Anecdotes

She named her daughter Ripley after the character played by Sigourney Weaver in Alien: Le huitième passager (1979).

Her mother is a Princess of the Shona Tribe.

She has a Zimbabwean mother and a British father.

A delayed shoot for Mission: Impossible 2 (2000) caused her to turn down one of the lead roles in Charlie et ses drôles de dames (2000). Lucy Liu was cast instead.

Her daughter Nico Parker is also an actress. While Newton was filming Solo: Une histoire de Star Wars (2018), Parker made her debut in Dumbo (2019) filmed on a nearby movie set.

Graduated with a 2:1 (otherwise known as "an undergraduate degree with 2nd Class Honours, Upper Division") in Anthropology from Cambridge University.

In July 2011, in a speech at the TEDGlobal 2011 Conference, Newton disclosed that earlier in her career, she struggled with the eating disorder bulimia.

Newton's name has been misspelled as "Thandie" ever since her first role in Flirting (1991) in which her character's name is Thandiwe Adjewa. The correct spelling, Thandiwe, pronounced "tan-Dee-way", means "beloved" in Shona. Shona is one of the most widely spoken languages of Zimbabwe.

She was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2019 Queen's New Years Honours List for her services to Film and Charity. She is an actress in London, England.

Raised in Penzance, Cornwall, England.

One of her fondest memories is watching her mother get dressed in her traditional African garb because this taught her black pride.

Her younger daughter Nico Parker was named for German-born singer Nico, member of the legendary rock group The Velvet Underground.

David Schwimmer called her "the queen of practical jokes".

Was two months pregnant with her daughter Nico Parker when she completed filming Crash (2004). Returned to work eight months after giving birth to Nico to begin filming La poursuite du bonheur (2006).

Mother, with her estranged husband Ol Parker, of two daughters, Ripley Parker (b. September 17, 2000) and Nico Parker (b. December 9, 2004), and one son, Booker Jombe Parker (b. March 3, 2014).

Delivered both of her daughters naturally via a birthing pool.

Daughter of Nick Newton and Nyasha Newton (born Nyasha Jombe) and sister of Jamie Newton.

After filming Flirting (1991), she went to Los Angeles briefly then returned to England to study Anthropology at Cambridge, In between terms, she filmed Entretien avec un vampire (1994).

On April 14, 2022, she separated from her husband of 23 years, Ol Parker.

She has expressed an affinity for Buddhism.

Was six months pregnant with her son Booker when she completed filming the second season of Solitaire (2013). Returned to work five months after giving birth to Booker to begin filming Westworld (2016).

She's occasionally mistaken for Zoe Saldaña.

Voted by the readers of Black Men magazine as one of "The 10 Sexiest Women of the Year". (2000)

Ranked #48 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World". (2002)

Born on the same date as Rebecca Romijn.

Mentioned in the song "Cock Monster" by Paul Barman.

She's married to writer Ol Parker who she met on the set of In Your Dreams (1996).