Personal details
Born:
- Birthday: 1991-01-01
- Born Place: Uganda
Sheila Atim
Sheila Atim is a Ugandan-British actress, singer, composer, and playwright, born in Uganda in January 1991. She moved to East London at a young age and later graduated with a degree in biomedical science from King's College London. Atim trained as an actress at the Weekend Arts Centre in Belsize Park, London. She made her professional debut in 2013 in the musical The Lightning Child at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, written by her acting teacher Ché Walker. Atim gained significant recognition for her role as Marianne Laine in the original West End production of Girl from the North Country, earning the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Musical in 2018. She later won her second Olivier Award for Best Actress for her performance in Constellations. In addition to her stage work, Atim has appeared in various television and film projects. She starred as Amenza in the 2022 film The Woman King, portraying a member of the all-female warrior unit of the West African kingdom of Dahomey. She also appeared in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as Sara Wolfe and in The Underground Railroad, directed by Barry Jenkins.. Beyond acting, Atim is an accomplished singer and composer. She has composed songs for several productions and premiered her play Anguis at the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Her musical talents were showcased in her performances in Girl from the North Country, where she delivered a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Tight Connection to My Heart". Atim's contributions to drama were recognized in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours List, where she was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to drama.
