Mimi Ndiweni

Mimi Ndiweni (born 31 August 1991) is a British actress, best known for playing Tilly Brockless in the television series Mr Selfridge, and Ester/Jekasai in the stage production of The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London. She has also appeared on film in Cinderella and The Legend of Tarzan. She won the Spotlight Prize in 2013 and went on to work for the Royal Shakespeare Company after graduating from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Mimi was also featured as One to Watch by the Independent in 2013, and was on the Evening Standard's Stars of 2015 list  after performing in the RSC's Midsummer Mischief Festival. Background Mimi grew up in Guildford, Surrey and started acting as a teenager, joining the Yvonne Arnaud Mill Street Studios while she was in secondary school. Throughout school she was more commonly known by her middle name, Michelle. From there she went on to complete a degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff. Her mother is English and her father is Zimbabwean. Spotlight Prize At age 21 Mimi Ndiweni won the Spotlight Prize - beating off competition from students from 20 top UK drama schools in front of industry experts - with her performance of Jenna Marbles’ How to Get Guys to Leave You Alone. The Spotlight Prize has previously been won by the likes of Dame Judi Dench, Zoe Wannamaker, and Robert Lindsay. Career Theatre Mimi has previously stated that theatre is her first love, and was taken on by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2013 after graduating from Royal Welsh. While in the RSC her most notable roles were in Wendy & Peter Pan as Tiger Lily,, King Lear where she played Cordelia, and Hamlet where she played Ophelia. She left the RSC in 2015 to take on a regular appearance in the television show Mr Selfridge, but has returned to the RSC on a number occasions as a guest. Mimi also toured North America with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018, playing the part of Cordelia in King Lear in New York, and Ophelia in Hamlet in Washington DC. In 2017 she had her first leading role, playing Jekesai/Ester in Danai Gurira's The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London. The play itself and her part in it received critical acclaim, with four and five star reviews from some of the most respected critics in London, including The Financial Times, The Guardian, Timeout, The Times, and What’s On Stage. Film and Television Ndiweni's first appearance in a major film was as the Slipper Lady in Disney’s Cinderella in 2015. She then played Eshe in The Legend of Tarzan in 2016, starring alongside Margot Robbie. In 2016 Mimi played Tilly Brockless in Mr Selfridge for eight episodes of the last season, and in May 2017 played the part of Abby in the Doctor Who episode ‘Oxygen’ during Season 10 of Doctor Who. In October 2018 Netflix announced that Mimi Ndiweni would be playing the part of Fringilla Vigo in The Witcher (TV series).