Thuso Mbedu

This September, rising star actress Thuso Mbedu will be seen as the lead of Sony's The Woman King opposite Viola Davis. In the historical epic feature directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, Mbedu plays Nawi, an ambitious recruit who fights within the all-female military unit lead by Nanisca (Davis). The film was shot in Mbedu's home country of South Africa and also stars John Boyega and Lashana Lynch. Mbedu recently won an Independent Spirit Award, Gotham Award, and Hollywood Critics Association Award, and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, for her starring role as "Cora" in Barry Jenkins' The Underground Railroad, making her the first South African leading woman of a US television series. The limited series is based on Colson Whitehead's bestselling Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, which the Oscar winner Jenkins adapted and directed. For her performance, USA Today called Mbedu the "series' stunning standout, imbuing Cora with a deep humanity and empathy in her every scene, even when