Nathalie Emmanuel

 Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel(born 2 March 1989) is an English actress. Emmanuel started her career in acting appearing in the theatre in the latter part of 1990, acquiring roles in various West End productions such as the musical The Lion King. She started her acting career in 2006 as Sasha Valentine, a soap opera. In the following years she was cast in numerous British television shows which included the sequel Maze Runner. Her mother is Dominican. Her father is half Saint Lucian, half English. She has a younger sister. Emmanuel remembers that her mom first became aware of her interest and determination to be an actress in her time at the independent St Hilda's School, which ended in 2014 and later the Westcliff High School for Girls grammar school. In an interview for The New York Daily News, she revealed, "When my mom was three, she was always causing drama. So she decided maybe I should channel that properly--so I started learning to act, sing, and dancing classes." At the age of 10 she portrayed the role of Young Nala in the West End's version of The Lion King. Then she was cast as Missandei in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones. She explained to Jimmy Kimmel that she learned about the character when she was working as an assistant in a clothing store. Emmanuel was promoted to a regular cast member in 2015 following her win the role. Missandei was the only one of color on the show's cast. Her death scene when she was in chains was not well-liked with viewers. Emmanuel later said to The Guardian that the reaction to her death was powerful because she was the one. Many people felt disenfranchised or who were marginalized felt connected to her, or were perceived by them, specifically women of color. People were so hurt by her death and so tragically. They're going after the one woman of race.