Tuesday, November 18, 2014

MOVIE ICONS: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, from Bad Girls, Larry Crowne, and Doctor Who

  
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugu Mbatha-Raw 2013 TIFF.jpg
BornGugulethu Sophia Mbatha
(1983-06-30) June 30, 1983 (age 31)
Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
OccupationActress
Years active2004–present
Gugu Mbatha-Raw (born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha; June 30, 1983)[1][2] is an English actress.


Early life[edit]

Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha[3] in Oxford, England.[3] Her surname is made up of both her parents’ and her first name is the shortened version of ‘Gugulethu’, a contraction of igugu lethu that means ‘Our Pride’ in Zulu. [4] [5] Her mother, Anne Raw, is an English nurse, and her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a doctor originally from the Republic of South Africa.[6][7] Her father is black and her mother is white.[8] Mbatha-Raw grew up in the small town of Witney in Oxfordshire, and attended The Henry Box School, before moving to London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 2001.

Career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Mbatha-Raw played minor roles on television series such as Bad Girls (2006), Doctor Who (2007) and Marple (2007). One of her earliest breakthroughs in drama was in Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester in 2005.[9] Mbatha-Raw was nominated for best actress in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Juliet and also played Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra at the same theatre in 2005.[10]
In September 2010, she starred in the J. J. Abrams TV series Undercovers, which was cancelled two months later.[11][12]
In June 2011, Mbatha-Raw was cast as the female lead in the Fox pilot Touch opposite Kiefer Sutherland.[13]
She had a supporting role in 2011 romantic comedy film Larry Crowne, written and directed by Tom Hanks, who starred in the title role.[14]

Career breakthrough[edit]

She starred in Amma Asante's 2013 film Belle, playing the eponymous historical character, Dido Elizabeth Belle, a mixed-race aristocrat in 18th century Britain.[15] The film debuted at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival where it was acquired by Fox Searchlight. It was eventually given a release in 2014. Mbatha-Raw was nominated for two British Independent Film Awards for her work on the film: Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film and Most Promising Newcomer.
In 2014 Mbatha-Raw also appeared in Beyond the Lights. The film debuted at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival. For her work in Beyond the Lights Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress at the 2014 Gotham Awards.[16]

Future projects[edit]

In 2015 Mbatha-Raw will have a supporting role in Jupiter Ascending as well as taking on a role in Courtney Hunt's first film since her award winning Frozen River, The Whole Truth.
Mbatha-Raw is set to star in the upcoming biopic Concussion, starring Will Smith, the story of Dr. Bennet Omalu, the forensic neuropathologist who first discovered extensive brain damage in NFL players and tried to put a stop to it.[17]

Filmography[edit]

Television[edit]

YearTitleRoleNotes
2004Holby CityCollette Hill
2006Vital SignsEve
Walk Away and I Stumblenurse
Bad GirlsFidelity
2007SpooksJenny
Doctor WhoTish Jones4 episodes
Doctor Who ConfidentialHerselfInterviewee
MarpleTina ArgyleIn Ordeal by Innocence
2008Lost in AustenPiranha
BonekickersViv Davis
Trial & RetributionJenny Miller
2009FalloutShanice RobertsPart of Channel 4's Disarming Britain series
2010UndercoversSamantha Bloom
2012TouchClea Hopkins[18]

Film[edit]

YearTitleRoleNotes
2011Larry CrowneTalia
2012Odd ThomasViola
2013BelleDido Elizabeth BelleNominated - BIFA Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a British Independent Film
Nominated - BIFA Award for Most Promising Newcomer
2014Beyond the LightsNoni JeanNominated - Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2015Jupiter AscendingFamulus
The Whole Truth
2016ConcussionPrema MutisoFilming

Theatre[edit]

YearTitleTheatreRoleNotes
2005Antony and CleopatraRoyal Exchange in ManchesterCleopatra
Romeo and JulietJuliet Capulet
2008GethsemaneNational TheatreMonique
2009–2010HamletDonmar West End and BroadwayOpheliaOpposite Jude Law

Radio[edit]

YearTitleRoleStation / Notes
2006Living with the EnemySophie/VariousBBC Radio 4, broadcast 14 November – 19 December 2006
2009Choice of StrawsMichelleBBC Radio 4, Saturday Play, broadcast on 19 September 2009

References[edit]

  1. Jump up ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.; at ancestry.com
  2. Jump up ^ Elber, Lynn (22 September 2010). "`Undercovers' colorful mission: bring change to TV". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 28 February 2014. 
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the Internet Movie Database
  4. Jump up ^ <As told by Gugu Mbatha-Raw in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, 11/12/14/>
  5. Jump up ^ Taylor, Ben (23 April 2014). "5 things about ‘Belle’ Gugu Mbatha-Raw". Swide. 
  6. Jump up ^ "Gugu Mbatha-Raw — The 50 Hottest Biracial Women". Complexmag.ca. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2014. 
  7. Jump up ^ Louise Wise, "Hear her roar", The Sunday Times,1 June 2014.
  8. Jump up ^ http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/culture/film_and_tv/article1415482.ece?CMP=OTH-gnws-standard-2014_05_31
  9. Jump up ^ Gardner, Lyn (15 September 2005). "Romeo and Juliet - Royal Exchange, Manchester". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-04-07. 
  10. Jump up ^ Dehn, Georgia (28 May 2009). "Hamlet with Jude Law at Wyndham's Theatre: Gugu Mbatha-Raw is mad for it". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-04-07. 
  11. Jump up ^ Oldenburg, Ann (4 November 2010). "NBC cancels 'Undercovers' after 13 episodes". USA Today. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 
  12. Jump up ^ Carter, Bill (4 November 2010). "NBC Cancels ‘Undercovers’". New York Times. Retrieved 4 November 2010. 
  13. Jump up ^ Andreeva, Nellie (10 June 2011). "'Undercovers' Star Gugu Mbatha-Raw Set As Female Lead In Fox's Pilot 'Touch'". Deadline.com. Retrieved 10 June 2011. 
  14. Jump up ^ Mbatha-Raw, Gugu Star Pulse
  15. Jump up ^ Obenson, Tambay A. "Gugu Mbatha-Raw Will Be "Belle" In Slavery Pic Based On Mixed-Race Woman Raised In Aristocratic Family". Shadow and Act. Indiewire. Retrieved 28 February 2014. 
  16. Jump up ^ "2014 Gotham Award Nominations Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. 23 October 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2014. 
  17. Jump up ^ "Gugu Mbatha-Raw stars in Beyond the Light, premiering at TIFF". 
  18. Jump up ^ Gugu Mbatha-Raw joins Kiefer Sutherland in FOX's 'Touch'

External links[edit]