Shani Smethurst is a young actress in the television series “House of the Dragon” as a 10-year-old Baela Targaryen.
Passionate about acting from an early age, Smethurst grabbed the golden opportunity to kick off her acting career. She made her television debut in the TV series House of the Dragons.
House of the Dragons is the prequel to the significantly prominent HBO series Game of Thrones (GOT). The series follows the story of the Targaryen civil war nearly 200 years before the events of GOT.
She is making grand rounds in the public domain after appearing as Lady Baela Targaryen in the series. Get to know more about the young British actress in the article underneath.
The new series has a star-studded cast, including Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Matt Smith, Paddy Considine, Gavin Spokes, Sonoya Mizuno, Ewan Mitchell, Emily Carey, Fabien Frankel, and many more.
Quick Facts
| Name | Shani Smethurst |
| Profession | Actress |
| Known For | House of the Dragon |
| Agency | Daisy and Duke’s Agency |
| Age | 13 years |
| Birthday | January 6, 2009 |
| Parents | Adam Smethurst (father) and Rakie Ayola (mother) |
| Grandparents | Jack Smethurst |
| Siblings | 1 (sister Tansy Smethurst) |
| shani.smethurst |
House Of The Dragon: Shani Smethurst Wiki
Shani Smethurst is a young actress who has become newsworthy after starring in the series “House of the Dragon” as Lady Beala.
The actress portrays the character of Lady Baela Targaryen in the series. Based on George R.R Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is a prequel to the remarkably notable HBO series Game of Thrones.
Her role of 10-year-old Lady Baela is the eldest daughter of Prince Daemon Targaryen. The series was released on August 21, 2022, and has already accumulated a lot of appraisals in the public domain.
A top-rated leading agency based in the UK, Daisy and Duke’s agency represents Smethurst. The young actress kicked off her acting career by playing the small role of a Child refugee in the movie Twelfth Night in 2018.
The 2018 movie is the modern movie adaption of William Shakespeare’s play of the same name Twelfth Night. After her acting debut in 2018, Smethurst landed a role as Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
Before making her debut on television and big screens, Smethurst performed in theatre. In the Welkin at the National Theatre, the young actress played two roles, Katy Luke and Alice Wax.
Smethurst was born and raised in the United Kingdom. The actress possesses Nigerian heritage from her maternal side of the family. Shani has made a significant mark as a promising actress in the industry.
Get To Know About Shani Smethurst Age And Height
Talking about House of the Dragon star Shani Smethurst’s age, the actress is 13. She played a role of a 10-year-old Lady Baela in the series.
Smethurst was born on January 6, 2009, in the United Kingdom. Her mother, Rakie Ayola’s Instagram post on her birthday shed light on her precise age. She wrote,’ Happy 13th birthday @shani.smethurst.’
Her mother added, ‘So blooming grateful for every bold, brave, beautiful, complicated, creative, dramatic, hilarious, thoughtful, fragile, messy, affectionate, annoying, marvelous, wobbly, wonderful, wacky teenage bit of you.’
Correspondingly, talking about Smethurst’s height, the accurate measurement of the young actress’s tallness remains ambiguous thus far. Any reliable source hasn’t specified her tallness thus far on the web.
Smethurst is almost the same height as Evie Allen, who plays the role of Princess Helaena Targaryen in House of the Dragon. Allen is 5 feet 5 inches tall; 165 if measured in centimeters, according to A & J Artists.
Therefore, unlike Evie’s height, Shani must also be between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 6 inches. Sooner or later, we will get the substantiated measurement of her height.
Shani Smethurst Parents: Father Adam Smethurst And Mother Rakie Ayola
Shani Smethurst was born to her parents’ father, Adam Smethurst, and mother, Rakie Ayola, as one of two daughters.
Adam and Rakie, her parents, are well-known names in the showbiz industry. Adam is a professional actor and writer, whereas her mother, Rakie, is an established Welsh actress.
Her father, Jack, has starred in various television dramas, including Marple, Lewis, Casualty, and more. Apart from that, he is also recognized as the son of Jack Smethurst, who starred in the British television sitcom Love Thy Neighbour as Eddie Booth.
Likewise, Smethurst’s mother, Rakie, is a prominent actress. She has appeared in TV shows, including Noughts + Crosses, Doctor Who, EastEnders, Silent Witness, and more. Both of the actress’ parents belong to the industry.
Adam and Rakie met at Birmingham Repertory Theatre during a 1988 production of Hamlet. Although there was no spark between them during their first meeting, their second meeting after two years during the production of Twelfth Night gave hope to their relationship.
Shortly after their second meeting, they started seeing each other. Later, Rakie and Adam exchanged their wedding vows on May 2, 2004. The love birds celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary this year.
Adam took to his Instagram to share the happy moments of their 16th wedding anniversary in 2020. He uploaded a collage picture of their wedding. The actor wrote, ‘On this day 2004. Happy anniversary @rakieayola.’
Rakie shared a small video on her Instagram commemorating their 18th wedding anniversary. She penned, ‘ A little trip to stare at what was once the Hamilton House Hotel where the legal bit began 18yrs ago followed by an absolutely delicious dinner.’
Smethurst’s parents are proud and more than grateful for the golden opportunity of appearing in House of the Dragons. They showed their support for her via their respective social media platforms.
The multiple award-winning actresses Rakie uploaded a carousel of pictures of attending House of the Dragon’s premiere. She wrote her heart out, ‘When your little girl has a part in a big tv show @shani.smethurst.’
Likewise, Smethurst’s father, Adam, also showed his support via Instagram. He also uploaded pictures of the family attending the premiere night. The actor mentioned he is extremely proud of his daughter.
Adam also uploaded a picture of Smethurst in her full makeup and hair as the character of Baela. He captioned the post, ‘Exciting day Chez Nous. Shani Smethurst appears as Baela Targaryen in #houseofthedragon Ep.6 & 7.’
Meet Shani Smethurst Sister Tansy Smethurst
Shani Smethurst has an elder sister named Tansy Smethurst. Unlike the actress and her parents, her sister doesn’t belong to the showbiz industry.
House of the Dragon actress shares an age difference of 5 years with her elder sister. Her elder sister is 18 years old presently. Tansy was born on July 17, 2004, to her parents Adam and Rakie Ayola.
Tansy is available on Instagram; however, her account is private at the present time. It appears she prefers to have a low life in the media. That said, the Smethurst sisters most likely share a strong bond.
On top of that, the 13-year-old actress also doesn’t talk much about her family and sibling in public. The information about Tansy’s age and birth details came from their mother Rakie’s social media post.
Shani Smethurst On Instagram
Lady Baela Targaryen of House of the Dragon, Shani Smethurst, is within easy reach on Instagram.
Her account has stockpiled over 3.8k followers thus far. Smethurst has ten posts on her account, and 9 out of 10 are related to House of the Dragons. She has religiously promoted the series on her social stages.
The young actress pinned the post, including her picture attending the premiere night of the series. The latest post includes a video of her walking on the red carpet with co-star Eva Ossei Gerning.
With the growing notability, Smethurst’s Instagram followers are also increasing promptly. Her account will surely reach a million followers, given the pace of the increment of her followers.
Some FAQs
Who is Shani Smethurst?
Shani Smethurst is a young actress who plays the role of Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon. House of the Dragons is the prequel to the significantly prominent HBO series Game of Thrones (GOT). She plays the role of a 10-year-old Baela, the eldest daughter of Price Daemon Targaryen. Apart from the series, she starred in “Twelfth Night” a 2018 moden movie adaption of William William Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Before making her acting debut in the movie, the actress performed in theatre. Born and raised in the United Kingdom, a leading agency based in the UK, Daisy and Duke’s agency represents Shani. She has marked herself as a promising actress in a brief period of time.
What is Shani Smethurst’s age?
House of the Dragon actress Shani Smethurst is 13 years old in the present time. She was born as one of the two daughters of her parents. The actress was born on January 6, 2009, in the United Kingdom. She shares an age gap of 5 years with her elder sister Tansy Smethurst. Her sister Tansy, 18, celebrates her birthday on July 17 evey year.
Who are Shani Smethurst’s parents?
Shani Smethurst’s parents’ father Adam Smethurst and mother Rakie Ayola also belong to the fraternity of the professional actors. Her father is an actor and writer who has appeared in various series and movies. He is also widely known as the son of Jack Smethurst, known for appearing in the British television sitcom “Love Thy Neighbour” as Eddie Booth. Whereas, Smethurst’s mother Rakie is a prominent actress who has starred in TV shows including Noughts + Crosses, Doctor Who, EastEnders, and more. Her parents met each other for the first time at Birmingham Repertory Theatre during a 1988 production of Hamlet. They married on May 2, 2004. Adam and Rakie celebrated their 18th wedding anniversary in 2022.