You’re watching your favorite tele program in England and you see your favorite British actress – she’s been in award-winning movies, Netflix shows, and popular TV shows.

Unfortunately, you forget her name. Uh-oh. You don’t have the best memory when it comes to the entertainment industry. That’s okay – we have created a list of the top 5 Black British actresses that you have most certainly seen in numerous places on the internet, on your television set, and on the big screen.

Let’s go over the top 5 Black British actresses that are HOT right now…

1. Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell – By The original uploader was Jgro888 at English Wikipedia. / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)

Naomi is an English model, actress, and businesswoman – a jack of all trades. First discovered at the age of 15, she has since established herself as one of the most recognizable models of the late ’80s and ’90s.

She had her first on-screen role in 1991 during the romantic musical comedy film, Cool As Ice. As the years have gone on, she went from playing more obscure roles to being herself – since she was famous enough to have been recognized in the movies.

In television roles, she has played ‘herself’ numerous times – as a guest on talk shows like The Tonight Show, So Graham Norton, The Tyra Banks Show, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.

2. Letitia Wright

Letitia Wright by Gage Skidmore – By Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Letitia Michelle Wright is a Guyanese-English actress who began her professional career in 2011, when she was just 18 years old. She performed in school plays prior to her first role, and credited her desire to be a professional actress to Akeelah and the Bee.

She has played roles in numerous British television series, such as Top Boy, Coming Up, Humans, Doctor Who, Black Mirror, and Chasing Shadows.

For her role in Black Mirror, she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her part in the episode “Black Museum.”

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts named her one of the 2015 group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits for her part in Urban Hymn, a British coming-of-age drama.

3. Freema Agyeman

Freema Agyeman by Gage Skidmore – By Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Freema Agyeman is an English actress who is known for playing Martha Jones, a fictional character who is the companion of the Tenth Doctor in the hit show Doctor Who on BBC. She also plays in the spin-off series Torchwood, Sense8 on Netflix, and New Amsterdam on NBC.

Agyeman began her professional career by having a role in the ITV soap opera Crossroads, accompanied by other small parts in Casualty, Mile High, and The Bill. She auditioned for a part on Doctor Who in 2005, where she captured the role of Adeola.

In 2007, Agyeman was named “Best Newcomer” at the 2007 Glamour Women of the Year Award. That same year she won the 2007 People’s Choice category for “Female TV Star”.

4. Thandie Newton

Thandie Newton – By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Thandie Newton is an English actress who is best known for her starring roles in various films and shows, like the title character in Beloved, Mission: Impossible 2, Crash, The Pursuit of Happyness, 2012, and W.

Thandie was born in Westminster, London, and studied dance at the Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. Between 1992-1995, she attended Downing College in Cambridge, where she studied social anthropology.

After having a role in the film Flirting, she won a part in Interview with the Vampire, a film starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. In the following years, she gained notoriety in terms of roles played and star actors and actresses that she worked with.

One of her most famous roles is for her part in Westworld, where she earned a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, two Critics Choice Awards, a Golden Globe Award, Saturn Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

She later won a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for her BBC drama series Line of Duty, where she portrays DCI Roz Huntley.

5. Sophie Okonedo

Sophie Okonedo – By Greg2600 / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Sophie Okonedo is a British film, theatre, and television actress who began her career in the British coming-of-age drama Young Soul Rebels.

Okonedo was born on August 11, 1968 in London, where she was raised in Chalkhill Estate, part of the Wembley Park District. She trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and has worked in a variety of media, including film, theatre, and audio drama.

In 2004, she played Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress. 2 years later, she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Lead Actress in a Miniseries for her part in Tsunami: The Aftermath.

She played May Boatwright, a woman who struggles to navigate her life while living with depression, in the star-studded movie The Secret Life of Bees in 2008.

In 2014, she appeared on Broadway in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun. She received a Tony Award for her performance, in the category Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play. She continued starring in Broadway, returning for a production of The Crucible.

Okonedo has also been appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2010 Birthday Honours, a set of honors announced to celebrate the Queen’s birthday on June 7. She was further appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2019 New Year Honours.

As you can see, there are numerous Black British actresses who have captivated our hearts and souls in TV programs, on the big screen, and on the stage. These are some household names which you should know, for their daring performances, work outside of acting, and breaking barriers throughout Hollywood.

Next time you are looking through what to watch on a Saturday night, we hope that you will give one of their shows or movies a chance – you will be blown away by their talent, their commitment to the role, and their award-winning performances.

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