Thandie Newton’s Sexuality: What We Know (and Don’t Know)

Thandie Newton’s Sexuality: What We Know (and Don’t Know)

Melanie Thandiwe Newton, formerly credited as Thandie Newton is a British actress born on the 6^th of November 1972. She gained popularity for starring in the films Beloved in 1998 and Mission: Impossible in 200 among others.  She has been successful in the entertainment industry and she has earned nominations and awards including the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in Drama Series among others.

Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The film star plays a brothel madam in the HBO show Westworld which she believes to be a good choice for a woman’s rights activist. She is vocal as an advocate for women’s rights and the LGBTQ community. During an interview with Business Insider Australia, Newton explained why she picked the role in the show. She said that she picked the role for the challenges it would present to her as an actor and the meaning it had for her having to portray this sexualized character in Hollywood.

Thandie Newton has never come out publicly to talk about her sexual orientation. However, she has openly said that she is attracted to both women and men. She has said that she is attracted to the person and not the gender of the person.

In an interview with The Advocate, Newton opened up about her sexual past. She said, “ I had my rite of passage. I was 16, and I wasn’t really in control of the situation, if you know what I mean. It was much more about a male fantasy of seeing two women together. But I loved the girl a lot; she was one of my closest friends. I think falling in love is actually more about falling in love with an individual. We’re all potentially bisexual; it all depends on your circle, your upbringing, and all kinds of things. Or maybe I’m just talking about myself. I could’ve easily fallen in love with a woman over a man”

Sean Reynolds from Liverpool, United Kingdom, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

She also opened up about the sexual abuse she experienced at 16 during a movie set. While speaking to the Sunday Times, she said, ‘It happened the night my father flew home. I was 16, and a virgin. I’d been psychologically groomed over weeks. She added, ‘‘I didn’t fight him off, I was almost paralysed with fear. It was sexual abuse.’’.  Newton is still healing from the traumas she faced in the industry at the beginning of her career.

Currently, she is very outspoken against discrimination and homophobia which she has also experienced in the industry. She has used her platform to create awareness about human rights as well as being an inspiration to many people.

Whether or not Thandie Newton decides to label herself, is wholly in her hands. We can only speculate about her sexuality until a time when she opens up about her sexuality. Just because she is attracted to both males and females, does not identify her as pansexual, fluid, or queer. Ultimately, it is up to her to decide how she wants to label her sexuality.