Nathalie Emmanuel

Early life

Emmanuel was born on 2 March 1989 in Southend-on-Sea, a city in Essex, England. Her mother is Dominican, and her father is of half-Saint Lucian and half English descent. She has an older sister. Emmanuel recalled that her mother first took notice of her passion and desire to become an actress during Emmanuel's attendance at the private St Hilda's School, which closed in 2014, and later the Westcliff High School for Girls grammar school. 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 debut, 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. Missandei was the only prominent character that was a woman of colour in the show, and her death scene, which took place whilst she was in chains, was unpopular among fans, being called an example of fridging and evoking an image of slavery. Emmanuel later told The Guardian:

Also in 2015, 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. She played Harriet once again in the movie Maze Runner: The Death Cure in 2018.

In 2017, Emmanuel said that she learnt "the art of subtlety" playing Missandei, and that as she was working on soundstages and with greenscreens when playing Ramsey, that role developed the use of her imagination when acting. She reprised her role of Ramsey in The Fate of the Furious in 2017; she played Ramsey again in F9, which was due to be released in May 2020, but was postponed until June 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Emmanuel played Maya, a political speechwriter, in the romantic comedy television series Four Weddings and a Funeral for Hulu, and was the voice of Deet in The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Netflix series, both released in 2019.

In July 2020, Emmanuel costarred opposite Kevin Hart and John Travolta in the Quibi original action-comedy series Die Hart.

In May 2022, Emmanuel joined the cast of Francis Ford Coppola's film, Megalopolis.

In 2022, she starred alongside Thomas Doherty in the supernatural horror film The Invitation.

In the media

FHM 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.

Personal life

Emmanuel follows a plant-based diet for health reasons, and told Glamour in 2017 that "I don't trust the food industry, I don't trust what they put in our belly – it makes me feel sick actually."

Filmography

Film

Television

Radio

Recognition and awards

References

References

1. (March 2015). "Game of Thrones's Nathalie Emmanuel Gears Up for Furious 7".
2. (26 February 2015). "Celeb Birthdays for the Week of March 1–7". The New York Times.
3. (29 March 2015). "Game of Thrones' Fetching Consigliere: Nathalie Emmanuel on Missandei and Grey Worm vs. Obama". [[The Daily Beast]].
4. (30 April 2010). "Lifelong Jacko fan Louise is set for a Thriller of a time". Southend Standard.
5. (13 April 2015). "Are you excited for Season 5 of Game of Thrones, Southend?". Love Southend.
6. (11 July 2014). "St Hilda's school in Westcliff goes into liquidation". BBC News.
7. (6 April 2015). "'Game of Thrones' puts Nathalie Emmanuel, who plays Emilia Clarke's aide, on the way to royal ranks of acting". [[Daily News (New York).
8. (7 September 2013). "'Game Of Thrones' Newbie Nathalie Emmanuel Joins Cast Of 'Fast & Furious 7'". Indiewire.
9. (12 November 2014). "As Hollyoaks' Gemma Merna leaves the show we look at where the soap's biggest stars are now". Liverpool Echo.
10. (4 April 2013). "Nathalie Emmanuel goes from Hollyoaks to Hollywood in Game of Thrones". Liverpool Echo.
11. (4 January 2012). "Websex: What's the Harm?, Targeting girls for sex on social networks". BBC.
12. (6 September 2012). "Twenty8k – review". The Guardian.
13. "Nathalie Emmanuel". A & J Management.
14. (7 April 2017). "This 'Game of Thrones' actress was working in a clothing store when she got cast".
15. (17 January 2015). "'Game of Thrones' scoop: See who's becoming a series regular".
16. Saulson, Sumiko. (22 November 2019). "Fourth Wave Feminism in Science Fiction and Fantasy: Volume 2. Essays on Television Representations, 2013-2019". McFarland.
17. Romero, Aja. (5 May 2019). "Game of Thrones' Missandei controversy, explained". Vox.
18. Rodriguez, Rene. (3 April 2015). ""Furious" franchise running on fumes". Miami Herald.
19. (2015). "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)". [[The New York Times]].
20. (4 March 2015). "'Maze Runner: The Death Cur' Sets T.S. Nowlin To Pen".
21. Grater, Tom. (21 March 2016). "John Boyega triumphs at Screen Nation awards".
22. Rodriguez, Briana. (13 April 2017). "Backstage 5 with. . . Nathalie Emmanuel".
23. Chang, Justin. (13 April 2017). "Franchise is just spinning its wheels / Betrayal is at heart of fate". LA Times.
24. . (20 March 2020). ["Arts and entertainment"](https://www.newspapers.com/image/648411388). *The Star-Democrat*.
25. (10 April 2020). "Fast & Furious 9: Every Major Character NOT Returning in the Sequel". ScreenRant.
26. (21 November 2018). "'Four Weddings and a Funeral': Andie MacDowell To Appear On Hulu Series, Nathalie Emmanuel To Star in Recasting". Deadline Hollywood.
27. (17 December 2018). "'Dark Crystal' Series Voice Cast Includes Mark Hamill, Simon Pegg". Variety..
28. "John Travolta turns sidekicks into action heroes in this trailer for Kevin Hart's Die Hart".
29. (12 May 2022). "Adam Driver, Nathalie Emmanuel to Star in Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis'". Hollywood Reporter.
30. (26 August 2022). "If you prefer titillated to terrified, RSVP yes to The Invitation".
31. "Nathalie Emmanuel". [[FHM]].
32. "FHM 100 Sexiest 2015". [[FHM]].
33. (4 April 2015). "Go Behind the Scenes of Our Shoot With Furious 7 Star Nathalie Emmanuel". [[InStyle UK.
34. "Think Fast with Khaleesi's Sidekick".
35. (14 March 2017). "10 things you need to know about Nathalie Emmanuel".
36. Weintraub, Steve. (10 April 2015). "Nathalie Emmanuel Talks Game of Thrones, Furious 7, and Maze Runner 2". Collider Cryptomedia.
37. Murphy, Shaunna. (21 September 2015). "The "Scorch Trials" sequel will definitely feature more butt-kicking ladies". MTV.
38. . ["The Titan"](https://www.radiotimes.com/film/f55ght/). *Immediate Media Company*.
39. Galuppo, Mia. (25 September 2017). "Nathalie Emmanuel, Ron Livingston to Star in Comedy 'Holly Slept Over' for LD Entertainment (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com.
40. (17 October 2020). "Busy here in LA editing #AOTD. Meanwhile, in Germany/Prague, the prequel starts filming this week! Nathalie Emmanuel, Stuart Martin, Matthias Schweighöfer, Guz Khan, Ruby O´Fee - and additionally: Jonathan Cohen, Noémi Nakai, Peter Simonischek".
41. Kroll, Justin. (17 May 2021). "'Game Of Thrones' Alum Nathalie Emmanuel And Garrett Hedlund To Star in Screen Gems' Horror Pic 'The Bride'".
42. . ["Hollyoaks Later"](https://www.limepictures.com/programmes/scripted/hollyoaks-later). *Lime Picture*.
43. . (13 July 2009). ["Episode Four - Hollyoaks: The Morning After the Night Before"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH0CA_Yku3I). *Hollyoaks (official YouTube Channel)*.
44. . ["Casualty: Series 25 - Episode 28"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/tc5w/casualty--series-25---28-only-human/). *Immediate Media Company*.
45. . ["Misfits (2009) Series 3, Episode 1"](https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/misfits_e4/episodes/3/1/). *British Comedy Guide*.
46. . ["Scream if you Know the Answer!"](https://www.radiotimes.com/tv-programme/e/9rgr/scream-if-you-know-the-answer--series-1-episode-9/). *Immediate Media Company*.
47. Davies, Hannah. (11 December 2019). "No-one gets beheaded: Nathalie Emmanuel on life after Game of Thrones". The Guardian.
48. Ogunsola, Jennifer. (21 July 2020). "'Die Hart' Star Nathalie Emmanuel Manifested Her Breakout Role". [[Essence (magazine).
49. Maitland, Hayley. (22 July 2020). "'Game Of Thrones' Star Nathalie Emmanuel Is Just Getting Started". [[British Vogue.
50. . (7 October 2018). ["DramaLove Henry James: The Golden Bowl"](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0000n98). *BBC*.
51. {{cite AV media. Sheeran. Ed. (August 7, 2025). "A Little More". link. **. **
52. {{cite AV media. Sheeran. Ed. (August 13, 2025). "A Little More (Behind the Scenes)". link. **. **
53. (11 December 2013). "SAG Awards Nominations: ''12 Years A Slave'' And ''Breaking Bad'' Lead Way".
54. (18 January 2014). "SAG Awards: ''Lone Survivor'', ''Game Of Thrones'' Win Stunt Honors".
55. Hipes, Patrick. (10 December 2014). "SAG Awards Nominations: ''Birdman'' & ''Boyhood'' Lead Film Side, HBO & ''Modern Family'' Rule TV – Full List".
56. Hipes, Patrick. (25 January 2015). "SAG Awards: ''Birdman'' Flies Even Higher & ''Orange Is The New Black'' Shines – List Of Winners".
57. Barraclough, Leo. (30 March 2015). "''Interstellar'' wins Film, Director at Empire Awards". Variety.
58. "Empire Hero Award 2015". [[Empire (magazine).
59. (9 December 2015). "SAG Awards Nominations: Complete List". [[Variety (magazine).
60. Nolfi, Joey. (14 December 2016). "SAG Awards nominations 2017: See the full list".
61. "73rd Emmy Awards Nominations". [[Academy of Television Arts & Sciences]].
62. "Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series Nominees / Winners 2023".
63. Hipes, Patrick. (25 January 2024). "Colman Domingo, Keke Palmer, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét Lead NAACP Image Awards Nominations".