Nathalie Emmanuel became tearful as chopped her hair and said goodbye to her long locks.
The Game of Thrones star, 33, debuted her new hairdo at the Bafta Craft Awards on Sunday, after making the decision for ‘the first time in her life’ on how to wear her hair.
Having her curly hair cut was a very emotional experience for Nathalie, with celebrity hair stylist, Neeko, performing the chop.
The actress was forced to wipe away tears while in the chair, explaining the significance behind the chop and the meaning attached to her hair.
She shared a soul-baring video on Instagram to let her fans in on the process, saying: ‘There’s some much, like, joy and, like, celebration connected to it, but also all this pressure and like, trauma and all these things I had to overcome with it, you know?’
‘I think, I like asked my mum when I was, like, 15 and then I went into acting and the job dictated what my hair did. So this is like the first time in 33 years, I’ve had like… I made a decision for my hair that’s completely my own,’ she added.
The video was accompanied by a lengthy caption, in which Nathalie states ‘the big chop’ was ‘a big deal’ and she felt compelled to share it despite not usually wanted to post personal videos of her life.
She wrote: ‘I wanted to share this for those who have experienced any kind of feelings of othering or hair discrimination and then had a long, tough journey to self acceptance or feelings of having no autonomy over yourself… or… worrying about not fitting certain beauty standards…
‘Anyway… please be kind… me and my lil crop cut will be over here getting to know each other…’
Nathalie went on to thank her team of friends and supporters for ‘holding her hand’ and cheering her on.
‘Thank you to @neekobackstage_ and Tanya for holding my hand through this and to all my peoples dem who encouraged and cheered me on… You know who you are…’ she concluded.
Naturally, the comments section was flooded with compliments for her new look, with her six million followers in awe of how ‘beautiful’ she looks.
‘YOU LOOK FIIIRREEEEE!!!!!🔥😍👏👏👏👏🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌 YAS!!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️’ commented pal Game of Thrones co star, Emilia Clarke.
Laura Whitmore also wrote: ‘Always beautiful ❤️’
Nathalie proceeded to strut her stuff on the Bafta red carpet in London last night, debuting her shorter look.
She looked chic in a dark green suit with complimentary handbag, keeping her outfit simple and allowing all eyes to be on her crop cut.
Her bit cut comes a couple of months after Nathalie said she felt shocked by the roles offered to Black actors in the UK.
She applauded the US for supporting Black British talent, while the UK fails in regards to diversity.
The actress – who has enjoyed worldwide success after leaving Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks – acknowledges that her career may not have taken off in the same way if she hadn’t been scouted in the States.
Speaking on the Way We Are With Munroe Bergdorf podcast, Nathalie explained: ‘We lose so much Black and brown talent to the States because the British industry just doesn’t hold space in a meaningful, significant way. It’s frustrating.’
She added: ‘All cultures and ethnicities were being seen for parts in the US and not just “the best friend” or “the receptionist” bit parts – it was lead roles and significant characters.
‘Even now some British Black people I know in the industry who are British-born who have gone to the US where they’ve been playing lead in shows, they come back to the UK and the parts they are being asked to audition for, you’re just like “wait, I’ve just led a show for a major network”. We are still battling that.’
‘I don’t really see that happening to my white counterparts,’ the actress said.
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