Gugu Mbatha-Raw is a British stage, movie and TV actress best known for her roles in TV shows like Doctor Who (2007), and Undercovers (2010-2012), and movies like Belle (2013), Beyond the Lights (2014), and Black Mirror (2016).
For her promising role in the movie, Belle, she won the 'British Independent Film Award' for 'Best Actress' and a nomination as 'Most Promising Newcomer.' She was also nominated for the 'Gotham Award' for 'Best Actress' for her performance in the movie, Beyond the Lights. Not just that, Gugu was even appointed as the 'Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)' by Queen Elizabeth II in the 2017 Birthday Honours for her services and contribution to drama.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Bio: Age & Parents
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born as Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha on 21st April 1983 in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.
Her mother, Anne Raw, is a Caucasian English nurse, and her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a Black South African doctor.
Her father was a student activist in South Africa, campaigning against apartheid. Later, he became involved in the 'African National Congress (ANC),' but he left his home country due to the risk of being sent to Robben Island, where Nelson Mandel was imprisoned for almost two decades. After that, he was helped to resettle in England by the UN’s Refugee Agency UNHCR.
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When Gugu Mbatha-Raw was just one year old, her parents got divorced. As a result of that, she was raised by her mother in the town of Witney, Oxfordshire. There, she attended the Henry Box School and also joined the local acting group, Dramascope. Also, she learned dancing at the Judy Tompsett School of Dance.
During her teens, she joined the Oxford Youth Music Theatre. Later, in 2001, she won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London, England; she graduated with a BA in Acting in 2004 from there.
Dating A Boyfriend?
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was once in a relationship with actor Harry Lloyd. She dated him until 2012.
Her ex-boyfriend, Harry Lloyd, is a renowned actor known for TV shows like Vital Signs (2006) as Jason Bradley, Robin Hood (2006-2007) as Will Scarlett, Game of Thrones (2011) as Viserys Targaryen and the movie The Iron Lady (2011) as Young Denis Thatcher. He was born on 17th November 1983 in London, England, to Marion Dickens and Jonathan Lloyd.
Social Work
Apart from her acting career, Gugu Mbatha-Raw is actively involved in social works.
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In August 2018, she traveled to Rwanda, where she visited Gihembe, a Congolese refugee camp, and Mahama camp, which hosts over 57,000 Burundian refugees. There, she met women’s livelihood projects and urban refugees in Kigali.
Her visit helped to highlight two of the least funded refugee crises in the world; one in Burundi and the other in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She also gave spotlight on the innovative work of MADE51, a program empowering artisans by helping them to sell their products globally.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in Mahama camp, Rwanda in collaboration with UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR to help victims of the Burundian refugee crisis on 21st January 2019 (Source: Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Instagram)
Moreover, She has been part of both the British and the American gestation of the movement. Adding to that, she also speaks strongly about global social issues like sexual harassment through her Twitter and Instagram accounts, rather than promo-centric posts.
Interesting Facts
Gugu Mbatha-Raw stands at a height of 6 feet (1.83 meters).
Her ex-boyfriend, Harry Lloyd, is a great-great-great-grandson of the great author, Charles Dickens.
Though her mother is divorced from her father, she is still close to her father.
Her first name means ‘Our Pride’ in the Zulu language of South Africa.
She went to South Africa in December 2013 for the first time to meet her family members. There her family members jokingly called her ‘The Unifier’— the same thing that they called Nelson Mandela at one point.
