Letitia Wright

**Letitia Michelle Wright** (born 31 October 1993) is a Guyanese-British actress. Beginning in 2011, she has played in roles in several British TV series, including *Top Boy*, *Coming Up*, *Chasing Shadows*, *Humans*, the *Doctor Who* episode "Face the Raven" and the *Black Mirror* episode "Black Museum".

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) named Wright among the 2015 group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits for her role in the award winning film Urban Hymn. Wright is best known for playing the character Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films *Black Panther* and *Avengers: Infinity War* (both released in 2018).

## Contents

* 1 Early life
* 2 Career
* 3 Personal life
* 4 Filmography
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## Early life

Wright was born in Georgetown, Guyana. Her family moved to London when she was seven years old, and she attended school there. Having been brought up in Tottenham, she has stated, "I'll always be a north London girl."

## Career

Wright's interest in acting was inspired when she saw *Akeelah and the Bee* and found the lead, Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) to be a positive role model. Determined to act, she sent emails to different agents about her acting experience until she was picked for small parts. She starred in *My Brother the Devil*, where she was recognized by Screen International as one of its 2012 Stars of Tomorrow. Michael Caton-Jones cast her in *Urban Hymn* which brought her to the attention of Hollywood. She has played in numerous episodes of British TV series (see table below).

Wright co-starred in *Black Panther*, playing the role of Shuri, King T’Challa’s sister and princess of Wakanda. The film was released worldwide in February 2018, and starred Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira, and Chadwick Boseman. She reprised the role in the next Marvel Cinematic Universe film, *Avengers: Infinity War*, which was released in April 2018. Also in 2018, Wright appeared as Reb in Steven Spielberg's film adaptation of the novel *Ready Player One*. Wright features as one of the cameos in Drake's music video for "Nice for What".

## Personal life

Wright has been vocal about her struggles with depression. In 2018 she told *Vanity Fair*, "I was in the dark going through so many bad things, when the world didn’t know about Shuri and Letitia and whatever is happening now." Wright took a break from acting until 2015 after she encountered Christianity at a London actors' Bible study. On the UK talk show *This Morning*, she explained, "I needed to take a break from acting, because I really idolized it. So I came off from it and I went on a journey to discover my relationship with God, and I became a Christian."

## References

* "BAFTA and Burberry Reveal 2015 Breakthrough Brits". BAFTA.org. Retrieved 22 February 2018
* Alberge, Dalya (4 April 2015). "Letitia Wright, Britain's newest rising screen star, says black actors need more positive roles". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
* "Black Panther' star Letitia Wright: 'I’ll always be a north London girl’. *Time Out*. Retrieved 22 February 2018
* Wiggan, Dylan. "Rising star Letitia Wright 'Black Actors need more positive roles'". *House of Black*. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
* "Who is Letitia Wright? The 'Black Panther' breakout star is just getting started". *South China Morning Post*. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
* Pape, Stefan (26 September 2016). "Exclusive: Letitia Wright on Urban Hymn and working with Spielberg on Ready Player One". *heyuguys*. Retrieved 16 February 2017.
* Kroll, Justin (20 October 2016). "'Black Panther' Adds 'Ready Player One' Actress Letitia Wright (EXCLUSIVE)". *Variety*. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
* "'Black Panther': How Letitia Wright Became a Marvel Breakout". *The Hollywood Reporter*. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
* "5 things to know about Black Panther breakout star Letitia Wright". EW. Retrieved 22 February 2018
* "A breakdown of all the cameos in Drake's "Nice For What" video". *The FADER*. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
* Robinson, Joanna. "Black Panther Breakout Letitia Wright Smashes Disney Princess Expectations". *HWD*. Retrieved 2018-03-03.

1. "'Black Panther' Breakout Star Letitia Wright Shares How Christianity Changed Her Life". *RELEVANT Magazine*. Retrieved 2018-03-03.

## External links

* Letitia Wright on IMDb

Categories:

* 1993 births
* Living people
* Guyanese people
* Guyanese actresses
* 21st-century English actresses
* English film actresses
* People from Georgetown, Guyana
* English television actresses
* Black English actresses
* Guyanese emigrants to the United Kingdom
* English Christians
* Converts to Christianity
* Actresses from London