Naomi Ackie (born 2 November 1992) is an English actress. She made her television debut as Jen in the Doctor Who episode "Face the Raven" (2015). For her role as Bonnie on the television dark comedy-drama series The End of the F***ing World, she received the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2020. Ackie is well known for her role as Jannah in the film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). In 2021, she had a main role on the third season of Master of None. She will portray American singer Whitney Houston in the biopic I Wanna Dance with Somebody, set to be released in late 2022.
Early life
Naomi Ackie was born and raised in Walthamstow, London, the daughter of second-generation immigrants from Grenada. Her father was a Transport for London employee and her mother worked for the National Health Service. She is one of three children and has an older brother and sister. She went to Walthamstow School for Girls.
Her first role was at the age of 11, playing the angel Gabriel in a school nativity play. She studied at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and graduated in 2014.
Career
Ackie's breakthrough film role was in Lady Macbeth (2016), for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer in 2017. She subsequently appeared in Idris Elba's directorial debut Yardie (2018) and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019). She also portrayed Bonnie in the second season of Netflix's black comedy series The End of the F***ing World, anda school inspector in Education, an hour-long drama part of Steve McQueen's anthology film series Small Axe.
Upcoming projects
Ackie will portray American singer Whitney Houston in the upcoming biographical film I Wanna Dance with Somebody. She is also committed to star in Zoë Kravitz's directorial debut Pussy Island, co-starring Channing Tatum, and in Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17, based on Edward Ashton's science-fiction novel, alongside Robert Pattinson, Toni Collette and Mark Ruffalo.
Filmography
 | Denotes productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2015 | I Used to Be Famous | Amber | Short film |
| 2016 | Lady Macbeth | Anna | |
| 2018 | Yardie | Mona | |
| 2019 | The Corrupted | Grace | |
| Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Jannah | |
| 2021 | The Score | Gloria | |
| 2022 | I Wanna Dance with Somebody | Whitney Houston | Post-production |
| 2024 | Mickey 17 | Nasha | Filming |
| TBA | Pussy Island | Frida | Filming |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|
| 2015 | Doctor Who | Jen | Episode: "Face the Raven" |
| 2016 | The Five | Gemma Morgan | Miniseries (2 episodes) |
| Damilola, Our Loved Boy | Council Worker | Television film |
| 2018 | Vera | Louise Everitt | Episode: "Black Ice" |
| The Bisexual | Ruby | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Cleaning Up | Beth | 2 episodes |
| The End of the F***ing World | Bonnie | Main role (season 2) |
| 2020 | Small Axe | Hazel | Episode: "Education" |
| 2021 | Master of None | Alicia | Main role (season 3) |
Stage
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|
| 2009 | Success | Lucy | National Theatre, London | with Islington Youth Theatre |
| 2012 | The Day the Waters Came | Esther | UK Tour | with Theatre Centre |
| 2013 | The Snow Queen | Gowrie | Greenwich Theatre, London | |
| Life Mould | Rita | Canada Water Library, London | as part of "Write Lines Conference" by Theatre Centre |
| Missing | Kevin Godsen | Engineer Theatre, Edinburgh | as part of Edinburgh Festival Fringe |
| Billy the Girl | Amber | Soho Theatre, London | |
| 2015 | The Nutcracker and the Mouse King | Mama | Unicorn Theatre, London | |
| Walking the Tightrope | Mercedes | Theatre Delicatessen | |
| Solace of the Road | Grace Gibson | Derby Theatre, Derby | |
Video game
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|
| 2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Jannah |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|
| 2017 | British Independent Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Lady Macbeth | Nominated |
| Most Promising Newcomer | Won |
| Evening Standard British Film Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| Screen International Star of Tomorrow | 2017 Actors | — | Won |
| 2020 | British Academy Television Award | Best Supporting Actress | The End of the F***ing World | Won |
| 2021 | Black Reel Award for Television | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | Master of None | Nominated |
Scorpio
