Naomie Melanie Harris is an English film, TV and theater actress who is best known for playing the role of the voodoo witch, Tia Dalma in the second and the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and Eve Moneypenny in the James Bond films, Skyfall and Spectre.

Early Life
Born and brought up in Islington, London, Naomie Harris was raised by her mother, Lisselle Kayla alone. Her mother had come to London from Jamaica as a child with her parents; Harris’ parents split before she was born and the actress has been living with her mother and two younger half-siblings from her mother’s other marriage.

The actress attended St Marylebone School in London until 5th grade and later moved to Woodhouse College. In 1998, the actress completed her graduation in Social and Political Sciences from Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Personal Life
Naomie Harris dated the Hollywood actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and after separating from him, she has been in a relationship with Peter Legler since 2012.

TV Career
Before establishing an elaborate career in the film industry, Naomie Harris started her professional acting career in 1987 as she starred in the TV series, Simon and the Witch. She played the role of Joyce in 12 episodes. Four years later, the actress starred in 17 episodes of the children’s adventure TV series. Runaway Bay where she played the role of Shuku. The series, which follows a group of young friends having adventures while they are living on the islands of Martinique in the Caribbean was broadcast on ITV. The same year, she starred in the British children’s sci-fi TV series, The Tomorrow People created for Roger Price and it was broadcast on E4 in the UK.

Post-1995 the actress had no TV appearance until 2000 when she made her comeback with the British TV series, Dream Team, where she played the role of Lola Olokwe in a single episode of the series. In 2001, Harris made her foray on the silver screen but she continued her association with TV and the following year she starred in two series’, White Teeth and The Project. Her other TV series’ include The Project (2002), Poppy Shakespeare (2008), Blood and Oil (2009) and Accused (2010).

Movie Career
With over 13 years of acting experience in TV series’, Naomie Harris made her foray on the big screen in 2001 with a small role in the action fantasy, Crust directed by Mark Locke. Following her debut film, Harris got her first major role in 2002 as she starred in British post-apocalyptic horror film, 28 Days Later directed by Danny Boyle. It showcases the struggles of four people to cope with the destruction causes of the accidental release of a highly contagious virus got critical was well received by the critics and it grossed 84.7 million USD.

After her first major hit in 2002, the actress appeared in two more films, Trauma and After the Sunset before eventually get wide recognition as she starred in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, the second installment in Pirates of the Caribbean film series. The film directed by Gore Verbinski featured Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgard, Bill Nighy and Jack Davenport in pivotal roles. Although the film received mixed critical reviews, it set several records in its first three days; its opening weekend collection grossed to 136 million USD in the United States alone. It also became the fastest film to gross one billion USD worldwide. It also won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.

The following, Harris reprised her role as ‘Tia Dalma/Calypso’ in the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, titled Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. The film received wide appreciation from both critics and the audience for its brilliant musical score, action sequences, and special effects, however, it was criticized for its long running time and loose plot. It emerged to be a massive box office hit; it grossed more than 960 million USD worldwide. After her success with the Pirates of the Caribbean film series’, Naomie Harris started getting plenty of offers from renowned directors.

In 2008, the actress had a busy year as she had three releases. In her first release of the year, Harris starred in Austin Chick directed action drama, August. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in January and released in theaters in July. Although August had a star-studded cast including Josh Harnett, Davie Bowie, Rip Torn and Adam Scott, it received negative to mixed reviews and bombed terribly at the box office. After the debacle of August, Harris starred in American crime thriller, Street Kings directed by David Ayer and co-starring Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, and Chris Evans. The film received mostly negative reviews but it performed well at the box office and garnered 65.6 million USD. Her other film of the year, Explicit Ills, written and directed by debutant director, Mark Webber received three Awards at the SXSW Film Festival.

Between 2009 and 2012 the actress had four releases, Ninja Assassin (2009), Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (2009), My Last Five Girlfriends (2009) and The First Grader (2010) but it was in 2012 that Harris was got wide recognition for her role in the James Bond film, Skyfall. This 23rd James Bond film directed by Sam Mendes featured Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Whishaw in pivotal roles. Upon release in theaters, the film not only got positive reviews from the critics but also emerged to be one of the highest-grossing films that year. With the worldwide box office collections totaling to 1.109 billion USD, it was the highest earning film in the UK in 2012. The film also won several awards and Harris for her outstanding performance walked away with the Shining Star Award at the Essence Awards.

In 2013, the actress starred in one of the most successful films of her career, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. The film directed by Justin Chadwick was based on the autobiographical book named Long Walk to Freedom by the former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. Harris played the role of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela alongside the lead actor, Idris Elba. The film received mostly positive reviews and Harris for her brilliant performance won several award nominations including London Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Supporting Actress and British Actress of the Year. Harris followed her success with yet another stellar performance in Spectre where she reprised her role as Eve Moneypenny. The 24th Bond film also starred Daniel Craig, Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Ben Whishaw and Dave Bautista. Touted to be one of the most expensive films ever made, Spectre generally garnered positive reviews and emerged to a massive commercial hit; it grossed over 880 million USD worldwide.

In her first release of 2016, Naomie Harris starred in the Susanna White directed British spy thriller, Our Kind of Traitor. The film based on a novel of the same name by John le Carre feature Ewan McGregor, Stellan Skarsgard, Damian Lewis and Alicia von Rittberg in the lead roles. Upon release in theaters, the film got mixed reviews and Harris for her stellar performance as Gail Perkins won several award nominations including the Best Supporting Actress at the British Independent film Awards. Her other release of the year includes Moonlight and Collateral Beauty directed by David Frankel.