Born: October 31, 1993
Birthplace: Georgetown, GA
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Letitia Michelle Wright is a Guyanese-born British actress. Beginning her professional career 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 latter for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts named Wright among the 2015 group of BAFTA Breakthrough Brits for her role in the award winning film Urban Hymn. In 2018, she achieved global recognition with her portrayal of Shuri in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War, both of which stand amongst the highest-grossing films of all time.
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."
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".
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."