Who Is Naomi Scott? 11 Things You Need to Know About the Actress Playing Jasmine in 'Aladdin'

From ELLE

Disney's Aladdin has finally come out, giving the world a glimpse at Naomi Scott as Jasmine. Mena Massoud stars alongside her as Aladdin while Will Smith plays the iconic Genie. This isn't Scott's first role though, but it may be her biggest, breakout moment in her years-long career.

Here, everything you need to know about the actress starring as a Disney princess, including her heritage, the man she married, her Disney roots, and what her next big role is like in Charlie's Angels.

1. She's of Indian descent.

Scott is from London, but her mother, Usha Scott, is from Uganda and is of Gujarati Indian descent. Her father, Christopher Scott, is British. Scott is proud of her heritage and has showed off her Indian roots several times on Instagram.

2. Her parents are pastors.

Scott's parents share a career-they're both pastors at the Bridge Church, Woodford in Redbridge, United Kingdom. The church's website describes it as "a community of ordinary people who have found peace, joy and purpose in an extraordinary God."

Scott talked about being a pastor's kid in her 2019 interview with W. Her parents weren't as strict as the stereotypic pastors, and Scott said her parents allowed her to discover her faith on her own. “Yes, I have a belief system, but I don’t know everything, and we’re all just as messed up as each other,”

3. She started her career as a musician.

She started out performing with the Bridge Church Youth Band and was later discovered by British pop singer Kelle Bryan.

"I grew up singing in church actually. That's kind of where I just the usual, I grew up on gospel music. I was singing from a young age." she said in an interview with Huffington Post back in March 2017. "I remember that I chose 'Don't Speak' by No Doubt so that was my first kind of performance. I think from there, I felt like it was something I actually really enjoyed and wanted to do."

She released her first EP, Invisible Division, in 2014 and her second EP, Promises, in 2017. She plays piano and started writing her own songs when she was just 15.

4. She's married.

Even though she's just 26, Scott has already taken some major life steps. In 2014, she married soccer player Jordan Spence after four years of dating. Spence has accompanied her to several Aladdin premieres.

Scott told W that she met Spence when they were 16 in church.

5. She already has a Disney connection.

Back in 2011, she played Mohini "Mo" Banjaree in the Disney Channel Original Movie Lemonade Mouth. She also starred in a British Disney Channel series called Life Bites.

6. She's kept in touch with her Disney costars.

In 2015, she posted a picture hanging out with her Lemonade Mouth costar Bridgit Mendler.

7. She's already played one of your childhood favorites.

In 2017, Scott starred as the Pink Ranger in the new Power Rangers movie, meaning she already has experience playing a character near and dear to the hearts of '90s kids.

8. She'll be playing a Charlie's Angel next.

After Aladdin wrapped, Scott shot the new Charlie's Angels, which was written and directed by Elizabeth Banks. That film will come out on November 15, 2019.

Scott plays the character of Elena Houghlin alongside co-stars Kristen Stewart, Ella Balinska, and Noah Centineo. Banks, who worked with Scott previously during the filming of Power Rangers, said that she chose Scott for the movie because she "wanted somebody who I felt the audience wants to root for,” adding that Scott is "getting to be this Everywoman who’s also very fun and very funny.”

9. She's engaged in charity work.

Scott actively works with the Christian charity, Compassion UK, as a brand ambassador. With Compassion UK, she helps the organization and the local churches it partners with to sponsor children and families around the world that live in extreme poverty, and works to provide them with education, medical needs, and financial assistance. Most recently, Scott traveled to Kigali, Rwanda to work with the charity.

In a 2017 interview with The New Potato, Scott spoke about her and her husband's work with Compassion UK, saying "It is about empowering kids to make a difference in their families and for them to become equipped to change their situations–as opposed to just giving them something that they don’t know what to do with. They are teaching them how to use those tools. We sponsor some kids and they do other projects that we’re closely involved with."

10. Naomi is a self-described tomboy and pretended to be far more girly than she actually is when she auditioned for Jasmine.

Scott told W in an interview earlier this year that she bought a light blue flowery dress for her Jasmine callback audition from Topshop. “I never wore it again," she said. “Cut to when I show up at the first rehearsal, and I’m wearing my Nike tracksuit. It was like, ‘This is the real me-ha ha, tricked you!’"

11. She shares a stylist with a royal.

Now that all eyes are on the actress, Scott has enlisted the help of Zadrian Smith to create her stunning looks for red carpet events and celebrity outings. As it turns out, Smith also styles Lady Amelia Windsor-fashion model, relative of the royal family, and 39th in line to the British throne.

While out during Paris Fashion Week last year, Scott spoke with WWD about her relationship with her stylist. “Zadrian Smith is my right-hand man, slash angel, slash everything,” she told the magazine. Smith explained that the gorgeous looks that Scott appears in isn't solely up to him, and that their work together is often collaborative by nature. "She’s very, very, very involved in her vision and her aesthetic and what she wants to communicate visually," he said.

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