Nathalie Emmanuel’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel (born 2 March 1989) is an English actress. Emmanuel began her acting career appearing in theatre in the late 1990s, accruing roles in various West End productions such as the musical The Lion King. 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 public recognition by starring as Missandei in the fantasy series Game of Thrones, before achieving international fame with supporting roles in action films Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015), and Furious 7 (2015), which became the sixth highest-grossing film of all time.

Early life

Emmanuel was born on 2 March 1989 in Southend-on-Sea, a seaside resort town in Essex, England. Emmanuel is the second child to a Dominican mother, and a half Saint Lucian and half English father. Emmanuel demonstrated an affinity for the arts at an early age; she recalled that her mother first took notice of her passion and desire to become an actress during Emmanuel’s attendance at the independent St Hilda’s School (now closed) and later grammar Westcliff High School for Girls. 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”. At the age of 10, she played Young Nala in the West End production of the musical The Lion King.

Career

In 2006, she made her television break by 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.

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. Later in the same year she made her film debut in the thriller Twenty8k. The following year, she was cast as Missandei, Daenerys Targaryen’s interpreter, in HBO’s fantasy drama series Game of Thrones. In 2015, Emmanuel was promoted to a regular cast member on the show. In the same year, she played computer hacker Ramsey in the action film Furious 7 and Harriet in the science fiction adventure Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials. For the former Emmanuel won the Screen Nation award for Best Female Performance in Film.

Filmography

Film

Television

In the media

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