In her speech at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards, Viola Davis said women of color performed just as well in front of the camera, but they didn't get the opportunity they deserved. Even so, there are still some African-American actresses who are leading the way and making waves in Hollywood.
1; Charlize Theron Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron (born 7 August 1975 in Benonny, South Africa) is a South African actress and United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, South Africa's first Academy Award winner. In 2003, she won the 76th Academy Awards for Best Actress, as well as the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Berlin Film Festival and other awards.
Some of her notable films include:
• Mad Max: The Road of Rage
• Snow White and Huntsman
• Atomic blonde
• Monsters
• Dark place
2;Benu Mabhena
Benu Mabhena was born in London, England. But her ancestry is in Zimbabwe, where her parents and most of her siblings were born. She and her family settled in Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe at different times.
Benu Mabhena settled in San Francisco when she was a teenager.
From a very young age, Mahbhena fell in love with the performing arts. After college, she chose to live in Southern California to pursue her acting dreams, taking on a role in Blood Diamonds (2006). She also starred in "Nightcrawler" and "Princess".
3; Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Nyong'o
The 35-year-old Oscar winner is currently one of the most popular actresses in the industry. Lupita Nyongo was born in Mexico to Kenyan parents and has dual citizenship.
You've seen Lupita Nyong'o in more than one movie because of her role:
• 12 years slave
• Black Panther
• Star Wars: Episodes 7 and 8
• Jungle Book
• Non-stop
The film she rose to fame with was "12 Years of Slavery," and she played Patsey, who became the first Kenyan and Mexican to win the award. Since then, she has continued to appear in films such as Marvel Black Panther, Jungle Book and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The actress has won 36 times with 56 nominations.
4; Melanie Thandiwe "Thandie" Newton Dandy Newton
Melanie Thandiwe Dandy Newton, OBE (Melanie Thandiwe "Thandie" Newton, born November 6, 1972) is a British actress. She has appeared in a number of blockbuster British and American films, including "When Happiness Knocks", "Courtship Marathon", "Mission Impossible 2", "Crash" and George W. Bush's biography "It's Not Simple".
Newton has starred in many Hollywood blockbusters and has become one of the biggest female stars of our time. Thandie Newton made his debut in the film Flirting in 1991. 3 years later, she continued to appear in the film Interview with the Vampire.
Received a Black Reel Award in "The Rronicd of Riddick" and was nominated for a Black Film Outstanding Performance in "Crash" with outstanding performances in plays such as "Crash".
5; Michelle Van Der Water Michel van der Water
The actress was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Shortly after her birth, the family moved to Australia, settling in a small town an hour's drive from Sydney. Michelle attended high school in Inabura, Sutherland Shire, after which she graduated from the University of Wollongong. She holds a Bachelor of Creative Arts in Graphic Design and New Media.
During her career, Michelle Van Der Water appeared in many films, including:
• Teeth and blood
• Minotaur
• We are love
• Crosshairs
Wait a minute.
Before acting, she was a model and took acting classes at the same time. After a period of acting lessons, she realized that her love of acting was much stronger.
She has starred in several films, one of the main roles being Queen Raphaelra in the film "Minotaur" starring alongside Tony Todd and Tom Hardy. Other performances have also appeared in works such as "Melrose Square," the "Castle" series, and an update to the NCIS: Los Angeles series.
6; Megalyn Echikunwoke Meglin Achikunwalk
Echikunwoke was born in Spokane, Washington, to an Igbo Nigerian father and an English, Irish and German mother. After her father's death, her mother raised her with her three brothers.
The actress was discovered early on and began performing at the age of fourteen. While playing plays at summer art camps, she discovered her talent for the performing arts. You might know her from the "4400" TV series, in which she played the role of adult Isabelle Tyler.
Megalyn Echikunwoke TV shows also include:
• House of Lies
•24
• Troubled teenage girls
•Vixen
She also played a recurring role in the "Raising The Bar" series broadcast by TNT. She has also had roles in CBS's Made in Jersey, 90210, '70s Shows, and many others.
7; Azie Tesfai Yazi Tesfan
The Los Angeles native is the daughter of Eritrean immigrants and an only child. The actress received acceptance letters from multiple Ivy League universities, such as Yale, Columbia and Brown, and she earned a degree in business administration from the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, the actress began taking acting classes.
Azie Tesfai has played supporting roles in many TV shows, including:
•Ghosted
•The Real O'Neals •
Superstore
•Rosewood
•Powers
Tesfa also did some humanitarian work. Tesfai opened its own organization called Fortune Culture. Nonprofit organizations sell jewelry and donate proceeds to children in developing countries.
8; Chipo Chung Campbell Zhang
Chipo Chung was born in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in 1977, but is actually half Zimbabwean and half Chinese ancestry. Because of instability in Zimbabwe, they live in a refugee camp in Mozambique. When she was 18, she traveled to the United States.
Chipo Chung appears in the following movies:
• Sunlight
• Proof
• In a loop
To hone her talent for original acting, she attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London and played supporting roles in productions such as Doctor Who, Sunshine, Loop, Proof, The Last Enemy, Sherlock and Camelot.
In addition to being an actress, she is also a well-known activist.
9; Gugu Mbatha-Raw Gugu Mabata-Lao
Mabata-Law was born in 1983 in Oxford, England. Her last name has her parents' name, "Gugulethu" is an abbreviation for igugu lethu, which means "our pride" in Zulu. The mother, Anne Law, was a British nurse, the father, Patrick Mabata, was a doctor in South Africa, the father was black, and the mother was white. Mabata-Law grew up in the small town of Witney, Oxfordshire, attending the Henry Persian School before moving to London in 2001 to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.
British stage film actress. Dedicated to British television and stage productions, his first notable performance was in the fixed role of Martha Jones' sister in Doctor Who. Her American productions have also gained attention, having starred in tom Hanks' comedy Larry Crowe and the TV miniseries Touching the Future and The Secret Couple. Gugu's performances in the period drama "Belle" and the romantic comedy "Beyond the Lights" have won unanimous praise and have been praised by many critics around the world.
Some of her other films include:
• Beyond the lights
• Jupiter ascending
• Shock
• Full truth
• Free Bun Jones
She also played a role in the film Beauty and the Beast.
10; Rechelmwanza Rachelmwanza
Rachelmwanza is an actress from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Born in Mbuyi Mayi, Kasai Oriental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the actress endured a difficult childhood. In 2005, when Mwanza was only 8 years old, the family lived in Kinshasa.
Rachel Mwanza is primarily known for her roles in the Belgian film Kinshasa Kids in 2012 and the Troisième farce in 2018
The coming years have been tough for the family, with Mwanza and her siblings having to drop out of school to fend for themselves.
When film director Kim Ngunyen invited her to star in a documentary about surviving the streets of Kinshasa. She subsequently starred in the film The Witch in 2012. Her performances have won numerous awards at the Berlin Film Festival, Vancouver Film Critics and the Tribeca Film Festival.
Elize du Toit Elize du Toit
Du Toit was born in Grahamstown, South Africa. She spent much of her childhood there but was educated abroad. She became a student at Wellington College in 1994 and quickly became an outstanding language and arts learner. She also studied history at the University of Edinburgh, where she was active in theatre performances.
Elize du Toit has played support and protagonist roles in the following films:
•Skyfall
• The Devil's Chairman
• In your dreams
• Flirt with Flamenco
Du Toit's career has lasted nearly two decades, and she is best known for playing Izzy Davies in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks.
After the performance, she went on to perform many works, and although she did not win any major awards, Elize du Toit continued to take on the role of promoting social dialogue. She currently lives in London with her husband and children.
12; Liya Kebede Leia Kibid
Liya Kebede (born January 3, 1978), Born and Raised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Supermodel. She is currently ranked thirteenth in the top icons of the Models.com. Her stunning beauty made her the first black African supermodel to board vogue.
In 2004, she officially took over as Galulina Kukova, becoming the first of the models after Models.com.
Liya Kebede has done everything in the entertainment space. The actress started out as a model and developed into an advocate for costume designers and maternal health advocates. In 2007, she became the 11th highest-paid model according to the Forbes list.
Liya Kebede's cinematography includes some very popular films, such as:
• King of War
Good shepherd
Best quotes
• Desert flowers
Actresses and models have also given a lot of kindness and have even been appointed as goodwill ambassadors for motherhood, newborn and child health.
She then took another step forward by forming her own charitable foundation, the Liya Kebede Foundation, which aims to help reduce maternal and newborn mortality in Ethiopia. In 2013, Kebede received the Glamour Woman of the Year Award for her philanthropy.
Kandyse McClure Candes McClure
Kandyse McClure (born 22 March 1980) was born in Candice McClure, Durban, South Africa. is a South African-Canadian actress. She has played Anastasia Dualla on the Sci-Fi Channel's TV show Battlestar Galactica and played Dr. Clementine Chasseur in the Netflix original series Hemlock Grove.
McClure graduated from West Vancouver Secondary School in 1998.
The South African-born star had aspirations to pursue a career in medicine when she was younger.
While Kandyse McClure is best known for her TV shows, she also has a lot of movies:
• Romeo must die
• Carrie
• Seventh son
• Mother's Day
After auditioning for a friend's game in Canada, she received an audition call for a larger role and has dedicated her life to the profession ever since. McClure has since appeared in a number of high-profile films, including The Death of Romeo, the Battleship Cala di Cala di Cala, and the investigation of Leonardo da Vinci
Ella Thomas Ella Thomas
Ella was born in Asmara, Eritrea, to an Eritrean mother and to the son of a U.S. Air Force officer stationed in Eritrea.
She spent most of her early years in Germany, where she developed a keen interest in the arts, especially the performing arts. After completing her studies, the actress began acting and managed to create a place for herself. One of her most famous roles was in the hit TV series "Star Buddy" as Viveca.
Ella Thomas has appeared on many popular TV shows:
•Ballers
• Ten days in the valley
• Hostess
• All children
In addition to acting, the actress has appeared on the covers of a number of magazines, including ELLE, American Vogue and Glamour, who has her own spreads. She also works for Tiffany & Co. Major brands such as Gap and Levis, as well as car ads, have done print advertising.