Thandie Newton was born in London. She is the daughter of a Zimbabwean mother, Nyasha, a health-care worker from the Shona tribe, and Nick Newton, a British father who worked as a lab technician. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK. She then lived in Cornwall in the southwest of Britain until the age of 11. At that time she enrolled in London's Art Educational School, where she studied modern dance. However, a back injury forced her to quit dancing. This led to her auditioning for films and receiving her first role in 'John Duigan . She then moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue acting and her then-boyfriend. Her British accent limited the amount of work she was getting, and she returned to Britain, where she went to Cambridge University to study, eventually receiving a degree in anthropology. Between semesters, she continued her acting and became noticed and in-demand for future film roles.
She has a Zimbabwean mother and a British father.
Her name Thandie is a variation of her actual middle name Tandiwe, meaning beloved.
Voted by the readers of Black Men Magazine as one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year."
A delayed shoot for Mission: Impossible II caused Thandie to turn down one of the lead roles in Charlies Angels . Lucy Liu was cast instead.
One of her fondest memories is watching her mother get dressed in her traditional African garb because it taught her black pride.
Raised in Penzance, Cornwall, England.
Ranked #48 in Stuff magazines "102 Sexiest Women in the World"
Graduated with a 2:1 (otherwise known as "an undergraduate degree with 2nd Class Honours, Upper Division")in Anthropology from Cambridge University.
She named her daughter Ripley after the character played by Sigourney Weaver in Alien .
Her younger daughter was named for German-born singer Nico , member of the legendary rock group The Velvet Underground.
Her full first name is pronounced tan-DEE-way.
Delivered both of her daughters naturally via a birthing pool.
In July 2011, in a speech at the TEDGlobal 2011 Conference, Newton disclosed that earlier in her career, she struggled with the eating disorder bulimia.
Daughter of Nick Newton and Nyasha Newton (born Nyasha Jombe) and sister of Jamie Newton.
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 27, a daughter Ripley Parker on 17 September 2000. Childs father is her husband, Ol Parker.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 32, a daughter Nico Parker in mid December 2004. Childs father is her husband, Ol Parker.
Was 2 months pregnant with her daughter Nico when she completed filming Crash .
Returned to work 8 months after giving birth to her daughter Nico to begin filming The Pursuit of Happyness .
Gave birth to her 3rd child at age 41, a son Booker Jombe Parker on March 3, 2014. Childs father is her husband, Ol Parker.
Was 6 months pregnant with her son Booker when she completed filming the 2nd season of "Rogue" .
According to Thandie, her mother is a Princess of the Shona Tribe.
Returned to work 5 months after giving birth to her son Booker to begin filming "Westworld" .
She is a vegan.
David Schwimmer called her "the queen of practical jokes".
