Sofia Boutella

Sofia Boutella (Arabic: صوفيا بوتلة‎; born April 3, 1982)[1] is an Algerian-French actress, model and dancer.[2][3][4][5]

Sofia Boutella
Boutella in 2018.
Born (1982-04-03) April 3, 1982
Bab El Oued, Algeria
NationalityAlgerian
French
Occupation
Years active1998–present
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Parent(s)Safy Boutella

Early life and dancing career

Boutella was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers, Algeria,[6] to an architect mother and a jazz musician father, Safy Boutella. Her brother, Seif, works as a visual effects artist in the entertainment industry.[7][8] Her surname means "the men of the mountains".[9] She was raised in a fairly secular household that cultivated artistic expression and creativity.[9] Boutella described her childhood as a happy one, stating that she was "blessed to be born into a family that allowed me to express myself, to be myself and let out all sorts of colours that were living in my imagination and in my heart."[9]

With her family's encouragement, Boutella started classical dance education when she was five years old. In 1992, at the age of 10, she left Algeria with her family in the midst of the Algerian civil war and moved to France.[10] Shortly thereafter, she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at age 18.[11]

Growing up in Paris, Boutella was exposed to many more forms of dance, particularly hip hop and street dance, which intrigued her for offering more "freedom" compared to the more disciplined styles of ballet and gymnastics.[9] She joined a group called the Vagabond Crew, which won the Battle of the Year in 2006, and participated in a spin-off group called "Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites".

Her breakthrough as a dancer came in 2007, when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike Women's "Keep Up" campaign, serving as a role model of femininity and hip-hop.[12][9] This was a major boost to her career and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna, in her Confessions Tour, and Rihanna.[11][12] She credits her work with Madonna for helping her learn English.[13]

Boutella successfully auditioned for the Michael Jackson This Is It concerts but could not attend due to the extension of the Madonna tour, whose dates coincided with the Jackson residency.[14] In February 2011, she was the main character in the music video for "Hollywood Tonight" by Michael Jackson.[15][14]

Acting career

Beginning at age 17, Boutella rehearsed with famed Spanish choreographer Blanca Li. She began dancing in film and television shows, as well as in commercials and concert tours.[11][12]

She played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2 (2012),[16] the sequel to StreetDance 3D.

In 2014, after 12 years as a dancer, Boutella sought a career in acting.[3] Initially, she purposefully avoided auditioning for lead roles, wishing to play supporting characters so as to learn from more experienced actors.[3] In 2015, she appeared in her first major film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which jump-started her career as an actress.[17] One year later, she appeared as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, released on July 22, 2016.[18]

In 2017, she portrayed a French secret agent in the David Leitch film Atomic Blonde, which also featured Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Toby Jones. The same year, she played the titular role in The Mummy, along with Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Annabelle Wallis.

Beginning in 2018, Boutella's profile rose, and she began to appear in more central roles. She appeared in the Gaspar Noé dark psychological horror film Climax and starred alongside Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon in the HBO drama film Fahrenheit 451,[19] and portrayed French contract killer 'Nice' in the near-future action crime thriller Hotel Artemis, alongside Jodie Foster, Jeff Goldblum, and Dave Bautista.

In October 2019, she was the co-star of Amazon Prime's Modern Love, season 1, episode 5.

Personal life

Boutella has cited Fred Astaire, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Bob Fosse as artistic influences.[20]

Although she has lived mostly in France since age 10, Boutella maintains strong ties to her Algerian roots and identity:

Algeria is a country that is dear to me, because it's where I'm from, where my family is from, it's my home. That will never leave me. I feel very worldly. But leaving a place like that when you're so young doesn't come without missing a sense of identity and belonging to one place. I think I've been blessed with the ability to travel, because I'm fearless to go anywhere, but I miss a sense of home, which was originally Algeria. But I feel Algerian, I'm proud to be Algerian and I carry that with me wherever I go.[9]

In March 2014, she began a relationship with Irish actor Robert Sheehan; in October 2018, Sheehan revealed they had broken up.[21][22]

Music videos

Filmography
Film and television performances
Year Title Role Notes Ref.
2002Le Défi[23]
2004Les Cordier, juge et flicMayaEpisode: "Temps mort"[25]
2005Permis D'AimerLila[23]
2006Azur et AsmarLa Fée des elfesVoice role[25]
2006Megatánc (Megadance)[26][27]
2007Supermodelo
2010Dancing with the StarsEpisode: "Macy's Stars of Dance"
2012StreetDance 2Eva[28]
2014Monsters: Dark ContinentAra[29]
2014Kingsman: The Secret ServiceGazelle[30]
2016Star Trek BeyondJaylah[18][31]
2016Tiger RaidShadha
2016Jet TrashVix
2017The MummyPrincess Ahmanet[32][33]
2017Atomic BlondeDelphine LasalleNominated – ALOS Award for Best Supporting Actress[34]
2017Kingsman: The Golden CircleGazelleArchive footage
2018Fahrenheit 451ClarisseTelevision film[35]
2018ClimaxSelva
2018Hotel ArtemisNice[36]
2019Modern LoveYasmineTelevision series; 2 episodes[37]
2020Settlers Ilsapost-production
2020Prisoners of the Ghostland post-production
gollark: "I don't get it dude, he was doing so fine, participating in conversations and being reasonable and civilizedthen middy started talking and he went full retard mode"
gollark: "you're an inherently unlikeable person, i'm sure we'll remember you for a few hours"
gollark: Which channel?
gollark: Tell you what?
gollark: Boiling and recondensing the water would also probably work, but would cost more.

References
  1. "UPI Almanac for Wednesday, April 3, 2019". United Press International. 3 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019. dancer/actor Sofia Boutella in 1982 (age 37)
  2. AlloCine. "Sofia Boutella". AlloCiné.
  3. "How Sofia Boutella Is Redefining Her Action Stardom". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  4. "Sofia Boutella Is the Best New Action Star of 2017". GQ. Condé Nast. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  5. "Introducing Sofia Boutella, Your Newest Mummy". Vanity Fair. Condé Nast. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  6. Lachichi, Mohamed-Chérif (21 August 2016). "Sofia Boutella, de Bab El-Oued à Hollywood / Sofia Boutella, from Bab El-Oued to Hollywood". Liberté (in French). Algeria. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2019. Née le 3 avril 1982 à Alger, dans le quartier mythique de Bab El-Oued... / Born April 3, 1982 in Algiers, in the mythical district of Bab El-Oued...
  7. "IndieLondon: Streetdance 2 – Sofia Boutella interview – Your London Reviews". indielondon.co.uk.
  8. Morrow, Brendan (8 June 2017). "Sofia Boutella's Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  9. "Meet Sofia Boutella: Bazaar's June Cover Star". Harper's BAZAAR Arabia. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  10. "Sofia Boutella Is the Best New Action Star of 2017". GQ. Condé Nast. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  11. "Sofia Boutella Biography". Sofia Online. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  12. "Biography of Sofia Boutella". African Success. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  13. "Meet Star Trek's New Warrior". Time. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  14. Vogel, Joe (14 March 2011). "Exclusive: Inside Michael Jackson's "Hollywood"". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  15. "Michael Jackson – Hollywood Tonight". YouTube. michaeljacksonVEVO. 9 March 2011.
  16. "All Street Dance Streetdance 2 (3D) Vertigo Films official press release". All Street Dance.
  17. Fleming, Mike, Jr. (29 October 2013). "Matthew Vaughn's 'The Secret Service' Gets A Femme Fatale In Sofia Boutella". Deadline Hollywood.
  18. Fleming Jr, Mike (10 April 2015). "'Kingsman's Sofia Boutella Lands Lead In 'Star Trek 3'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 28 February 2016.
  19. "'Mummy' Star Sofia Boutella Joins Michael B. Jordan in 'Fahrenheit 451'". Retrieved 18 July 2017.
  20. Gamboa, Shéyen (September–October 2009). Gamboa, Shéyen (ed.). "Sofia Boutella, la force et la beauté" [Sofia Boutella, strength and beauty] (PDF). Juste Debout (in French). No. 24. Paris. pp. 14–18. ISSN 1772-189X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  21. O'Toole, Jason. "The Full Hot Press Interview with Robert Sheehan". Hotpress. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  22. "Robert Sheehan on girlfriend Sofia Boutella: 'You're staring at five months apart, but it always works out'". Independent.ie. Retrieved 11 September 2019.
  23. "Sofia BOUTELLA" (in French). AgencesArtistiques.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2011.
  24. Furdyk, Brent (12 June 2018). "Paris Jackson Gets Emotional In Thirty Seconds To Mars' New Video For 'Rescue Me'". Entertainment Tonight Canada. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  25. Leonard, Frédéric. "Sofia Boutella – Curiculum Vitae". In English via Google Translate (in French). EN TETE – Agence Artistique. Archived from the original on 21 April 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  26. "Sofia Boutella: a múltad a jövõd!". In English via Google Translate (in Hungarian). Megatánc. 24 November 2006. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  27. Barna, Marthy (24 November 2006). "TV2.hu exkluzív: Sofia Boutella titkai". In English via Google Translate (in Hungarian). Megatánc. Archived from the original on 21 March 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  28. Mitchell, Wendy (14 May 2011). "Vertigo ramps up StreetDance, Monsters sequels". Screen International. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
  29. "Monsters: Dark Continent". Protagonist Pictures. 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  30. Failes, Ian (16 February 2015). "Kingsman: not so secret effects". Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  31. Yamato, Jen (2015-12-15). "'Star Trek Beyond' Director on Avoiding Plot Overlap with 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens.'" TheDailyBeast.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
  32. Kroll, Justin (21 January 2016). "Tom Cruise's 'The Mummy' Gets New Release Date". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
  33. Kit, Borys; Ford, Rebecca (8 December 2015). "'Kingsman' Actress Sofia Boutella in Talks to Star in 'The Mummy' (Exclusive)". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  34. Sneider, Jeff (26 October 2015). "'Kingsman' Breakout Sofia Boutella Joins Charlize Theron in Spy Thriller 'The Coldest City' (Exclusive)". thewrap.com. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  35. Hipes, Patrick (7 June 2017). "Sofia Boutella Joins HBO Films' 'Fahrenheit 451'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  36. Kroll, Justin (28 April 2017). "'The Mummy' Star Sofia Boutella in Talks to Join Jodie Foster for 'Hotel Artemis' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
  37. "Modern Love Full Cast & Crew". imdb. Retrieved 3 December 2019.

Further reading
  • H. W. Wilson (2017). Current Biography Yearbook 2017 (78 ed.). Ipswich, Massachusetts: Grey House Publishing. ISBN 978-1-61925-848-8.
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