Shahadi Wright Joseph

Shahadi Wright Joseph (born April 29, 2005)^[1] is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for her starring role in Jordan Peele's horror film Us (2019), the voice for Young Nala in Jon Favreau's musical film The Lion King (2019),^[1][2] , as Ruby Lee Emory in the Amazon Prime original series Them (TV series) and Holiday Anders in the podcast, "Six Minutes".

Shahadi Wright Joseph
Born	(2005-04-29) April 29, 2005 (age 19) New York City, U.S.
Occupations	Actress singer dancer
Years active	2013–present

Early life

Joseph was born in Brooklyn, New York.^[3] She has been dancing since the age of two.^[4] She once auditioned for a school play in third grade using Lupita Nyong'o's Academy Award acceptance speech.^[5]

Career

Joseph's first major acting role came when she was cast as young Nala in the Broadway musical adaptation The Lion King, at nine years old.^[4][6] Joseph appeared as Madison, an original cast member in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical adaptation School of Rock. In 2016, she appeared as Little Inez Stubbs in the NBC musical television special Hairspray Live!, which earned positive reviews.^[1]

In 2018, she began starring in the podcast Six Minutes. She plays the lead, Holiday.^[7]

In November 2017, it was announced Joseph would reprise her role as young Nala in the 2019 remake of The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau.^[4] She chose to work on the film because she sees the character as a role model who inspires young girls.^[8] Upon learning that Beyoncé would be voicing grown-up Nala, Joseph stated that she was motivated to work harder and consider how Beyoncé would approach the role.^[8]

Also in 2019, Joseph starred in the supernatural horror film Us, which was directed by Jordan Peele. She read for the dual role of Zora and Umbrae three times before being offered the part.^[9] The film earned critical acclaim and was a box office success.^[10][11] Her performance earned her numerous award nominations, including for a Saturn Award and a Critics' Choice Movie Award.

Joseph had a starring role as Ruby Lee Emory in the Amazon Prime Video horror drama series Them. The series was released in April 2021, to generally positive reviews.^[12]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2019	Us	Zora Wilson / Umbrae	see awards
2019	The Lion King	Young Nala (voice)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2016	Hairspray Live!	Little Inez Stubbs	Television special
2021, 2024	Them	Ruby Lee Emory	11 episodes

Awards and nominations

Solo Awards for Shahadi Wright Joseph

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2019	Saturn Awards	Best Performance by a Younger Actor	Us	Nominated	[13]
	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association	Best Youth Performance		Nominated	[14]
2020	Black Reel Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress		Nominated	[15]
		Breakthrough Performance - Female		Nominated
	Critics' Choice Movie Awards	Best Young Actor/Actress		Nominated	[16]
	Music City Film Critics Association	Best Young Actress		Nominated	[17]
	NAACP Image Awards	Breakthrough Role - Motion Picture		Nominated	[18]
	Online Film & Television Association	Best Youth Performance		Nominated	[19]

Other Awards for Shahadi Wright Joseph

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref
2020	Hollywood Critics Association	Next Generation of Hollywood	Herself	Won	[20]