Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1983-04-21
- Born Place: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England UK
Height:
5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Gugulethu "Gugu" Mbatha-Raw, MBE, is an English actress known for her versatility across film, television, and stage. Born in Oxford in 1983 to a South African doctor and an English nurse, her first name is a contraction of the isiZulu phrase "igugu lethu," meaning "our treasure." She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and quickly gained acclaim in theatre, starring as Juliet opposite Andrew Garfield's Romeo at the Royal Exchange Theatre in 2005 and making her West End and Broadway debut as Ophelia in Hamlet in 2009.Mbatha-Raw gained wider recognition through television roles, including Tish Jones in Doctor Who (2007) and the lead in J.J. Abrams' spy series Undercovers (2010). Her cinematic breakthrough came with the title role in the historical drama Belle (2013), which earned her a British Independent Film Award for Best Actress. She further cemented her career with the romantic drama Beyond the Lights (2014) and gained additional popularity for her critically acclaimed role as Kelly in the "San Junipero" episode of Black Mirror (2016).Her extensive filmography also includes roles such as Plumette in the live-action Beauty and the Beast (2017), Prema Mutiso in Concussion (2015), and Esme Manucharian in Miss Sloane (2016). In recent years, she has been prominent in major streaming and prestige TV, starring as Hannah Shoenfeld in The Morning Show (2019), Judge Ravonna Renslayer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series Loki (2021–2023), and the lead role of Sophie Ellis in the Apple TV+ psychological thriller Surface (2022–present), on which she also serves as an executive producer. For her services to drama, Mbatha-Raw was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2017. She also serves as a global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
