Birthdate: Sep 6, 1972
Birthplace: Hackney, London, England, UK
Idris Elba (birthname: Idrissa Akuna Elba) belongs to the upper tier of actors with Trans-Atlantic appeal, equally renowned in his native U.K. and in the U.S., where he first made an impact in Marvel’s Thor (2011) as Heimdall. He followed up his striking and award-winning turn as Nelson Mandela in the limited series, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom with roles in four blockbusters—Ridley Scott’s Prometheus (2012), Pacific Rim (2013), Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015).
Idris Elba gained further prestige as a fearsome warlord in Cary Joji Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation (2015), one of Netflix’s first major original features, which earned him four awards and six nominations. But it was his title role in the hit series, Luther (2010-2011, 2013, 2015, 2019), which finally scored Elba his widest visibility and confirmed his position as a leading man. The successful recording artist diversified his resume with voice work in animated features Zootopia (2016), The Jungle Book (2016), and Finding Dory (2016).
Despite occasional misfires like the Stephen King adaptation of The Dark Tower (2017), Idris Elba has nimbly shifted between MCU megahits like Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs & Shaw (2019) and The Suicide Squad (2021) and more artistic ventures such as Molly’s Game (2017) with Jessica Chastain and The Mountain Between Us (2017) with Kate Winslet. 2022 ushers in one of Elba’s biggest profile roles to date, co-starring with Tilda Swinton in George Miller’s supernatural adventure, Three Thousand Years of Longing. In 2018, Elba made his debut as a feature film director with the British urban drama, Yardie.
Idris Elba was born in 1972 in London to parents Winston and Eve Elba. His national heritage mix includes Sierra Leone and Ghana, with Creole on his father’s side. He shortened his name to Idris while studying acting. He developed DJ skills working with his uncle and supported himself with night shifts at Ford’s Dagenham car plant where his father worked.
While he was going on auditions, he also gained a spot in England’s National Youth Music Theatre. His first wife was Hanne “Kim” Nørgaard, with whom he has a daughter. His second wife was Sonya Hamlin. His third wife is model Sabrina Dhowre, to whom he proposed during a screening of his movie Yardie. He has a son with his ex-girlfriend Naiyana Garth. He and his wife Sabrina tested positive for COVID-19, putting Elba at higher risk because he has an asthmatic condition.
(2015)
(2010)
(2013)
Two-time winner and two-time nominee, Screen Actors Guild (2007, 2015-2016); four-times nominee, Emmy Awards (2011-12, 2014, 2016); winner and four-time nominee, Golden Globe Awards (2010-12, 2014-2016).
Actor
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Golden Globe
Golden Globes, USA
Primetime Emmy
Primetime Emmy Awards
Upcoming (3)
Previous (56)
Previous (1)
Sexiest: Idris Elba was picked Sexiest Man of the Year in 2013 by Essence magazine, and Sexiest Man Alive by People magazine in 2018.
Honors: Idris Elba was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2016.
Speed Racer: While filming Idris Elba: No Limits for Discovery Channel, Elba broke the land speed record in Wales’ Pendine Sands “Flying Mile” automobile race. He reached 180 mph in a Continental GT Speed.
Athlete: Elba also filmed a documentary, Idris Elba: Fighter, which covered his 12-month training in kickboxing and mixed martial arts; Elba won his only professional kickboxing fight against Lionel Graves in London in 2016.
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