Nathalie Emmanuel Biography

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), Furious 7 (2015), and The Fate of the Furious (2017).

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 of a Dominican mother, and a father of half-Saint Lucian and half English descent. 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 a recent interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she confirmed that she received the news about winning the role when she was working in a clothes store as a shop assistant.

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.

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.

Filmography

Television

Year(s)	Title	Role	Notes
2006-2010	Hollyoaks	Sasha Valentine	191 episodes
2008	Hollyoaks Later	Sasha Valentine	Series 1 (4 episodes)
2009	Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before	Sasha Valentine
2011	Casualty	Cheryl Hallows	Episode: "Only Human"
2011	Misfits	Charlie	Episode 3.1
2012	Websex: What's the Harm?	Presenter
2013-present	Game of Thrones	Missandei	Seasons 3 & 4: recurring (15 episodes) Season 5-present: main role (19 episodes)

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Twenty8k	Carla
2015	Furious 7	Ramsey
2015	Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials	Harriet
2017	The Fate of the Furious	Ramsey
2018	Maze Runner: The Death Cure	Harriet	In post-production