Actress formerly known as Thandie Newton will now go by the true spelling of her name

Actor Thandie Newton has announced that she is reverting to the original Zimbabwean spelling of her first name, Thandiwe.

In an interview with British Vogue, the 48-year-old asserted: "That's my name. It's always been my name. I'm taking back what's mine."

Thandiwe, which is pronounced "tan-dee-way", translates to "beloved" in Shona - one of the main languages in Zimbabwe, where Newton's mother hails from.

(Credit: Alamy)

The Westworld star was previously known as Thandie, which is an anglicised version of her name - without the "w".

She was born in London to a white father, Nick, and a Zimbabwean mother, Nyasha, who is a princess of the Shona tribe. Her family relocated to Cornwall, England, when she was three years old.

Speaking to the publication, Newton explained that her name had been misspelt in the credits of her first film, 1991's Flirting, which co-starred Nicole Kidman and Noah Taylor. Subsequently, "Thandie Newton" became the widely used spelling of her name.

Newton said that all of her films and television shows will be associated with the name "Thandiwe Newton" going forward.

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In the same interview, she said she feels encouraged by the fact that the representation of ethnic minority groups is improving within the entertainment industry.

"The thing I'm most grateful for in our business right now is being in the company of others who truly see me. And to not be complicit in the objectification of black people as 'others', which is what happens when you're the only one," Newton stated.

(Credit: Alamy)

The Mission Impossible star also touched on why she spoke out publicly about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a director when she was 16-years-old.

"There’s a moment where the ghost of me changed, you know, and it was then, it was 16. He derailed me from myself utterly. I was traumatised. It was a kind of PTSD for sure," she said. "I was so distraught and appalled that a director had abused a young actress, and that it was happening elsewhere, minors getting abused and how f**ked up it was. I was basically waiting for someone to come along and say, ‘Well, what shall we do about this?"

"I have a seventh sense for abuse and abusers, which I believe is one of the reasons why I was rejected a lot in Hollywood. I’ll talk about it until the cows come home, because I know I’ll be helping someone," she added.