Jump to content

Naomi Ackie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Sheldon Murray (talk | contribs) at 17:39, 6 May 2024. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Naomi Ackie
Born (1992-11-02) 2 November 1992 (age 32)
Walthamstow, London Borough of Waltham Forest, Greater London, England
EducationRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA)
OccupationActress
Years active2009–present

Naomi Sarah Ackie (born 2 November 1992) is an English actress. She made her television debut as Jen in the Doctor Who episode "Face the Raven" (2015). For her role as Bonnie on the television dark comedy-drama series The End of the F***ing World, she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2020. Ackie is well known for her role as Jannah in the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In 2021, she had a main role on the third season of Master of None. In 2022, she garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of American pop icon, singer Whitney Houston in the biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody, earning a Rising Star nomination at the British Academy Film Awards.[1]

Early life

Naomi Ackie was born on 2 November 1992[2] in Walthamstow, London,[3] the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Grenada.[4] Her father was a Transport for London employee and her mother worked for the National Health Service.[3] She is one of three children and has an older brother and sister.[3] 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.[4] She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2012.[3][5]

Career

Ackie's breakthrough film role was in Lady Macbeth (2016),[6] for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2017.[7] She subsequently appeared in Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[8][9] She also portrayed Bonnie in the second season of Netflix's black comedy series The End of the F***ing World,[10] and a school inspector in Education, an hour-long drama part of Steve McQueen's anthology film series Small Axe.[11]

Ackie portrayed American singer Whitney Houston in the biographical film Whitney Houston: 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]

Upcoming projects

Ackie is committed to star in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut Pussy Island, co-starring Channing Tatum,[15] and in Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17, based on Edward Ashton's science-fiction novel, alongside Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.[16]

Filmography

† Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film

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 Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody Whitney Houston
2024 Blink Twice † Frida Post-production
2025 Mickey 17 † Nasha Adjaya Post-production

Television

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)

Stage

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

Video game

Year Title Role
2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Jannah

Awards and nominations

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

References

  1. ^ "Bafta rising star nominees include Naomi Ackie, Emma Mackey and Sheila Atim". the Guardian. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  2. ^ "Naomi Ackie - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 12 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Famurewa, Jimi (12 December 2019). "Meet Naomi Ackie: the breakthrough Star Wars newcomer". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hicklin, Aaron (5 December 2019). "'Star Wars' actress Naomi Ackie on her meteoric rise to fame". New York Post. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Stars of Tomorrow 2017: Naomi Ackie (actor)". Screen. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  6. ^ Jones, Ellen (26 April 2017). "Actor Naomi Ackie: "I love London's creative vibe"". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Naomi Ackie Wins British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer | Roman Candle Productions". romancandleproductions.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  8. ^ Ruby, Jennifer (14 August 2017). "Naomi Ackie admits she tried not to 'freak out' when she auditioned for Idris Elba's directorial debut". Evening Standard. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  9. ^ Brown, Tracy (30 October 2019). "'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker': Meet Naomi Ackie, the new face of a more inclusive galaxy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  10. ^ Liebman, Lisa (15 November 2019). "Naomi Ackie on The End of the F***ing World, Eating Lipstick, and Joining Star Wars". Vulture. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  11. ^ Robey, Tim (13 December 2020). "Small Axe: Education, review: Steve McQueen ends his tremendous anthology by going back to school". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  12. ^ Galuppo, Mia (15 December 2020). "Whitney Houston Biopic Finds Its Star in Naomi Ackie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  13. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (21 December 2022). "'Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody' Review: A Lavish, All-Stops-Out Biopic That Channels Her Glory and Gets Her Story Right". Variety. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  14. ^ Rooney, David (21 December 2022). "'Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody' Review: Naomi Ackie Shines in Kasi Lemmons' Lovingly Made Biopic". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  15. ^ Jackson, Angelique (25 June 2021). "Zoë Kravitz's 'Pussy Island' Movie Lands at MGM, Naomi Ackie to Star". Variety. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  16. ^ Kroll, Justin (20 May 2022). "Naomi Ackie, Toni Collette And Mark Ruffalo Join Robert Pattinson In Bong Joon Ho's Next Film At Warner Bros". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Naomi_Ackie&oldid=1222565796"