Nathalie Emmanuel

 Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel (born 2 March 1989) is an English actress. Emmanuel started her acting career in the theatre in the late 1990s. In the following years, she was invited to appear in various West End productions including The Lion King. She was born in Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England, on March 2nd, 1989. Her mother is Dominican, as is her father, who is half-Saint Lucian and half English descent. She has an older sister. Emmanuel remembers that her mother was the first to discover her interest in acting when she was a student at St Hilda's School. It shut down in the year 2014. The Westcliff High School For Girls Grammar school followed. In an interview for The New York Daily News, she revealed, "When my mom was three, always cause drama--so she decided that maybe I could channel it properly, so I began taking acting, singing, and dancing classes." At 10 years old she was cast as Young Nala, the West End's production of The Lion King. Then, she was cast as Missandei in HBO's fantasy-based drama series Game of Thrones. She revealed to Jimmy Kimmel that she heard about her being chosen for the role while working as a shop assistant in a clothes shop. Emmanuel was promoted to an official cast member on the show in the year 2015. Missandei was the only one from a different race in the cast. Her death scene when she was in chains wasn't popular for viewers. Emmanuel later said to The Guardian that the reaction to Missandei’s death was so strong because she was the one. Many felt unwelcome or marginalized, had felt a connection to her or felt represented by them, specifically women of colour. In the event of her death - and in the way that she died, it was so painful for those who were like, 'Wait, no! This is how they're going treat the sole woman of colour