Tweet
<span style="font-style: italic">Harris was born and brought up in London, England, the daughter of sitcom writer Lisselle Kayla, <span style="font-weight: bold">a single mother who had emigrated to England from Jamaica as a child</span>. After graduating in 1998 from Pembroke College, Cambridge with a degree in Social and Political Sciences, Harris trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
She had a very difficult time as a student at Cambridge. "When I went to Cambridge University, Mum said I wouldn't fit in and she was right," she explains. "I hated it. The people there were so different to me. They talked about Eton and skiing and here I was, this black girl from Finsbury Park. I just felt so lonely. There was only one other black person in my year; I was very unhappy and cried every day."</span>
[b]Moneypenny 2011: First black actress to get role was brought up by single mother and bullied at her London school
Raised by a single mother and bullied at school, Naomie Harris did not have the most auspicious start in life.
Yesterday, however, she was unveiled as the latest incumbent of one of the most famous and enduring roles in film.
She will play Miss Moneypenny in the new James Bond movie – the first black actress to get the part.
The film, Skyfall, is the 23rd in the Bond franchise. Shooting began yesterday.
Daniel Craig will take on the role of 007 for the third time and Sam Mendes – Kate Winslet’s ex-husband – will direct.
Miss Harris, 35, already a notable stage and screen actress, will initially play an M16 field agent known only as Eve. But the plot will see her character become Bond’s foil, Moneypenny.
The Daily Mail has learned that her portrayal of the character is likely to be very different from those of predecessors Samantha Bond, Caroline Bliss and Lois Maxwell. It has not been disclosed how Eve becomes Moneypenny.
She said yesterday: ‘I still can’t believe it’s happening, I’m still pinching myself. I can’t wait to get started. I have spent two months preparing for the role.’
She added: ‘I think I was a late developer and at Cambridge everyone was really fascinated by boys and I really wasn’t interested in them at all. And everyone was interested in smoking and drinking or taking drugs and I don’t do any of those things.’
And Miss Harris said: ‘I’ve been doing yoga three times a week to get into shape. I’ve been stunt driving and firing machine guns, which I’ve discovered I have a real taste for.’
For Miss Harris, yesterday marked the day she became a bona fide star. Her parents both moved to England when they were young, her mother from Jamaica and her father from Trinidad.
They separated when Miss Harris was still a child and her mother, Lisselle Kayla, brought her up on her own in a modest flat in Finsbury Park, north London. She was bullied at school, and, despite getting into Cambridge University, had a miserable time there.
She has rarely seen her father, admitting: ‘I met him at a party once and I saw him on a tube by chance a few years ago but he is not part of my life.’
After university she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre before making her first impact on screen in a film adaptation of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth.
Since then she has appeared in the Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later and in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/art...l#ixzz27DoKwCL1
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
She had a very difficult time as a student at Cambridge. "When I went to Cambridge University, Mum said I wouldn't fit in and she was right," she explains. "I hated it. The people there were so different to me. They talked about Eton and skiing and here I was, this black girl from Finsbury Park. I just felt so lonely. There was only one other black person in my year; I was very unhappy and cried every day."</span>
[b]Moneypenny 2011: First black actress to get role was brought up by single mother and bullied at her London school
Raised by a single mother and bullied at school, Naomie Harris did not have the most auspicious start in life.
Yesterday, however, she was unveiled as the latest incumbent of one of the most famous and enduring roles in film.
She will play Miss Moneypenny in the new James Bond movie – the first black actress to get the part.
The film, Skyfall, is the 23rd in the Bond franchise. Shooting began yesterday.
Daniel Craig will take on the role of 007 for the third time and Sam Mendes – Kate Winslet’s ex-husband – will direct.
Miss Harris, 35, already a notable stage and screen actress, will initially play an M16 field agent known only as Eve. But the plot will see her character become Bond’s foil, Moneypenny.
The Daily Mail has learned that her portrayal of the character is likely to be very different from those of predecessors Samantha Bond, Caroline Bliss and Lois Maxwell. It has not been disclosed how Eve becomes Moneypenny.
She said yesterday: ‘I still can’t believe it’s happening, I’m still pinching myself. I can’t wait to get started. I have spent two months preparing for the role.’
She added: ‘I think I was a late developer and at Cambridge everyone was really fascinated by boys and I really wasn’t interested in them at all. And everyone was interested in smoking and drinking or taking drugs and I don’t do any of those things.’
And Miss Harris said: ‘I’ve been doing yoga three times a week to get into shape. I’ve been stunt driving and firing machine guns, which I’ve discovered I have a real taste for.’
For Miss Harris, yesterday marked the day she became a bona fide star. Her parents both moved to England when they were young, her mother from Jamaica and her father from Trinidad.
They separated when Miss Harris was still a child and her mother, Lisselle Kayla, brought her up on her own in a modest flat in Finsbury Park, north London. She was bullied at school, and, despite getting into Cambridge University, had a miserable time there.
She has rarely seen her father, admitting: ‘I met him at a party once and I saw him on a tube by chance a few years ago but he is not part of my life.’
After university she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre before making her first impact on screen in a film adaptation of Zadie Smith’s White Teeth.
Since then she has appeared in the Danny Boyle film 28 Days Later and in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/art...l#ixzz27DoKwCL1
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
, Sting ("Demolition Man"
Comment