MPHO RANTAO
BRITISH actress formerly known as Thandie Newton has announced that she now wishes to be (correctly) called Thandiwe Newton.
Newton told British Vogue in an interview that her professional name had been misspelled in Hollywood after her name was incorrectly spelled in the 1991 film ‘Flirting’.
Joining a growing list of other celebrities who have also told the public that their names were spelled or pronounced incorrectly, like Anne Hathaway and Saoirse Ronan, Newton said that she is now on a mission to reclaim the correct spelling of her name.
“That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine,” she said in the interview.
The name Thandiwe means ‘beloved’ in the Zulu language. The actress is born to a British father and Zimbabwean mother, who is the granddaughter of a Shona chief.
The author of the interview wrote that all of Newton’s future films would be credited as Thandiwe Newton, “after the W was carelessly missed out from her first credit”.
The cover feature includes a photoshoot with Newton dressed in the likes of Kenneth Ize, Duro Olowu, and the actress speaking about her efforts for visibility in the film industry and her experience with colourism.
“Colourism has just been the funniest. I’ve been too Black, not Black enough. I’m always Black. I’m just like, whadda you people want!”, said Thandiwe.
However, she now looks forward to a future where the whole race no longer becomes a determining factor in how others are treated.
“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”, she said.
