You May Recognize Matilda's New Miss Honey From Captain Marvel

Lashana Lynch was everywhere this year. The British actor ended 2021 as Nomi, the new 007 agent in Daniel Craig's last outing as James Bond in No Time to Die. She began 2022 reprising her role of Maria Rambeau in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and became Captain Marvel in the main timeline. Then, in fall 2022, she portrayed warrior Izogie in The Woman King, and now, she's the new Miss Honey in Netflix's Matilda the Musical.

Here's everything you need to know about British actress Lashana Lynch:

She was born and raised in London.

Lynch was born into a second-generation Jamaican family, part of the Windrush generation.

"My house was strictly Jamaican," she said. "I think spag bol was the most British we got in our house. Being Jamaican is… there’s an attitude and a swagger that comes with just being born into a Jamaican family. You know how to stand up for yourself. Pretty instantly, like out of the womb, you’re already taking charge."

Filming No Time to Die in Jamaica, she said, gave her a "deeper understanding of what I’ve chosen to do, of the people I do it for. Understanding the privileges as a British-born Jamaican that my parents and grandparents gave to me because they came to England. In a way, it serves as a 'thank you' to them for making the sacrifice."

Her first big break came thanks to Marvel.

She started acting from a young age, and had a few roles—including in Fast Girls (2012) and Still Star-Crossed, a TV show advertised as a sequel to Romeo & Juliet that was canceled after one season. In 2019, however, she got her big break: as air force pilot Maria Rambeau in Captain Marvel.

"Getting into the Marvel universe was something that I’d been aiming for for two to three years," she shared at the time. She had auditioned for both Black Panther and Spider-Man: Homecoming.

She was the first Black 007, and now is the first Black Miss Honey.

After Rambeau, she went on to play Nomi, the MI6 agent who takes James Bond's 007 designation after he retires. This year, she was in three very buzzy films—Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, The Woman King, and now, Matilda the Musical.

"For a long time I read scripts where Black women didn’t just get to be on the page, so I’m grateful that we actually had a shift in the film with a Black woman playing Miss Honey," Lynch shared. "While it doesn’t matter—it’s just a person playing her—it is a clear message for me and my childhood self that the Black woman that bestowed a lot of wisdom at school did the right thing, as I was able to take that through my career and teach young people how incredible you can be even if you come from trauma, and everyone comes from trauma."

She added, "Every single thing I’ve done has led me to be able to play Miss Honey, I needed the strength and the grit in order to find the vulnerability in Miss Honey."

She's set to play Bob Marley's wife Rita in a biopic.

Next up for Lynch? She's currently filming an untitled Bob Marley biopic. Following the casting news, she wrote on Instagram, "The Queen that is Rita Marley. What a wonder it is to have your voice ring out in my home as I was raised and your might vibrate through how you gifted our culture to the world. Jamaica has made me what I am and it is an honour to give what I am back to depicting you. To you, and all that you are and will continue to be."

You Might Also Like

• Oprah’s Favorite Things of 2022 Is Here—Gift These 20 Amazing Finds This Year

• 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion

• 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game