Mimî Michelle Ndiweni (born 31 August 1991), since 2021 credited as Mimî M. Khayisa, is a British actress. She is known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's '' The Witcher'', Tilly Brockless in the television series '' Mr Selfridge'', and Ester/Jekasai in the stage production of '' The Convert'' at The Gate Theatre in London. She has also appeared on film in '' Catherine Called Birdy'', '' Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'', '' Cinderella'' and '' The Legend of Tarzan''. She won the Spotlight Prize in 2013 and went on to work for the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

after graduating from Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Khayisa was also featured as One to Watch by the ''Independent'' in 2013 and was on the ''Evening Standard''s Stars of 2015 list after performing in the RSC's Midsummer Mischief Festival.

Early life

Khayisa was born in England; her father is from

Ntabazinduna Umguza is a district in the southern part of Matabeleland North province in Zimbabwe. It was formerly known as Esiphezini District. Geography Umguza District is bounded by Matopo and Umzingwane districts in the southeast, Bulilima and Tsho ...

in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, and is the eldest son of Chief

Kayisa Ndiweni Khayisa Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni (1913–2010) was a chief in Zimbabwe. He was hugely respected in Matabeleland and a revered figure among his people in Ntabazinduna.. He became a chief of the Matebele people of Ntabazinduna and Mbembezi in 1939. He ...

, while her mother was a Zulu from South Africa and was the daughter of Reverend Geoffrey Bizeni Mkhwanazi, the founder of

Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...

in South Africa. Her mother died at the age of thirty-seven. Khayisa grew up in

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, Surrey and started acting as a teenager, joining the

Yvonne Arnaud Germaine Yvonne Arnaud (20 December 1890 – 20 September 1958) was a French-born pianist, singer and actress, who was well known for her career in Britain, as well as her native land. After beginning a career as a concert pianist as a child, Ar ...

Mill Street Studios while she was in secondary school. From there she went on to complete a degree at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in Cardiff.

Spotlight Prize

At age 21, Khayisa (then stylised as Mimi Ndiweni) won the Spotlight Prize – beating out competition from students from 20 top UK drama schools in front of industry experts - with her performance of

Jenna Marbles Jenna Nicole Mourey (born September 15, 1986), better known as Jenna Marbles, is an American former YouTuber. Over the span of ten years, her YouTube channel has accumulated approximately 1.7 billion video views and over 20 million subscribers. ...

’ ''How to Avoid Talking to People You Don’t Want to Talk To.''

Career

Theatre

Khayisa has stated that theatre is her first love, and was taken on by the

in 2013 after graduating from Royal Welsh. While in the RSC her most notable roles were in ''

Wendy & Peter Pan ''Wendy & Peter Pan'' is a play by Ella Hickson, adapted from the original play and novel ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' by J.M. Barrie. The play is a re-telling of the classic children's story which features Wendy Darling as ...

'' as Tiger Lily, King Lear where she played Cordelia, and Hamlet where she played Ophelia. She left the RSC in 2015 to take on a regular appearance in the television show '' Mr Selfridge'', but has returned to the RSC on a number occasions as a guest. Khayisa toured North America with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2018, playing the part of Cordelia in ''King Lear'' in New York, and Ophelia in ''Hamlet'' in Washington DC. In 2017, Khayisa had her first leading role, playing Jekesai/Ester in Danai Gurira's ''The Convert'' at the Gate Theatre in London. The play itself and her part in it received critical acclaim, with five star reviews from some of the most respected critics in London.

Film and television

Khayisa's first appearance in a major film was as the Slipper Lady in Disney's ''Cinderella'' in 2015. She then played Eshe in ''The Legend of Tarzan'' in 2016, starring alongside Margot Robbie. In 2016, Khayisa played Tilly Brockless in ''Mr Selfridge'' for eight episodes of the last season and in May 2017, played the part of Abby in the ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' episode " Oxygen" during its tenth series. In October 2018, Netflix announced that Khayisa would be playing the part of Fringilla Vigo in '' The Witcher''. She appeared in Season 1 (2019), Season 2 (2021)< and Season 3 (2023). In 2022, Khayisa appeared as Lady Berenice Sidebottom in '' Catherine Called Birdy''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ndiweni, Mimi Living people 1991 births 21st-century English actresses Actresses from Guildford Actresses from Surrey Alumni of the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama Black British actresses English film actresses English people of South African descent English people of Zimbabwean descent English stage actresses English television actresses Zulu people