Naomi Ackie | |
---|---|
Born | Walthamstow, London, England | 2 November 1992
Education | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA) |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 2009–present |
Naomi Sarah Ackie (born 2 November 1992) is an English actress. She is known for her television roles as Bonnie in The End of the F***ing World (2019) and Master of None (2021) and for her role as Jannah in the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In 2022, she portrayed American singer Whitney Houston in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
Naomi Ackie was born on 2 November 1992 [1] in Walthamstow, London, [2] the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Grenada. [3] Her father was a Transport for London employee and her mother worked for the National Health Service. [2] She is one of three children and has an older brother and sister. [2] She went to Walthamstow School for Girls.
Her first role was at the age of 11, playing the angel Gabriel in a school nativity play. [3] She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2012. [2] [4]
Ackie's breakthrough film role was in Lady Macbeth (2016), [5] for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2017. [6] She subsequently appeared in Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). [7] [8] She also portrayed Bonnie in the second season of Netflix's black comedy series The End of the F***ing World , [9] and a school inspector in Education , an hour-long drama part of Steve McQueen's anthology film series Small Axe . [10] Ackie starred in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut Blink Twice (2024). [11]
Ackie portrayed American singer Whitney Houston in the biographical film I Wanna Dance with Somebody . [12] The film opened to mixed reviews but widespread praise for Ackie's performance, with Variety calling her "a veritable artist of lip-syncing." [13] The Hollywood Reporter noted that Ackie herself is "a capable singer" and can be heard briefly in a few early scenes. [14]
Ackie starred in Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17 , based on Edward Ashton's science-fiction novel, alongside Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo. [15]
† | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | I Used to Be Famous | Amber | Short film |
2016 | Lady Macbeth | Anna | |
2018 | Yardie | Mona | |
2019 | The Corrupted | Grace | |
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Jannah | ||
2021 | The Score | Gloria | |
2022 | I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Whitney Houston | |
2024 | Blink Twice | Frida | |
2073 † | Post-production | ||
2025 | Mickey 17 † | Nasha Adjaya | Post-production |
The Thursday Murder Club † | Donna De Freitas | Filming |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | Doctor Who | Jen | Episode: "Face the Raven" |
2016 | The Five | Gemma Morgan | Miniseries (2 episodes) |
Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Council Worker | Television film | |
2018 | Vera | Louise Everitt | Episode: "Black Ice" |
The Bisexual | Ruby | 5 episodes | |
2019 | Cleaning Up | Beth | 2 episodes |
The End of the F***ing World | Bonnie | Main role (season 2) | |
2020 | Small Axe | Hazel | Episode: "Education" |
2021 | Master of None | Alicia | Main role (season 3) |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | Success | Lucy | National Theatre, London | with Islington Youth Theatre |
2012 | The Day the Waters Came | Esther | UK Tour | with Theatre Centre |
2013 | The Snow Queen | Gowrie | Greenwich Theatre, London | |
Life Mould | Rita | Canada Water Library, London | as part of "Write Lines Conference" by Theatre Centre | |
Missing | Kevin Godsen | Engineer Theatre, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe | |
Billy the Girl | Amber | Soho Theatre, London | ||
2015 | The Nutcracker and the Mouse King | Mama | Unicorn Theatre, London | |
Walking the Tightrope | Mercedes | Theatre Delicatessen | ||
Solace of the Road | Grace Gibson | Derby Theatre, Derby | ||
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Jannah |
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2017 | British Independent Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Lady Macbeth | Nominated |
Most Promising Newcomer | Won | |||
Evening Standard British Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
Screen International Star of Tomorrow | 2017 Actors | — | Won | |
2020 | British Academy Television Award | Best Supporting Actress | The End of the F***ing World | Won |
2021 | Black Reel Award for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Master of None | Nominated |
2023 | British Academy Film Awards | EE Rising Star Award | — | Nominated |
Trophée Chopard | Female Revelation of the Year | — | Won |
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