Thandie Newton Biography

Thandie Newton (born on November 6, 1972) is a BAFTA award-winning British actress.

Biography

Thandie Newton was born in Zambia, to an English father and a Zimbabwean mother. She was raised in Zambia and Cornwall, England, and educated at Downing College, University of Cambridge.

Thandie made her film début in Flirting (1991), and gained international recognition opposite Nick Nolte in the film Jefferson in Paris, which led to her being cast in 1998's Beloved (alongside Danny Glover and Oprah Winfrey), in which she played the title character. She had a small role as the Creole slave Yvette in Interview with the Vampire alongside Brad Pitt. Thandie Newton played the female lead, Nyah Hall, in the film Mission: Impossible II. When this film went over schedule, she had to pull out of the film Charlie's Angels and Newton's character ultimately went to Lucy Liu.

Thandie recently played Kem, the love interest of Dr. John Carter, on the American television series ER. She also appeared in The Chronicles of Riddick and Crash. Her performance in Crash, as an upper middle-class black woman forced to assess her racial attitudes after being molested by a white racist police officer (played by Matt Dillon), was honored with a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. Crash also won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2005.

Thandie married writer and director Oliver Parker in 1998. The couple have two daughters, Ripley, born in 2000, and Nico, born in 2004.

Trivia for Thandie Newton

• Thandie Newton was apparently named by her godmother after Jeremy "Pantz" Smith, whose nickname was Thandy.
• The name "Thandiwe" means "beloved" in Shona. Newton played a character named "Beloved" in the film adaptation of the Toni Morrison novel Beloved in 1998.
• Thandie Newton's daughter was named in honor of the character Ripley in the Alien films.
• Thandie Newton is friends with Nicole Kidman, who recommended her to her then-husband Tom Cruise for Mission: Impossible II.

Film List for Thandie Newton

• Pursuit of Happyness (2006) (filming) - Linda
• Crash (2004) - Christine
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - Dame Vaako
• Shade (2003) - Tiffany
• The Truth About Charlie (2002) - Regina Lambert
• It Was an Accident (2000) - Noreen Hurlock
• Mission: Impossible II (2000) - Nyah Nordoff-Hall
• Beloved (1998) - Beloved
• Besieged (1998) - Shandurai
• In Your Dreams (1997) (TV) - Clare
• Gridlock'd (1997) - Barbara 'Cookie' Cook
• The Leading Man (1996) - Hilary Rule
• The Journey of August King (1995) - Annalees
• Jefferson in Paris (1995) - Sally Hemings
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) - Yvette
• Loaded (1994) - Zita
• The Young Americans (1993) - Rachael Stevens
• Pirate Prince (1991) (TV) - Becky Newton
• Flirting (1991) - Thandiwe Adjewa