Thandiwe Newton Reclaims Her Original Name After Years of Being Misspelled
Actress Thandiwe Newton is finally taking back what’s rightfully hers: her own name. Ever since her first acting role back in 1991 for the film, Flirting, Newton had been credited as Thandie, a misspelling that would remain for over 30 years. Coincidentally, Newton’s character in the film was named Thandiwe Adjewa. The Westworld actress spoke in detail with British Vogue about her name and the endless racism she received as a young child and in the entertainment world.
Thandiwe Newton was born on November 6, 1972, in Westminster, United Kingdom to parents Nyasha and Nick Newton. Her mother, Nyasha was a Zimbabwean princess, and her father, Nick was a lab technician. Prior to film roles misspelling her name, this first occurred when Newton was attending a Catholic school in Cornwall as a young girl. Her name had been anglicized. As British Vogue puts it, this was done as a means to “make her feel less different.”
thandiwe newton i love u <3 pic.twitter.com/NqRGXtRcMJ
— buck’s bestie (@smoshpits) April 6, 2021
Despite this failed effort, Newton also recalls the horrific racism she endured growing up as a Black British child. At her time at the Catholic school, Newton recounts the time she had been excluded from a school photo for having cornrows. In another instance, her dance teacher had “annually bypassed the brilliant brown ballerina at trophy time.” In a powerful, yet heartbreaking statement Newton reveals to British Vogue, “This same brownness was to become a site of manipulation, confusion, and psychological violence on entering the movie industry.
Thandiwe Newton’s low self-esteem growing up has instilled a drive in her to fuel her activism. Newton wants to take down the people who continue to abuse their power for personal gain and hurt others in the process. Newton and co-star Rachel Evan Wood make the same amount of money as their male counterparts for the critically acclaimed series, Westworld. While this should be something to celebrate, Newton is disgusted that it took this long, and other shows should follow in Westworld’s footsteps.
Oh I LOVE you guys!!!!!!!!!!! @WestworldGifs https://t.co/3ImKlfRSEu
— Thandiwe Newton OBE (@ThandiweNewton) April 6, 2021
Thandiwe Newton is thrilled to have her name back. She ends the interview with a hopeful message, when she states, “The thing I’m most grateful for in our business right now is being in the company of others who truly see me. And to not be complicit in the objectification of Black people as ‘others’, which is what happens when you’re the only one.” From here on out, every film credit will now have her name as Thandiwe Newton.
The director of my first film asked to use my actual name for the character – because it was authentic and beautiful. I felt flattered and agreed. And then in the credits they used my ‘nickname’ to differentiate from the character name. They stole my name. And I’m taking it back. https://t.co/O4jPtxj06D
— Thandiwe Newton OBE (@ThandiweNewton) April 5, 2021
We could not be happier for Thandiwe Newton taking back what’s hers. Be sure to stream Westworld on HBO Max.
Writer | Tweet me @court__giles
