Alum Nathalie Emmanuel And Garrett Hedlund To Star in Screen Gems' Horror Pic 'The Bride'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
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^Ogunsola, Jennifer (21 July 2020). "'Die Hart' Star Nathalie Emmanuel Manifested Her Breakout Role". essence.com. Essence. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
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