Nathalie Emmanuel
Emmanuel at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel

(1989-03-02) 2 March 1989 (age 34)
Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present

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 musical The Lion King.[2] In 2006, she began her on-screen career by starring as Sasha Valentine in soap opera Hollyoaks, after which she appeared in various British television series until her debut film appearance in Twenty8k.

Emmanuel gained international recognition for her role as Missandei in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2013–2019), and continued her career with supporting roles in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and its sequel Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018), the Fast & Furious films Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), F9 (2021) and Fast X (2023), and had a lead role in Army of Thieves (2021).

Early life

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 private St Hilda's School, which closed in 2014, and later the Westcliff High School for Girls grammar 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]

Career

Emmanuel speaking at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con

In 2006, she made her television debut, starring as Sasha Valentine in the soap opera Hollyoaks. Emmanuel appeared on the show until 2010, her character's storylines included prostitution, and heroin addiction.[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?’

Also in 2015, she played computer hacker Ramsey in the action film Furious 7,[20] and Harriet in the science fiction adventure Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.[21][22] For the former Emmanuel won the Screen Nation award for Best Female Performance in Film.[23] She played Harriet once again in the movie Maze Runner: The Death Cure in 2018.

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 at the 2019 German Comic Con in Dortmund

Emmanuel played Maya, a political speechwriter, in the romantic comedy television series Four Weddings and a Funeral for Hulu,[28][19] and was the voice of Deet in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Netflix series, both released in 2019.[29]

In July 2020, Emmanuel costarred opposite Kevin Hart and John Travolta in the Quibi original action-comedy series Die Hart.[30]

In May 2022, Emmanuel joined the cast of Francis Ford Coppola's upcoming film, Megalopolis.[31]

In 2022, she starred alongside Thomas Doherty in the supernatural horror film The Invitation.[32]

In the media

FHM magazine ranked Emmanuel as 99th in their 100 Sexiest Women of 2013, and 75th in their Sexiest Women of 2015.[33][34] In 2015, she also appeared in the April issue of InStyle and GQ magazines.[35][36]

Personal life

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]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2012 Twenty8k Carla [13]
2015 Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials Harriet [38]
Furious 7 Ramsey [20][25]
2017 The Fate of the Furious [25]
2018 Maze Runner: The Death Cure Harriet [39]
The Titan Warrant Officer Tally Rutherford [40]
2020 Holly Slept Over Holly [41]
2021 F9 Ramsey [26]
Army of Thieves Gwendoline Starr [42]
Last Train to Christmas Sue Taylor
2022 The Invitation Evelyn "Evie" Jackson [43]
2023 Fast X Ramsey
2024 Arthur the King † TBA Completed
TBA Megalopolis † Julia Cicero Post-production

Television

Year(s) Title Role Notes Ref.
2006–2010 Hollyoaks Sasha Valentine 191 episodes [11]
2008 Hollyoaks Later Series 1 (4 episodes) [44]
2009 Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before [45]
2011 Casualty Cheryl Hallows Episode: "Only Human" [46]
Misfits Charlie Episode 3.1 [47]
Scream if You Know the Answer! Herself Series 1, episode 9 [48]
2012 Websex: What's the Harm? Herself Presenter [12]
2013–2019 Game of Thrones Missandei Seasons 3–4: recurring (15 episodes)
Seasons 5–8: main role (23 episodes)
2019 Four Weddings and a Funeral Maya Jones Miniseries [19]
The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Deet (voice) Main role
2020–present Die Hart Jordan King Main role [49][50]

Radio

Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2018 Love Henry James: The Golden Bowl Charlotte Stant [51]

Recognition and awards

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2013 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Game of Thrones Nominated
2014 Nominated [52][53]
2015 Nominated [54][55]
Empire Awards Empire Hero Award (Ensemble) Won [56][57]
2016 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Nominated [58]
2017 Nominated [59]
2019 Nominated
2021 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series Die Hart Nominated [60]
2023 Die Hart 2: Die Harter Nominated [61]

References

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  2. ^ a b "Game of Thrones's Nathalie Emmanuel Gears Up for Furious 7". Vanity Fair. March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "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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  25. ^ a b c Chang, 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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  30. ^ 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.
  31. ^ "Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel to Star in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis'". Hollywood Reporter.
  32. ^ "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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  61. ^ "Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2023". Television Academy. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

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