Portal:African cinema/Selected biography/9

Thuso Mbedu (b. 8 July, 1991) is a South African actress. She starred in the big screen hit The Woman King, a historical epic film inspired by true events that took palace in the Kingdom of Dahomey. Her breakout role was in the 2016 South African teen drama series Is’Thunzi for which she won the 2018 South African Film and Television Award (SAFTA) for Best Actress in a Television Drama as well as consecutive nominations in 2017 and 2018 for an International Emmy.

In 2021, Mbedu made her international debut in the Amazon Video limited series The Underground Railroad making her the first South African actress to lead an American television series. The series, based on the novel of the same name by Colson Whitehead and directed by Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins, earned her a Hollywood Critics Association Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a Gotham Award and her second SAFTA nomination. Mbedu is set to feature in the upcoming musical drama film, Mufasa: The Lion King.