Naomie Harris

Following weeks of speculation it was finally confirmed at the SkyFall press conference that Naomie Harris would appear in Skyfall. Although she was widely expected to appear in the film, she told journalists that her character is called Eve; she had been widely tipped to play the part of Miss Moneypenny leading to further speculation that Eve and Moneypenny are in fact one and the same.

Born on the 6th of September, 1976, Naomie Melanie Harris was raised by her mother, a Jamaican who arrived in England as a child.

At an early age she developed an interest in acting, reportedly appearing in television and film productions at the age of nine.  She attended the prestigious Anna Schler Theatre School and stared in several productions for television some of which includes Simon and the Witch (1987), Runway Bay (1992) and the Trial & Retribution.

She took a break from her acting career to complete her education. She was admitted into Cambridge where she studied for a Social and Political Sciences degree; she followed this by enrolling at the Old Vic Theatre School in Bristol.

During an interview, she revealed that she does not look back at her experience at Cambridge with much joy explaining that “…the people (at the school)…were so different from me.”

She In 2002, Harris starred in a TV adaptation of White Teeth. However her breakthrough performance was not until 28 Days later—a post-apocalyptic movie directed by Academy Award winner Danny Boyle and released in the same year. She followed this with a number of high profile movies including Miami Vice (2006) and Small Island.

Perhaps her most popular international performance is her role as Tia Dalma in the box office hits Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (2006) and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007). She also starred in the films Miami Vice and A Cock and Bull Story. In 2008 she appeared alongside Josh Hartnett in August.

Harris was also cast in Small Ireland (2009), BBC’s historical drama and stared in the 2008 on screen adaptation of Poppy Shakespeare. In 2011, she once again worked with Danny Boyle, playing Elizabeth Lavenza in the theatrical production of Nick Dear’s Frankenstein.

Naomie Harris has been the recipient of several acting awards. Her performance in the TV movie Small Island (2009) won her the Royal Television Society award for Best Female Actor.  Alongside winning the Black Reel Award, she won the Screen Nation Film and TV Award for Best Female Film Performance and the Ansbacher Rising Star Tribute—both in 2007. The latter was presented at the Bahamas International Film Festival.

In 2011, Harris played the lead role in the film, The First Grader. Directed by Justin Chadwick, the movie was released at the Seattle international Film festival to great critical reviews.

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