Nathalie Emmanuel

 Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel (born 2 March 1989) is an English actress. Emmanuel started her career in acting in the theatre in the latter part of 1990 when she began to be cast in different West End productions such as the musical The Lion King. In 2006, she began her career on screen by playing in the role of Sasha Valentine in soap opera Hollyoaks in the following year, and then she made appearances in several British television series until her debut film appearance in Twenty8k.Emmanuel has gained international recognition for her performance as Missandei in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones (2013-2019) as well as continuing her career in supporting roles in Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and its sequel Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) and the Fast & Furious films Furious 7 (2015), The Fate of the Furious (2017), and F9 (2021) as well as she was in Army of Thieves (2021).Emmanuel was born on the 2nd March 1989 in Southend-on-Sea which is a city located in Essex, England. Her mother is Dominican and her father is of half-Saint Lucian and half English descent. She has an older sibling. Emmanuel recalls that her mother first became aware of her interest and determination to be an actress in her time at the independent St Hilda's School, which was closed in 2014, and then later Westcliff High School for Girls grammar school. In an interview with the New York Daily News, she stated, "When my mom was three, she would always be the center of attention, so she suggested that I channel that properly--so I started taking acting, singing, and dance classes." At 10 years old, she played Young Nala, the West End's version of The Lion King. Then she was chosen to play Missandei in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones. She shared with Jimmy Kimmel that she learned about the character during her work as an assistant in an apparel store. In 2015, Emmanuel was promoted to an ongoing cast member on the show. Missandei is the sole prominent female character in the show was a woman-of-colour. The scene in which she was chained to death was disregarded by the fans. It was also called an example of fodging and was evoked with images of slavery. Emmanuel later stated to The Guardian: The response to her death was large because she was so alone. A lot of people who felt marginalized or who were marginalized felt connected to her or felt represented by them, specifically women of colour. It was difficult to be able to let people see her disappear, particularly when it happened in the manner that she was treated. That's what they're going treat the sole woman of colour