Sophie Okonedo
Nude

It couldn’t have been easy for British-Nigerian stunner Sophie Okonedo to get lost among other English actresses. Still, the exotic ingénue had an obscure decade between her scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and her revealing scene in the underseen Deep Secrets (1996). By 2002, Sophie attracted TV viewers per Clocking Off and international fans via the Stephen Frears thriller Dirty Pretty Things. In fact, the latter has her upstaging the film’s star Audrey Tautou! But Sophie’s big break came when she nabbed an Oscar nomination for Hotel Rwanda (2004). She then played Charlize Theron’s savage sidekick in the sci-fi action flick Aeon Flux (2005). Next, the acclaimed babe scored praise for her televised turn in Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006). Through the years, the boob tube beauty could be seen on the popular show Doctor Who (2010) and heard on the miniseries Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka (2003). She also performed opposite Tom Hardy in the BBC adaptation of Oliver Twist (2007) and the indie rom-com Scenes of a Sexual Nature (2006). Thanks to her work on stage (Troilus and Cressida, A Raisin in the Sun, The Crucible), on film (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, The Secret Life of Bees) and on TV (Criminal Justice, Criminal: UK, The Slap), Ms. Okonedo was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2019. Suffice it to say, there’s nothing like a dame. Perhaps that’s why she swapped sapphic spit with Rosamund Pike in The Wheel of Time (2021).