Thandiwe Newton

Biography

Thandiwe Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of a Zimbabwean mother Nyasha, a healthcare worker from the Shona tribe, and a British father Nick Newton, who worked as a lab technician. 

She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK, where she lived in Cornwall (in southwest Britain) until she was 11 and enrolled in London's Art Educational School to study modern dance until a back injury forced her to quit dancing. 

This led to her auditioning for films. Her first role was in John Duigan's Flirting (1991). She then moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue acting. 

When her British accent limited the amount of work she was getting, she returned to Britain, studied at Cambridge University, and earned a degree in anthropology. Between semesters she continued acting and became noticed in demand for future film roles.

She named her daughter Ripley after the character played by Sigourney Weaver in Alien (1979).

The name 'Thandie' is a variation of her actual middle name Thandiwe (pronounced tan-DEE-way), which means 'beloved.'.

She has a Zimbabwean mother and a British father.

Her mother is a Princess of the Shona Tribe.

A delayed shoot for Mission: Impossible II (2000) caused her to turn down one of the lead roles in Charlie's Angels (2000). Lucy Liu was cast instead.

Her daughter Nico Parker is also an actress. While Newton was filming Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018), Parker made her debut in Dumbo (2019) filmed on a nearby movie set.

In July 2011, in a speech at the TEDGlobal 2011 Conference, Newton disclosed that earlier in her career, she struggled with the eating disorder bulimia.

One of her fondest memories is watching her mother get dressed in her traditional African garb because it taught her black pride.

Graduated with a 2:1 (otherwise known as "an undergraduate degree with 2nd Class Honours, Upper Division")in Anthropology from Cambridge University.

Raised in Penzance, Cornwall, England.

Newton's name has been misspelled as "Thandie" ever since her first role in Flirting (1991) in which her character's name is Thandiwe Adjewa. The correct spelling, Thandiwe, pronounced "tan-Dee-way", means "beloved" in Shona. Shona is one of the most widely spoken languages of Zimbabwe.

She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2019 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to Film and Charity. She is an actress in London, England.

Her younger daughter Nico Parker was named for German-born singer Nico, a member of the legendary rock group The Velvet Underground.

David Schwimmer called her "the queen of practical jokes".

Was 2 months pregnant with her daughter Nico Parker when she completed filming Crash (2004).

Mother, with her estranged husband Ol Parker, of two daughters, Ripley Parker (b. September 17, 2000) and Nico Parker (b. December 9, 2004), and one son, Booker Jombe Parker (b. March 3, 2014).

Delivered both of her daughters naturally via a birthing pool.

Returned to work 5 months after giving birth to her son Booker to begin filming Westworld (2016).

Daughter of Nick Newton and Nyasha Newton (born Nyasha Jombe) and sister of Jamie Newton.

Was 6 months pregnant with her son Booker when she completed filming the 2nd season of Rogue (2013).

(April 14, 2022) Separated from her husband of 23 years Ol Parker.

Is occasionally mistaken for Zoe Saldana.

Voted by the readers of Black Men Magazine as one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year."

After filming Flirting in 1991 she went to Los Angeles briefly then returned to England to study Anthropology at Cambridge, Inbetween terms she filmed Interview with a Vampire.

Ranked #48 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002)

Returned to work 8 months after giving birth to her daughter Nico to begin filming The Pursuit of Happyness (2006).

She's half Zimbabian.

Born on the same date as Rebecca Romijn.

Mentioned in "Cock Mobster" by Paul Barman.

She's married to writer Ot Parker who she met on the set of In Your Dreams.