For almost thirty years, film credits spelt her name “Thandie”. In 2021, she told the world it had always been Thandiwe.
Thandiwe Newton, the British actress, said the “w” had been left out of her name in her first film credit, and she had never corrected it. Reclaiming the full spelling of her Zulu name, which means “beloved”, was a statement about identity after decades in Hollywood.
Zambia, Zimbabwe and Cornwall
Newton was born in 1972 in London to a Zimbabwean mother of Shona heritage and an English father. She spent her early childhood in Zambia before her family moved to Britain, settling in Cornwall. She trained in dance and studied social anthropology at the University of Cambridge.
A long career
Her first film role came as a teenager in Flirting (1991), an Australian film. She went on to star in Beloved (1998), opposite Oprah Winfrey, Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) with Tom Cruise, and Crash (2004), which won the Oscar for Best Picture and earned Newton a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress.
She has also appeared in The Pursuit of Happyness, 2012, Solo: A Star Wars Story and the British police drama Line of Duty.
Westworld
Her biggest television role came as Maeve Millay in HBO’s Westworld, a host in a futuristic theme park who becomes aware of her own existence and fights for freedom. The role won her the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2018, making her one of the few Black British actresses to win an Emmy.
Speaking out
Newton has spoken openly about racism and colourism in the film industry, about the sexual abuse she said she experienced from a director as a teenager, and about being treated as the “only” Black woman on many sets. She has been involved in campaigns for women’s rights and against violence towards women, including the One Billion Rising movement.
African roots
Newton often speaks about her Zimbabwean heritage and her mother’s influence. Reclaiming her name was part of that, and her statement encouraged other people of African heritage to insist that their names be spelt and pronounced correctly.
Why the name matters
For many Africans in the diaspora, names are shortened or anglicised at school or work to make them easier for others. Newton’s decision to restore her name after decades of fame showed that it is never too late.
Her name means “beloved”. For most of her career, it was printed without one of its letters. She now makes sure every poster carries all of them.
