biography of Gugu Mbatha-Raw

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May 22, 2025 - 13:04

May 29, 2025 - 12:47

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Mbatha-Raw in 2013
Born	Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw 21 April 1983 (age 42) Oxford, England
Education	Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (BA)
Occupatio	Actress
Years active	2001–present

Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw

, MBE (/ˈɡuːɡuː əmˈbætərɔː/; born 21 April 1983) is a British actress. She began acting at the National Youth Music Theatre and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and gained acclaim for her roles as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Octavia in Anthony and Cleopatra in 2005 at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. She made her West End and Broadway debut portraying Ophelia in Hamlet in 2009. For her role as the titular character in Jessica Swale's 2015 play Nell Gwynn, she received an Evening Standard Theatre Award nomination.

She took early roles in television acting in Doctor Who (2007), Undercovers (2010), and Touch (2012). She earned acclaim for her leading film roles in Belle (2013), and Beyond the Lights (2014) and took supporting roles in Miss Sloane (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), A Wrinkle in Time (2018), Motherless Brooklyn (2019), and Misbehaviour (2020). She took leading roles in the Netflix Black Mirror episode San Junipero (2016) and the Apple TV+ drama series Surface (2022–) and acted in The Morning Show (2019), and the Disney+ series Loki (2021–2023).

In 2017, Mbatha-Raw was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama. In February 2021, Mbatha-Raw was appointed a global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Early life, family and education

Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw was born on 21 April 1983 in Oxford, the daughter of Patrick Mbatha, a South African doctor, and Anne Raw, an English nurse. Her first name is a contraction of igugu lethu, which means "our treasure" in isiZulu. As a student, her father was a member of the African National Congress an activist opposing apartheid in South Africa, and had to flee as a result. Her parents separated when she was a year old, and she lived mostly with her mother.

Mbatha-Raw was educated at The Henry Box School, a state comprehensive school in the market town of Witney in Oxfordshire, where she was raised.

Interested in acting, dance, and musical theatre from a young age, she participated in the National Youth Theatre. Her credits include dancing at the Judy Tompsett School of Dance, now known as the Marsh Tompsett School of Dance. In 2001, she moved to London to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art

Mini bio

Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England. Her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a Black South African doctor, and her mother, Anne Raw, is a Caucasian English nurse. Her parents separated when she was a year old, and she was brought up by her mother in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire (she is still close to her father). She joined the local acting group Dramascope and, from the age of eleven, appeared in the pantomime at Oxford Playhouse every year. A talented singer and dancer as well as playing the saxophone, she joined the Oxford Youth Music Theatre in her teens.

In 2001, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. Since graduation in 2004, she has appeared in all media, including as an acclaimed Juliet Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre in 2005, opposite Andrew Garfield as Romeo Montague. Mbatha-Raw was nominated for Best Actress in the Manchester Evening News Theatre Awards for her portrayal of Juliet Capulet. She also appeared as Octavia in "Antony and Cleopatra" at the same theatre in 2005. In 2009, she was cast as Ophelia in "Hamlet" on London's West End and Broadway, opposite Jude Law as the title role.

Mbatha-Raw appeared on such varied television series as Bad Girls (1999), Doctor Who (2005), Marple (2004) and Touch (2012). She had a supporting role in the romantic comedy Larry Crowne (2011), written and directed by Tom Hanks, who also played the title role. She was acclaimed for her performance of Dido Elizabeth Belle in Amma Asante's Belle (2013), which earned her a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress, and a nomination as Most Promising Newcomer. She was also nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress.

She starred in the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014) and was nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Actress for her performance. In 2015, she was nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award. That same year, she had a supporting role in Jupiter Ascending (2015), played Prema Mutiso, the wife of Dr. Bennet Omalu (played by Will Smith) in the biopic Concussion (2015), and the title role in Jessica Swale's play "Nell Gwynn", playing the actress who became the mistress of King Charles II of England. She was nominated for an Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance in the play.

She played Rachel in Newton Knight's biopic Free State of Jones (2016), directed by Gary Ross, playing Knight's common-law wife, a freedwoman he had a family with after the Civil War. She also played Esme Manucharian in Miss Sloane (2016), Sophie on Netflix's series Easy (2016), and played Kelly, one of the leads in "San Junipero", the fourth episode of Season 3 of Black Mirror (2011). Her other films are the live-action remake Beauty and the Beast (2017), playing Plumette, A Wrinkle in Time (2018), directed by Ava DuVernay, and The Cloverfield Paradox (2018).
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 Birthday Honours for her services to drama.

She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Drama. She is an actress in Oxfordshire, England.
Her name is pronounced "Goo-Goo mBAH-tah Raw". Her birth name, "Gugulethu" (Goo-Goo-Lay-Too), is a contraction of "igugu lethu", that means "Our Pride" in Zulu.
Shared the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's 2016 Hollywood issue with, Jane Fonda, Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Jennifer Lawrence, Rachel Weisz, Lupita Nyong'o, Brie Larson, Alicia Vikander, Charlotte Rampling, Helen Mirren, Diane Keaton and Saoirse Ronan. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz.
Was one of the eight women honored at the 2014 ELLE Women in Hollywood Awards for their creative contributions to the world of film.
Nominated for the Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress for her performance as the title role of Jessica Swale's play "Nell Gwynn" (2015).
She has always loved art and had considered becoming an artist instead of an actress for a time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she painted portraits of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others, using painting supplies that her Concussion (2015) co-star Will Smith has given to her in 2016.
Ranked as having one of the "Most Beautiful Famous Faces" by TC Candler's list of the "100 Most Beautiful Famous Faces From Around the World" for three consecutive years. She was ranked #33 in 2016, #22 in 2015 and #15 in 2014.
Attended the Henry Box School and participated at the National Youth Theatre, having been interested in drama, dance, and musical theatre from a young age. Her credits include dancing at the Judy Tompsett School of Dance (now known as the Marsh Tompsett School of Dance).
Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Has appeared with her co-star David Oyelowo in three films: The Cloverfield Paradox (2018), A Wrinkle in Time (2018) and Come Away (2020).
Trained as an actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) in London, England.

Quotes

I try not to limit myself. The actors that inspire me are the comedians and the people able to shape-shift into different roles and into different media. That ensures your longevity as an artist and prevents you from getting bored with yourself and, hopefully, prevents people from getting bored with you.
[on the significance of her role in Belle (2013)] As a biracial girl growing up in England, I'd never really seen any historical characters who looked like me depicted on film before that weren't being brutalized or playing slaves.
I always get a little bit scared reading reviews.
I think, irrespective of your race, everybody has moments in life where they don't fit in, or where they try to puzzle through who they really are or to find the courage of their convictions.

[on cooking] I don't really have one dish. I'm a very improvisational cook. I sort of like to make things up as I go along. I'm quite creative in the kitchen.

Film

Year	Title	Role
2007	Straightheads	Young PA
2011	Larry Crowne	Talia
2013	Odd Thomas	Viola Peabody
2013	Belle	Dido Elizabeth Belle
2014	Beyond the Lights	Noni Jean
2015	Jupiter Ascending	Famulus
2015	Concussion	Prema Mutiso
2016	Free State of Jones	Rachel Knight
	The Whole Truth	Janelle Brady
	Miss Sloane	Esme Manucharian
2017	Beauty and the Beast	Plumette
2018	The Cloverfield Paradox	Ava Hamilton
	Irreplaceable You	Abbie
	A Wrinkle in Time	Dr. Kate Murry
	Fast Color	Ruth
	Farming	Ms. Dapo
2019	Motherless Brooklyn	Laura Rose
2020	Come Away	Adult Alice
	Misbehaviour	Jennifer Hosten
	Summerland	Vera
2024	Lift	Abby
TBA	Fuze	TBA
TBA	The Woman in Cabin 10	TB