Tahirah Amandla Sharif is a British actress noted mainly for her roles as student Carrie Norton in '' Waterloo Road'' in 2015, Rebecca Jessel in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

horror anthology series ''

The Haunting of Bly Manor ''The Haunting of Bly Manor'' is an American gothic romance supernatural horror drama television miniseries created by Mike Flanagan, and released on Netflix on October 9, 2020. The second entry in Flanagan's '' The Haunting'' anthology series ...

'' in 2020, and PC Lizzie Adama in ''The Tower'' in 2021 for which she received a Supporting Actress

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

nomination.

Acting education

Tahirah Amandla Sharif is a British actress from

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, South West London, England born to a Pakistani mother and Jamaican father. Sharif's first acting role was in a school play at the age of six. Aged 16, Sharif joined the

Brit School BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, ...

for Performing Arts & Technology in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

, London. Later continuing her acting education attending evening classes at the

Identity School of Acting The Identity School of Acting (IDSA) is a part-time drama school that was founded in London, England by Femi Oguns in 2003. A second branch and campus opened in Los Angeles, California in 2018. Identity School of Acting began in 2003 with 10 stu ...

in London.

Career

One of Sharif's first roles was in

Film 4 Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat ...

short ''See Me'' as the lead. In 2012, Sharif appeared in each episode of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama, '' One Night'' as Madison as well as appearing in the second series of ITV drama ''

Whitechapel Whitechapel () is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. It is the location of Tower Hamlets Town Hall and therefore the borough tow ...

'' as Chantal Essian. In the same year Sharif played Esther Adams in the stage production of ''

Moon on a Rainbow Shawl ''Moon on a Rainbow Shawl'' is a 1957 play written by Trinidadian actor-playwright Errol John. Described as "ground-breaking" and "a breakthrough in Britain for black writing," the play has been produced and revived worldwide since its premiere ...

'' at The National Theatre and as Dunyazade in the stage production of ''Arabian Nights'' at the

Tricycle Theatre The Kiln Theatre (formerly the Tricycle Theatre) is a theatre located in Kilburn, in the London Borough of Brent, England. Since 1980, the theatre has presented a wide range of plays reflecting the cultural diversity of the area, as well as n ...

. Sharif then appeared in her first feature film, ''The Invisible Woman'' as Rosa, starring alongside

Ralph Fiennes Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes (; born 22 December 1962) is an English actor, film producer, and director. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ralph Fiennes, various accolades, including a British Academy Film ...

and

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is an English actress. She began her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tele ...

. In 2013, Sharif was cast as the teenage daughter of Martin Ashford ( Patrick Robinson),

Ella Ella is a feminine given name, which also used as a surname. Ella (or similar) may also refer to: Places United States * Ella, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Ella, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Ella, Pennsylvania, an unincor ...

in the BBC television series ''Casualty''. Ella was billed as "mischievous, a true troublemaker and determined to cause trouble for Ash ather, Martin. Sharif's first scenes aired on 4 May 2013 and final scenes over a year later, on 17 May 2014. After ''Casualty'', Sharif reprised her role as Esther Adams in the stage production of ''

'' for its UK national tour. Sharif starred in the final ten episodes of long-running school drama, '' Waterloo Road'', as student Carrie Norton in 2015. Her storylines included the return of her brother, Guy Braxton (Regé-Jean Page) and her relationship with Lenny Brown (Joe Slater). Sharif went onto play Kile in sci fi short film ''Pulsar'' in 2015 alongside

Jessie Buckley Jessie Buckley (born December 28, 1989) is an Irish actress and singer. The accolades she has received include a Laurence Olivier Award, and nominations for an Academy Award and three BAFTA Awards. Buckley began her career in 2008 as a contes ...

and David Gyasi. The same year, Sharif played Katie in ''Firebird'' at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. History The original ''Hampstead Theatre Clu ...

. The play was so successful that it got transferred to west end theatre

Trafalgar Studios Trafalgar Theatre is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. The Grade II listed building was built in 1930 with interiors in the Art Deco style as the Whitehall Theatre; it regularly staged ...

in 2016. In 2017, Sharif was cast as Melissa in '' A Christmas Prince'',

's hugely successful foray into holiday films. There were a further two films, as the first film proved incredibly popular. ''A Christmas Prince: The Royal Wedding'' and ''A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby'' released on

in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Sharif also starred as Rebecca Jessel in the Netflix horror anthology series ''

'', which was released in October 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sharif, Tahira Living people 21st-century English actresses Actors from the London Borough of Lambeth Actresses from London Alumni of the Identity School of Acting Black British actresses English film actresses English stage actresses English television actresses English people of Jamaican descent English people of Pakistani descent People from Brixton Year of birth missing (living people)