Naomi Ackie
British actress (born 1991)
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Naomi Sarah Ackie (born 22 August 1991) is a British actress. She is known for her television roles in The End of the F***ing World (2019), for which she won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Master of None (2021) and her film roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022), Blink Twice (2024), Sorry, Baby (2025), and Mickey 17 (2025).
Naomi Ackie | |
|---|---|
Ackie at South by Southwest in 2026 | |
| Born | 22 August 1991 Walthamstow, London, England |
| Education | Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (BA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2009–present |
Early life and education
Naomi Sarah Ackie[1] was born on 22 August 1991[2][3] in Walthamstow, London,[4] the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Grenada.[5] Her father was a Transport for London employee and her mother worked for the National Health Service.[4] She has an older brother and sister.[4]
She went to Walthamstow School for Girls.[6] Her first role was at the age of 11, playing the angel Gabriel in a school nativity play.[5]
She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2012 from the Acting (Collaborative Devised Theatre) course.[4][7]
Career
Ackie's breakthrough film role was in Lady Macbeth (2016),[8] for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2017.[9][10]
She subsequently appeared in Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019).[11][12] She also portrayed Bonnie in the second season of Netflix's black comedy series The End of the F***ing World,[13] and a school inspector in Education, an hour-long drama part of Steve McQueen's anthology film series Small Axe.[14]
Ackie portrayed American singer Whitney Houston in the biographical film I Wanna Dance with Somebody.[15] The film opened to mixed reviews but widespread praise for Ackie's performance, with Variety calling her "a veritable artist of lip-syncing."[16] The Hollywood Reporter noted that Ackie herself is "a capable singer" and can be heard briefly in a few early scenes.[17]
Ackie starred in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut Blink Twice in 2024,[18] and a year later starred opposite Robert Pattinson in Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17, an adaptation of the science-fiction novel.[19] In the same year, Ackie starred in Eva Victor's directorial debut, Sorry Baby, alongside Victor and Lucas Hedges.[20][21]
Filmography
Film
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| 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 | I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Whitney Houston | Also executive producer |
| 2024 | Blink Twice | Frida | |
| 2073 | Professor | ||
| 2025 | Sorry, Baby | Lydie | |
| Mickey 17 | Nasha Adjaya | ||
| The Thursday Murder Club | Donna De Freitas | ||
| 2026 | Shelter | Chief Roberta Frost | |
| I Love Boosters | Sade | ||
| Clayface † | Dr. Caitlin Bates | Post-production[22] | |
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 | Recurring role | |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Beth | 2 episodes |
| The End of the F***ing World | Bonnie | Main cast (season 2) | |
| 2020 | Small Axe | Hazel | Episode: "Education" |
| 2021 | Master of None | Alicia | Main cast (season 3) |
| 2024 | Lego Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy | Jedi Jannah (voice) | Miniseries, 1 episode |
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 | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | N/a | 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 | N/a | Nominated | |
| Trophée Chopard | Female Revelation of the Year | N/a | Won | ||
| 2026 | Film Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Performance | Sorry, Baby | Won | [23] |
| London Film Critics Circle Awards | British/Irish Performer of the Year | Sorry, Baby, Mickey 17, and The Thursday Murder Club | Nominated | [24] |
