Noma Dumezweni

Born in Swaziland to South African parents, Dumezweni lived in Botswana, Kenya and Uganda. She arrived in England as a refugee on 17 May 1977 with her sister and mother.[3] She first lived in Felixstowe, Suffolk, where she was educated,[2] before moving to London. She has a daughter, Qeiva, born in 2007.

Dumezweni's work in theatre includes: President of an Empty Room and The Hour We Knew Nothing Of Each Other[4] at the National Theatre, London;[5] Breakfast with Mugabe,[6] Antony and Cleopatra[7] and Much Ado About Nothing[8] for the RSC; A Raisin in the Sun for the Young Vic at the Lyric Hammersmith, London[9] (for which she won her Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role[10]); A Midsummer Night's Dream,[11] The Master and Margarita,[12] Nathan the Wise[13] and The Coffee House at Chichester Festival Theatre, Six Characters in Search of an Author in the Chichester Festival production at the Gielgud Theatre[14][15] and The Bogus Woman[16] at the Traverse and the Bush. In spring of 2009 she appeared in the RSC's The Winter's Tale.[17][18][19] In 2013–2014, she appeared in A Human Being Died That Night at the Fugard Theater in Cape Town, the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, which later transferred to the Hampstead Theatre in London.[20]

She starred in Linda at London's Royal Court Theatre in November 2015, stepping into the role vacated by Kim Cattrall with a few days notice before press night. Awarding the production five stars, the Daily Telegraph's Chief Theatre Critic Dominic Cavendish wrote: "If they can bottle and mass-produce whatever it is that Noma Dumezweni has got then, please, I want to order a life-time’s supply."[21]

In December 2015, it was announced that Dumezweni had been cast as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.[22] On the announcement, theatre critic Kate Maltby described her as "an actress who consistently engages and enthrals."[23] The casting of the black Dumezweni as Hermione sparked fervent discussion, to which J. K. Rowling responded that Hermione's skin was never specified as white.[24][25] Because of her role she was listed as one of BBC's 100 women during 2018.[26] Dumezweni reprised her role on Broadway at the Lyric Theatre in 2018.[27]

• Noma Dumezweni at IMDb