Mimi Ndiweni

Mimi Ndiweni (born 31 August 1991) is a British actress, best known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's The Witcher,[1] Tilly Brockless in the television series Mr Selfridge,[2] and Ester/Jekasai in the stage production of The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London.[3] She has also appeared on film in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Cinderella and The Legend of Tarzan.[4]

Mimi Ndiweni
Born (1991-08-31) 31 August 1991
Alma materRoyal Welsh College of Music and Drama
OccupationActress
Years active2013–present

She won the Spotlight Prize in 2013 and went on to work for the Royal Shakespeare Company after graduating from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Mimi was also featured as One to Watch by the Independent in 2013,[5] and was on the Evening Standard's Stars of 2015 list[6] after performing in the RSC's Midsummer Mischief Festival.[7]

Early life

Ndiweni grew up in Guildford, Surrey and started acting as a teenager, joining the Yvonne Arnaud Mill Street Studios while she was in secondary school.[8] From there she went on to complete a degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff.[9] Mimi was born in England and although she has spoken about her father being Zimbabwean, she has not spoken about where her mother is from.[10]

Spotlight Prize

At age 21, Mimi Ndiweni won the Spotlight Prize – beating out competition from students from 20 top UK drama schools in front of industry experts - with her performance of Jenna Marbles’ How to Get Guys to Leave You Alone. The Spotlight Prize has previously been won by the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Zoe Wanamaker, and Robert Lindsay.[5]

Career

Theatre

Mimi has previously stated that theatre is her first love, and was taken on by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2013 after graduating from Royal Welsh. While in the RSC her most notable roles were in Wendy & Peter Pan as Tiger Lily,[11][12] King Lear where she played Cordelia,[13] and Hamlet where she played Ophelia.[14]

She left the RSC in 2015 to take on a regular appearance in the television show Mr Selfridge,[15] but has returned to the RSC on a number occasions as a guest. Mimi also toured North America with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018, playing the part of Cordelia in King Lear in New York,[16] and Ophelia in Hamlet in Washington DC.[17]

In 2017 she had her first leading role, playing Jekesai/Ester in Danai Gurira's The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London. The play itself and her part in it received critical acclaim, with four and five star reviews from some of the most respected critics in London, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Timeout, The Times, and What’s On Stage.[18][19][3][20][21]

Film and television

Ndiweni's first appearance in a major film was as the Slipper Lady in Disney’s Cinderella in 2015. She then played Eshe in The Legend of Tarzan in 2016, starring alongside Margot Robbie.[4] In 2016 Mimi played Tilly Brockless in Mr Selfridge for eight episodes of the last season, and in May 2017 played the part of Abby in the Doctor Who episode "Oxygen" during its tenth series.[22][23][24]

In October 2018 Netflix announced that Mimi Ndiweni would be playing the part of Fringilla Vigo in The Witcher.[25]

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role
2015 Cinderella Slipper Lady
2016 The Legend of Tarzan Eshe
2016 The Last Dragonslayer TV News Anchor
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Resistance Officer

Television
Year Title Role Notes
2016 Mr Selfridge Tilly Brockless 8 Episodes, Series 4
2016 Yonderland Kelly
2017 Doctor Who Abby Series 10, Episode 5: "Oxygen"
2017 Rellik DC Andrea Reed 3 Episodes, Series 1
2018 Black Earth Rising Mary Mundanzi 2 Episodes, Series 1
2019-present The Witcher Fringilla 7 Episodes
2019 In the Long Run Beatrice Christmas Special

Theatre
Title Role
The Ant and the Cicada Laskarina Bouboulina
Revolt. She said. Revolt again. Ensemble Show
Hamlet Ophelia
Taming of the Shrew Lucentio
Wendy and Peter Pan Tiger Lily
Soul Tammy Gaye
The Convert Jekesai/Ester
King Lear Cordelia

References
  1. "Netflix's The Witcher cast: Henry Cavill stars as Geralt of Rivia". The Mirror. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 30 December 2019 – via The Mirror.
  2. "Mr Selfridge". 31 March 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2017 – via IMDb.
  3. Clapp, Susannah (29 January 2017). "The Convert review – full-blooded, with a dash of melodrama". Retrieved 15 May 2017 – via The Guardian.
  4. "Mimi Ndiweni". IMDb. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  5. "One to watch: Mimi Ndiweni, actress, 21". 9 August 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  6. "Stars of 2015: the hottest actors, singers, artists and performers to". 9 January 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  7. "RSC Midsummer Mischief Festival: The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon". 23 June 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 3 October 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. https://www.thestage.co.uk/advice/scholarships/2013/you-dont-need-london-to-achieve-success-on-stage/
  10. https://glamourfame.com/fringilla-actress-mimi-ndiweni-quick-facts-you-need-to-know
  11. "Latest Press Releases - Royal Shakespeare Company". www.rsc.org.uk. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  12. Edmonds, Richard (2 December 2015). "Wendy and Peter Pan at Royal Shakespeare Theatre - don't expect a nursery book version". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  13. "Theater Review: Anthony Sher as a Slow-Burning, Intense King Lear". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  14. "After 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear,' Where Else Can Paapa Essiedu Go?". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  15. "Mr. Selfridge: Fourth and Final Series Premieres on ITV and PBS in 2016 – The British TV Place". thebritishtvplace.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  16. "Theater Review: Anthony Sher as a Slow-Burning, Intense King Lear". www.vulture.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  17. "After 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear,' Where Else Can Paapa Essiedu Go?". www.nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 September 2019.
  18. "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Retrieved 15 May 2017. Cite uses generic title (help)
  19. Maxwell, Dominic. "Theatre: The Convert at Gate, W11". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  20. "The Convert". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  21. "Review: The Convert (Gate Theatre)". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  22. Metro.co.uk, James Baldock for (9 May 2017). "Doctor Who series 10 episode 5: When is it on and what happens?". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  23. "Oxygen, Series 10, Doctor Who - BBC One". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  24. "Everything you need to know about Doctor Who series 10 episode 5". Retrieved 15 May 2017.
  25. "Netflix's 'The Witcher' Finds Its Female Leads". Retrieved 9 September 2019.
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