Short Biography

Thandiwe Adjewa "Thandie" Newton (born 6 November 1972) is an English actress. She has appeared in a number of successful British and American films, including The Pursuit of Happyness; Run, Fat Boy, Run; Mission: Impossible II; Crash and W. Newton was born in London, England, and is the daughter of Nyasha, a Zimbabwean health-care worker, and Nick Newton, an English laboratory technician and artist. Her birthplace has been incorrectly reported to be Zambia in some biographies, however she has confirmed in interviews that she was born in London, during a two-week trip by her parents. The name "Thandiwe" means "beloved" in Ndebele, Zulu, Xhosa or Swazi and the name "Thandie" is pronounced TAN-dee. According to Newton, her mother is a Zimbabwean Shona Princess. Raised in London and Penzance, Cornwall, she went on to study Archaeology and Anthropology at Downing College, Cambridge, from 1992 to 1995, where she achieved a 2:1. Newton made her film debut in Flirting (1991). She gained international recognition in the Merchant Ivory production of Jefferson in Paris as Sally Hemings, which led to her being cast in Jonathan Demme`s Beloved (1998), in which she played the title character. She played the female lead Nyah Hall in the film Mission: Impossible II. When this film went over schedule, she had to pull out of the film Charlie`s Angels[citation needed], and her character ultimately went to Lucy Liu. Between 2003 and 2005, Newton played Makemba "Kem" Likasu, the love interest, and later wife of Dr. John Carter on the American television series ER. She reprised the role once more for the series finale in 2009. In 2004 also appeared in The Chronicles of Riddick and Crash. In the latter, she played a wealthy black woman who, along with her husband, finds herself the target of a racist policeman (played by Matt Dillon). Newton was honoured with a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actress in 2006. She also played Chris Gardner`s wife, Linda Gardner, in The Pursuit of Happyness.

Newton married English writer/director/producer Ol Parker in 1998. The couple have two daughters: Ripley, born in 2000, and Nico, born in 2004. Her daughters were named after the character Ellen Ripley in the Alien films and the singer Nico. In an interview with The Advocate, Newton revealed she had a lesbian relationship at 16 and was in love with the girl. She discussed her sexual orientation saying "We`re all potentially bisexual; it all depends on your circle, your upbringing and all kinds of things. Or maybe I`m just talking about myself. I could`ve easily fallen in love with a woman over a man." Newton has suffered from bulimia.

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