Natalie first came to prominence in an award-winning storyline in Coronation Street, playing Kirsty Soames, the violent partner to the much-loved Tyrone Dobbs. Across 2012-2013, she was nominated for the National Television Awards and TV Choice Awards, and won British Soap Awards for Best Newcomer, Villain of the Year, and Best Dramatic Performance. Immediately after, Natalie finished runner-up in the 2013 season of Strictly Come Dancing, followed by a national arena tour.
Since then she has starred in a 'Doctor Who' Christmas Special, the Emmy-winning children’s show ‘Free Rein’ for Netflix, 'Strike' for the BBC and Max, and DC’s ‘Titans’ for Netflix and Max, amongst many others. More recently, Natalie has been seen in Prime Video's hit Christmas films, 'Your Christmas Or Mine' 1 and 2.
As a speaker at events, Natalie has 20 years of experience to share from working on some of the nation’s favourite shows. Highlights include hosting and speaking at the Women And Diversity in Law Awards, speaking for the charity Arts Emergency, and hosting fashion shows across several John Lewis London stores.
Natalie's speaking style is charismatic and inclusive - she is a natural storyteller and thrives on making an authentic connection with her audience.
She has first-hand experience of the importance of resilience, self-motivation and discipline as an actor, and being bi-racial from a working-class background has led her to be a champion for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She also speaks passionately about mentoring young people after doing so for the Creative Mentor Network and the aforementioned Arts Emergency.
Additionally, Natalie is a qualified yoga teacher and will be teaching at her first festival this year after working with Soho House. She works with all bodies and abilities and believes in the power of yoga to self-regulate, overcome challenges, and support mental health.
Growing up bi-racial in a small Lancastrian town, Natalie Gumede learned early on what it was like to not fit in. In this talk, she explores how being unafraid to stand out is the gift that helps your community find you.
Natalie Gumede has had a performing career spanning over twenty years as a mixed-race, working-class woman. In this talk, she shares some of the adversity she has overcome and considers that if we can achieve great things without the support, we ALL need and deserve, then what could we achieve with it? In doing so, the conversation opens out to the ultimate goal - improving opportunities for the next generation.
Being an actor means facing one of the highest rates of rejection of any industry. Enduring through over two decades in show business has meant that Gumede has learned how to love both herself and the process. By seeing the no’s as redirection and listening in to what repeating patterns in one’s life and career highlight, Natalie invites the audience to tap into their own inner wisdom and values to prevail through a volatile work landscape.
As an actor, Natalie Gumede is often asked how she retains so much information. This talk is an actor’s guide to learning and discusses how, through telling stories, we not only connect with our audience, but retain a greater wealth of information ourselves. The magic in all information is the meaning behind it, and Natalie encourages the audience to find the ‘why’ in their work to improve efficiency, purpose and satisfaction.
Are you still in the career you trained for as a teenager? Does it still fit the person you are now? As we enter mid-life, career satisfaction can be one of many areas we want to appraise. Drawing on her own experience, Natalie Gumede shares the signs that it may be time to Reassess, how to Reinvigorate the same career, or Reinvent yourself in a different direction.
