Everyone has known the Emmy-winning actress as Thandie Newton for more than 30 years. However, it seems that her name was spelled wrongly all these years.
The actress revealed today that Thandie is not her real name. Her real name is Thandiwe Newton. Her full name is Melanie Thandiwe Newton.
Thandiwe is pronounced as “tan-dee-way” and it means “beloved.” So how did such a beautiful name get misspelled?
In an interview with British Vogue, she shared that her name was misspelled in the credits to her first film Flirting (1991), which co-starred Nicole Kidman and Noah Taylor.
She stuck with the misspelled name for three decades but has since decided to correct the spelling of her name now.
“The thing I’m most grateful for in our business right now is being in the company of others who truly see me,” said Newton in the interview with British Vogue.
“And to not be complicit in the objectification of Black people as ‘others’, which is what happens when you’re the only one.”
“That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine,” she continued.
Newton is involved in the African American Policy Forum and the #sayhername campaign founded by her firend Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term “intersectionality.”
She’s also a board member of Eve Ensler’s V-Day, which supports women survivors of sexual violence in Congo with the City of Joy Project.
The actress has helped establish One Billion Rising which campaigns to end violence against women.
For her contributions to charity and film, she was awarded an OBE in 2018.
