Born on November 6, 1972, in Westminster, London, Thandie Newton has an incredible history in film and television. She won an Emmy award for Best Supporting Actress for her major role as "Maeve" in HBO's hit show Westworld, a BAFTA for her role in the critically acclaimed Crash, and has an impressively long list of well-deserved awards that go on and on. But what was she like before she hit the public eye?
Westworld's Thandie Newton, before the Awards
Newton was born in England to an English father and a mother from Zimbabwe whom she says was a "Princess of the Shona People." In one of her TED Talks, she explained her awareness that she was different from a young age, "I was the black, atheist kid in the all-white, Catholic school run by nuns. I was an anomaly."
Newton studied dance and at the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts and anthropology at Downing College in Cambridge. Thandie is really a jack of all trades. You can watch Thandie in Westworld as "Maeve" and coming in 2021, she will be starring in Reminiscence, God's Country, and All the Old Knives.
5 Fun Facts About Dandy Thandie
- She's married to screenwriter and director Ol Parker! The power couple has been married since 1998 and has two children together.
- She has been a powerful activist for over 20 years. She is a board member for V-Day, a charity for the global activist movement to end violence against women and has been very outspoken about what she personally has suffered and what needs changing in Hollywood.
- She was named PETA's "Sexiest Vegan of 2014."
- She named her daughter "Ripley" after the strong female character from the movie Alien.
- She was in a Beyoncé and Jay Z music video! "Family Feud"
'Westworld's' Bombshell
An Actor Filled Family
