Naomie Harris
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox person Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series Simon and the Witch in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later (2002), the witch Tia Dalma in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films, Winnie Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013), and Shriek in Sony's Spider-Man Universe film Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021). She portrayed Eve Moneypenny in the James Bond films: Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), and No Time to Die (2021).
In 2016, she starred in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight, a performance that earned her a number of accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Harris was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.
Early life and education
Naomi Melanie Harris was born on 6 September 1976 in Islington, London. Her mother Carmen Harris (sometimes credited as Lisselle Kayla),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> having emigrated from Jamaica to London as a child with her parents, has worked as a screenwriter on EastEnders and as a healer.<ref name="Lilia"/> Harris' fashion designer father Brian Clarke emigrated from Trinidad to the UK, and has British, Grenadian, and Guyanese ancestors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> They separated before Harris was born, and she was raised by her mother in a council flat in Finsbury Park.<ref name="harpersobe">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Her mother later remarried, and Harris has two younger half-siblings.<ref name= "Lilia">Template:Cite news</ref>
Harris attended St Marylebone School in London.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During childhood she studied acting at the Anna Scher Theatre<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> before attending Woodhouse College as a sixth-form student. She graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge, in 1998 with a degree in social and political sciences. Harris trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Career
Harris has appeared in television and film since she was nine, including a starring role in the remake of the science fiction series The Tomorrow People.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2000, she played Susan in The Witch of Edmonton at the Southwark Playhouse. She was in the cast of She Stoops to Conquer (Radio 3), Studio 3, Pebble Mill, May 2000. In November 2002, she starred in Danny Boyle's postapocalyptic film 28 Days Later.<ref name="Naomie">Template:Cite web</ref> In the same year, she starred in the television adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Harris has appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Michael Mann's Miami Vice.<ref name="Naomie"/> She did a comic turn in Michael Winterbottom's indie ensemble piece, A Cock and Bull Story (2005).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She starred in Channel 4's adaptation of the 2006 novel Poppy Shakespeare, which was first shown on 31 March 2008. She also appeared in BBC's historical drama Small Island in December 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
She played Elizabeth Lavenza in Danny Boyle's stage production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the National Theatre from 22 February to 2 May 2011.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She played the lead role in The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, which was premiered on 18 May 2011 in the Seattle International Film Festival.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Harris co-starred in the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall (2012), playing Miss Moneypenny.<ref name="Lilia" /> She is the first black actress to play Moneypenny, and is the first Moneypenny to be given a first name.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Harris reprised her role as Moneypenny in the 24th Bond film, Spectre, which was released on 26 October 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Harris portrayed Winnie Mandela in the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, based on the book of the same name, opposite the actor Idris Elba.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The film was released on 29 November 2013. On viewing the film, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela told Harris that it seemed as if she were not acting, but channeling her, and that it was "the first time she felt truly captured on film".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2016, Harris starred as Paula in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight. She played the abusive, drug-addicted mother of the film's main character, Chiron. The film follows her son and her through a 20-year period. Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture and Harris was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, among other awards.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In 2021, Harris reprised her role as Eve Moneypenny in the James Bond film No Time to Die and starred as Frances Barrison / Shriek in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In July 2023, Harris narrated 'That girl is going to get herself killed'<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on Curio, an audio platform.
Personal life
At about 11, Harris was diagnosed with scoliosis. The condition progressed severely into her teen years which necessitated a spinal fusion; it took her a month to recover fully and she had to learn how to walk again.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a teenager, Harris also suffered from adenomyosis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In 2012, Harris began a relationship with Peter Legler.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On the topic of having children, Harris stated in a 2017 interview with Woman magazine:<ref name=Grazia>Template:Cite web</ref>
People ask, 'So when are you going to have children?' I think it's a really odd thing because it's such a personal decision. And also, you don't know what is happening in someone's life. I find it bizarre, even with my friends, when they want me to have children. Why would you encourage anybody to have children unless it was their burning desire? You need to be fully committed to itTemplate:Nbsp... Have children when you're ready, if you're ready, but only then. I'd never had any pressure.<ref name=Grazia/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Filmography
| Template:Dagger | Denotes work that has not yet been released. |
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Simon and the Witch | Joyce | 12 episodes | |
| 1989 | Erasmus Microman | Millie | 1 episode | |
| 1992–1993 | Runaway Bay | Shuku | 17 episodes | |
| 1992–1995 | The Tomorrow People | Ami Jackson | 16 episodes | |
| 2000 | Dream Team | Lola Olokwe | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Trial & Retribution V | Tara Gray | 1 episode | |
| White Teeth | Clara | 4 episodes | ||
| The Project | Maggie Dunn | Television film | ||
| 2002–2003 | Dinotopia | Romana | 2 episodes | |
| 2008 | Poppy Shakespeare | Poppy Shakespeare | Television film | |
| 2009 | Small Island | Hortense Roberts | Television film | |
| Blood and Oil | Alice Omuka | Television film | ||
| 2010 | Accused | Alison Wade | 1 episode | |
| 2020 | The Third Day | Helen | Main role | |
| 2022 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Justin Falls | Main role, series |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Fable III | Page | Voice | |
| 2012 | 007 Legends | Eve Moneypenny | Voice | |
| 2021 | Sea of Thieves | Tia Dalma | Voice |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Witch of Edmonton | Susan Carter | |
| 2011 | Frankenstein | Elizabeth Lavenza |
Awards and nominations
Template:Main In addition to numerous acting awards, Harris was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours, for services to drama. She received the honour from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 23 February 2017.<ref name="harpersobe"/> She has also been recognised for her influence with her addition in the 2019 edition of the Powerlist, ranking the 100 most influential Black Britons.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
References
External links
- Template:IMDb name
- 2002 interview with The Guardian Unlimited
- 2016 interview with Tavis Smiley (PBS)
Template:S-start Template:S-text Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-inc Template:S-end Template:Navboxes
- 1976 births
- 20th-century English actresses
- 21st-century English actresses
- Actresses from London
- Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
- Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
- Audiobook narrators
- Black British actresses
- English film actresses
- English people of Guyanese descent
- English people of Jamaican descent
- English people of Trinidad and Tobago descent
- English television actresses
- English voice actresses
- Living people
- People educated at St Marylebone School
- English child actresses
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Actors from the London Borough of Islington
- People from Islington (district)
- Alumni of the Anna Scher Theatre School