Naomie Harris

Early life

Harris was born on 6 September 1976 in Islington, London, where she was raised. Harris' mother, Lisselle Kayla, came to London as a child with her parents from Jamaica, and her father, a fashion designer, came there from Trinidad. They separated before she was born, and Harris was raised by her mother and has no relationship with her father. Her mother later remarried and Harris has two younger half-siblings. Her mother worked as a screenwriter on EastEnders and is now a healer. Harris attended London's St Marylebone School, before attending Woodhouse College as a 6th form student. She graduated from Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1998 with a degree in Social and Political Sciences. Harris gained her training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

Career

Harris has appeared in television and film since she was nine, including a starring role on the remake of the science fiction series The Tomorrow People. In 2000, she played Susan in The Witch of Edmonton at the Southwark Playhouse. In November 2002, she starred in Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later. In the same year, she starred in the television adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth. Since then, Harris has appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and Michael Mann's Miami Vice. She also did a comic turn in Michael Winterbottom's indie ensemble piece, A Cock and Bull Story. She starred in Channel 4's adaptation of the novel Poppy Shakespeare, which was first shown on 31 March 2008. She also appeared in BBC's historical drama Small Island in December 2009.

She played Elizabeth Lavenza in Danny Boyle's stage production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for the National Theatre from 22 February to 2 May 2011. She played the lead role in The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, which premiered on 18 May 2011 in the Seattle International Film Festival.

Harris co-starred in the 23rd James Bond film, Skyfall, playing Eve Moneypenny. She is the first black actress to play Moneypenny, and is the first Moneypenny to be given a first name. In 2012, Harris was the voice-over for the Boss Nuit Pour Femme commercial starring actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Harris portrayed Winnie Mandela in the biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, based on the book of the same name, opposite actor Idris Elba. The film was released on 29 November 2013. Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on viewing the film told Harris that it seemed like she wasn't acting, but channeling her and that it was "the first time she felt truly captured on film". Harris reprised her role as Eve Moneypenny in the 24th Bond film, Spectre, which was released on 26 October 2015.

In 2016, Harris starred as Paula in the critically acclaimed film Moonlight. She played the abusive, drug-addicted mother of the film's main character, Chiron. The film follows her and her son through a 20-year period. Moonlight ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Harris was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, among other awards.

Harris was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to drama.