Nathalie Emmanuel

 Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel(born 2 March 1989) is an English actress. Emmanuel began her acting career in the theatre in the latter part of the 90s. She was featured in parts in West End musicals like The Lion King. She began her acting career in 2006 , playing Sasha Valentine, a soap opera. After that she was cast in several British TV shows which included the sequel Maze Runner. Her mother is Dominican. Her dad is half-Saint Lucian, half English. She has a younger sister. Emmanuel remembered her mother's first note of her love for acting and desire to become an actress while she was in school at St Hilda's School. This school closed in 2014 , and it was renamed the Westcliff High School. She explained that she first noticed her passion for acting at the age of three years old. Her mother then encouraged her to take dancing, singing as well as acting classes. In the West End production of The Lion King Young Nala played the role of Young Nala. The following year she was chosen to play Game of Thrones as Missandei Daenerys Targaryen's interpreter. She admitted to Jimmy Kimmel that she heard about her being chosen for the role while she was working as a shop attendant at a clothes shop. Emmanuel was elevated to a regular actor on the show in the year 2015. Missandei, the only notable female character on the show, was a woman of color. The scene in which she was chained to death was disregarded by the fans. The scene was also considered an example of evasion and invoked images of slavery. Emmanuel later stated to The Guardian: The response to the passing of Missandei was massive because she was the only one. I'm sure a lot of those who felt excluded or marginalized had connected with her, or felt they were represented by her especially women of color. The people were devastated when she passed away and died so tragically. They're pursuing the sole woman of color.