Nathalie Joanne Emmanuel (born 2 March 1989 in Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea

Southend-on-Sea is a unitary authority area, town, and seaside resort in Essex, England. The district has Borough status, and comprises the towns of Chalkwell, Eastwood, Leigh-on-Sea, North Shoebury, Prittlewell, Shoeburyness, Southchurch, Thorpe Bay, and Westcliff-on-Sea. The district is situated...

) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 actress best known for her role in the Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

 soap Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks

Hollyoaks is a long-running British television soap opera, first broadcast on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was originally devised by Phil Redmond, who has also devised shows including Brookside and Grange Hill...

as Sasha Valentine

Sasha Valentine

Sasha Valentine is a fictional character from the long-running Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Nathalie Emmanuel. The character first appeared on-screen on 17 July 2006 as part of the newly introduced Valentine family...

, which she played from 2006 to 2010.

Her first major television break came as the star of a summer Vodafone

Vodafone

Vodafone Group Plc is a global telecommunications company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest mobile telecommunications company measured by revenues and the world's second-largest measured by subscribers , with around 341 million proportionate subscribers as of...

 advertisement while she worked at a bank. She also played Nala in the West End

West End theatre

West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 production of The Lion King

The Lion King (musical)

The Lion King is a musical based on the 1994 Disney animated film of the same name with music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice along with the musical score created by Hans Zimmer with choral arrangements by Lebo M. Directed by Julie Taymor, the musical features actors in animal costumes as well...

alongside Pippa Bennett-Warner and Dominique Moore

Dominique Moore

Dominique Moore is a British actress best known for playing Chanel O'Grady in the ITV2 television drama Footballers' Wives: Extra Time.Dominique is a former pupil of Sylvia Young Theatre School. The BBC fly-on-the-wall documentary series Paddington Green followed her as she tried to win a...

. She then later played 'Charlie' in the E4 show, Misfits

Misfits (TV series)

Misfits is a British science fiction comedy-drama television series about a group of young offenders forced to work in a community service programme, where they obtain supernatural powers after a strange electrical storm. The first series started broadcasting on 12 November 2009 on E4, and was...

 in the first episode of the third season.

Background

Emmanuel attended Westcliff High School for Girls

Westcliff High School for Girls

Westcliff High School for Girls is a selective non-boarding grammar school for girls in Southend-On-Sea, Essex and surrounding areas.-Admissions:...

 from the age of 12.
She has a sister, Louise, who was in the 2002 final of Stars in Their Eyes Kids

Stars In Their Eyes

Stars in Their Eyes is a British television talent show that ran on Saturdays nights from 21 July 1990 until 23 December 2006 in which contestants impersonate showbiz stars...

and is currently a member of UK girlgroup Fuzion.

In 2007, Emmanuel presented the award for 'Best R & B Act' at the MOBO Awards

MOBO Awards

The Music of Black Origin Awards, established in 1995 by Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell, are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any ethnicity or nationality performing black music....

 alongside Martin Offiah

Martin Offiah

Martin Offiah MBE is an English former rugby league and rugby union footballer.He is known as "Chariots" Offiah after the film Chariots of Fire...

. She also presented an award at the 2008 Urban Music Awards

Urban Music Awards

The Urban Music Awards is a HipHop, R&B, Dance and soul music awards ceremony launched in 2003 and now held in six countries annually.The awards ceremony is held annually by Invincible Media Group. The UMA's is now held in 6 countries annually...

.