Zawe Ashton

Early life

Ashton was born in Hackney, London, on 25 July 1984. She is the eldest of three children born to a Ugandan mother, Victoria, and an English father, Paul Ashton. Her maternal grandfather, Paulo Muwanga, was President and later Prime Minister of Uganda.

She attended the Anna Scher Theatre School from the age of 6, and was a member of the National Youth Theatre. She gained her degree in acting at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Career

Acting

Ashton's theatre credits include Harold Pinter's Betrayal at The Harold Pinter Theatre, London and the Bernard B. Jacob's Theatre, Broadway. Rhinoceros, The Arsonists, Gone Too Far! (Royal Court), Othello (Globe Theatre), Frontline (Globe Theatre), All The Little Things We Crushed (Almeida), This Wide Night (Soho Theatre), Michael Frayn's comedy Here (The Rose Theatre Kingston), Abi Morgan’s Splendour (Donmar Warehouse), Jean Genet's The Maids (Trafalgar Studios), Salome in Salome (Headlong Theatre / Hampstead Theatre). In June 2010 Ashton was awarded 2nd prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her classical performance in Salome.

Her film credits include Velvet Buzzsaw, directed by Dan Gilroy for Netflix, Dreams of a Life directed by Carol Morley, for which she was nominated in the Most Promising Newcomer category at the 2012 British Independent Film Awards, St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, Blitz, Nocturnal Animals, directed by Tom Ford, Greta directed by Neil Jordan.

Her TV credits include Vod in the Channel 4 comedy Fresh Meat, Claire in the six-part BBC One / Netflix series Wanderlust, Journey Blue in Doctor Who, BBC, and Katherine in Not Safe For Work for Channel 4. As a child, Ashton appeared in two episodes of The Demon Headmaster.

In November of 2023, she played the character Dar-Benn in the Marvel Studios movie The Marvels.

Awards

In May 2010, Ashton was named one of the "55 Faces of the Future" by Nylon magazine's Young Hollywood Issue. In October 2012, she received the Ultimate Newcomer trophy from Cosmopolitan magazine at their Women of the Year awards. In November 2012, she won the Creative Diversity Network Award for Best Breakthrough On-Screen Talent for her role as Vod in the BAFTA-nominated Channel 4 hit Fresh Meat. In 2013, she won a Screen Nation Award for Female Performance in a Film 2012/2013, in recognition of her lead-role performance in Dreams of a Life.{{cite web |author1-link=Zawe Ashton

Writing

Ashton began entering poetry slams at age of 17, and won the London Poetry Slam Championship in 2000. In 2006 she was Young Writer in Residence at the Contact Theatre in Manchester. Her first play, Harm's Way, was shortlisted for the Verity Bargate Award in 2007, and premiered at the Lowry, Salford in 2008 as part of the National Youth Theatre’s new writing season. Her other plays include Skunk, performed by the National Youth Theatre and Soho Theatre; and She from the Sea, performed in 2010 at the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT). Ashton was co-writer of Suddenlossofdignity.com, Bush Futures Programme. One of her plays, For all the Women Who Thought They Were Mad, was selected as part of the Royal Court Playwriting Festival in 2009. She contributed to the writing of The Children's Monologues, adapted from over 300 original stories by Tswana, Zulu and Sesotho children in South Africa and presented by Dramatic Need in 2010. She has worked with the Bush Theatre and the Clean Break theatre company.

In 2019, Ashton published her first book, Character Breakdown, a fictionalized memoir based on her experiences as an actress.

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in July 2021.

Other work

Ashton has narrated episodes of 24 Hours in Police Custody, shown on Channel 4. She narrated a documentary, Public Enemies: Jay-Z vs Kanye, for the same channel in 2017.

In 2017, Ashton presented the third series of Random Acts, Channel 4's short-film showcase in association with Arts Council England. Episode 2 included a film directed by Ashton, where she had the lead role.

Personal life

Ashton is in a relationship with actor Tom Hiddleston. They co-starred in the 2019 West End and Broadway revivals of Betrayal. They have two children.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

References

References

1. (17 August 2017). "Zawe Ashton {{!}} 8 Minutes With The Pool {{!}} Women We Love". The Pool.
2. Edel, Victoria. (2022-06-30). "Zawe Ashton on Bringing Her "Quirky" Love Story to Life in "Mr. Malcolm's List"".
3. Gilbert, Gerard. (29 September 2012). "Zawe Ashton: 'The views expressed here are not my own'". The Independent.
4. "Zawedde MUWANGA-ASHTON personal appointments - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". Companies House.
5. (21 July 2013). "Its officially the 25th".
6. Adewummi, Bim. (4 November 2013). "Fresh Meat's Zawe Ashton, AKA Vod, is the coolest thing on TV right now". The Guardian.
7. Heawood, Sophie. (16 January 2016). "'I always play extreme characters': Zawe Ashton on life after Fresh Meat". The Guardian.
8. Williams, Karla. (June 2009). "ATN Interview with Zawe Ashton, The Frontline". Afridiziak Theatre News.
9. Bourke, Kevin. (28 March 2008). "Into Harm's Way". MEN Media.
10. Szalai, Georg. (7 November 2017). "Toni Collette Leads Cast of BBC, Netflix's 'Wanderlust'". The Hollywood Reporter.
11. (12 February 2021). "Zawe Ashton Joins Brie Larson in 'Captain Marvel 2'".
12. link. (1 October 2011 ''The Rod Hall Agency Limited''. Retrieved on 17 August 2009.)
13. "LIFT 2010 leaflet".
14. "The Children's Monologues".
15. [http://www.screendaily.com/home/profiles/zawe-ashton/5002911.article Zawe Ashton. Features. Screen] {{Webarchive. link. (30 May 2010 Retrieved on 17 August 2009.)
16. (3 March 2019). "'I hate talking about class': Zawe Ashton on acting, privilege and being bullied".
17. (6 July 2021). "RSL announces 44 new Fellows and Honorary Fellows". The Royal Society of Literature.
18. (22 March 2021). "24 Hours in Police Custody returns, featuring Barry Price's crimes". Entertainment Daily.
19. (1 August 2017). "Public Enemies: Jay-Z vs Kanye was a patchy documentary that struggled to answer its own questions – review". [[The Daily Telegraph.
20. "Random Acts - Episode Guide".
21. "Random Acts".
22. Alexander, Susannah. (27 September 2021). "Loki's Tom Hiddleston confirms relationship with Zawe Ashton".
23. Gibson, Kelsie. (14 March 2022). "Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton's Relationship Timeline".
24. Juneau, Jen. (14 March 2022). "Date Night! Tom Hiddleston Steps Out with Girlfriend Zawe Ashton at 2022 BAFTA Awards".
25. (17 March 2022). "Tom Hiddleston and Zawe Ashton's Sweet Love Story: Newly Engaged Couple Have a 'Lovely Chemistry'".
26. Valenti, Lauren. (30 June 2022). "How Zawe Ashton Got Ready for a Special Screening of Mr. Malcolm's List".
27. Seward, Mahoro. (7 June 2025). "Zawe Ashton Reveals Her Second Pregnancy in Emilia Wickstead". Vogue.
28. Marks, Olivia. (2025-11-13). "The Cast Of ‘The Night Manager’ On Its Thrilling Return".
29. TVZone. (2022-07-01). "Maryland: BBC to Broadcast Play Adaptation Starring Zawe Ashton".
30. "Zawe Ashton on feeling galvanised after new film about violence against women". belfasttelegraph.
31. "Voice Cast Announced as Everyone's Favourite Family Cat, Mog, Comes to Channel 4 for Christmas 2023".
32. "Othello / Shakespeare's Globe".
33. Benedict, David. (14 November 2007). "The Arsonists".
34. "THE CAGE - deborah gearing - playwright".
35. Billington, Michael. (29 July 2008). "Gone Too Far!". the Guardian.
36. (8 June 2016). "The FrontLine".
37. Gardner, Lyn. (27 November 2009). "This Wide Night - Theatre review". the Guardian.
38. Hickling, Alfred. (13 May 2010). "Salome - Theatre review". the Guardian.
39. Billington, Michael. (30 April 2012). "Here – review". the Guardian.
40. Billington, Michael. (5 August 2015). "Splendour review – Abi Morgan puts four women in the firing line". the Guardian.
41. (5 August 2015). "Splendour (Donmar Warehouse)".
42. "Monologues, Storytelling and the Science of Generosity - The Old Vic". The Old Vic.
43. (20 February 2018). "For All the Women Who Thought They Were Mad". Hackney Showroom.
44. Clement, Olivia. (4 September 2019). "Soho Rep. Unveils 2019–2020 Season".
45. Wood, Alex. (10 January 2019). "Zawe Ashton and Charlie Cox cast in ''Betrayal'' with Tom Hiddleston {{!}} WhatsOnStage".
46. Lefkowitz, Andy. (14 August 2019). "Betrayal Arrives on Broadway with Tom Hiddleston, Zawe Ashton & Charlie Cox {{!}} Broadway.Com".