Thandie Newton was born on November 6, 1972. Thandie was born to Nyasha, a nurse and a Zimbabwean princess of the Shona Tribe, and Nick Newton, a British lab technician turned artist. She lived in Zambia until the age of four, when political unrest in Zambia forced her family to move to England. She lived in Cornwall, on Britain's southern coast, until age 11, when she enrolled in London's Art Educational School. There, Thandie studied modern dance and aspired to become a professinal dancer until a back injury ruined her chances achieving her goal.

In a capricious moment, Thandie decided to audition for a part in John Duigan's film,"Flirting."The success of the film convinced Thandie to pursue an acting career. She moved to L. A. with her her then boyfriend where they both auditioned for various roles. Thandie received almost no parts because of her British accent and decided to return to England to complete her education. She enrolled and eventually graduated from Cambridge University with a degree in anthropology.In between semesters, however, she continued to audition for roles and slowly built up her acting career.

Since her debut in "Flirting," Thandie has appeared in many movies: "The Young Americans" and the television movie "Pirate Prince" in 1993, "Loaded," and "Interview with the Vampire" in 1994 (her first movie with Tom Cruise), "Jefferson in Paris" and "The Journey of August King" in 1995, "Leading Man" and the television movie "In Your Dreams" in 1996 (where she met her current husband, sceenwriter/director, Oliver Parker), "Gridlock'd" in 1997 (with the late Tupac Shakur), "Beloved" and "Besieged" in 1998 (which really got her noticed in the Hollywood community as a very talented actress), and Mission: Impossible 2 in 2000 (which has greatly propelled her career and popularity).

Her last movies include The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) starred alongside Vin Diesel, Crash (2004), The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) starred with Will Smith and comedy Norbit (2007) with Eddie Murphy.

Filmography

• Run, Fat Boy, Run (2007)
• Norbit (2007)
• The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
• "American Dad!" (1 episode, 2006)
• 2006 BET Awards Nominations Live (2006)
• "ER" (11 episodes, 2003-2005)
• Crash (2004)
• The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
• Shade (2003)
• The Truth About Charlie (2002)
• It Was an Accident (2000)
• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Beloved (1998)
• Besieged (1998)
• In Your Dreams (1997)
• Gridlock'd (1997)
• The Leading Man (1996)
• The Journey of August King (1995)
• Jefferson in Paris (1995)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
• Loaded (1994)
• The Young Americans (1993)
• Pirate Prince (1991)
• Flirting (1991)

Awards

• BAFTA Best Supporting Actress "Crash" 2006
• Broadcast Film Critics' Choice Best Acting Ensemble "Crash" 2006
• Screen Actors Guild Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture "Crash" 2006