PARIS — Nathalie Emmanuel has been named the new Giorgio Armani global makeup ambassador.
The British actress will appear in the brand’s Luminous Silk foundation campaign that’s due out in January.
“What attracted me to this specific product and this specific project is I love to enhance skin and fresh-faced looks,” said Emmanuel. She is partial to makeup that looks highly natural — not heavy, over-contoured or over-manipulated. Emmanuel said Luminous Silk “just sits so effortlessly and light on the skin.”
She finds it is to apply and encourages or enhances one’s natural beauty — what Emmanuel aims for with her own makeup.
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“Then you can have fun with bright colors or eye shadow and lipstick if you want,” said Emmanuel. “But my go-to starter place is very naturalistic. Armani has always had that aesthetic. It’s very subtle, but clean beauty.”
Armani beauty said in a statement it was drawn to Emmanuel’s elegance, charisma and natural beauty.
“In each uniquely different role that she has embodied, her magnetic presence has captivated audiences worldwide,” the L’Oréal-licensed brand added. “Nathalie Emmanuel reflects the essence of a modern femininity encapsulating Giorgio Armani‘s makeup philosophy of revealing each person’s unique and inner beauty.”
Emmanuel is an Emmy and SAG award nominee, whose breakthrough role was Missandei in HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” She played the character for more than six seasons, between 2013 and 2019. That earned her six Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
Emmanuel in 2015 joined the “Fast and Furious” franchise and also appeared in its films out in 2017, 2021 and 2023, which together grossed more than $4 billion in box office tickets globally.
Over the past five years she’s worked on projects such as “Four Weddings and a Funeral,” the Hulu series from 2019; “Army of Thieves,” from Netflix in 2021, and this year’s “Arthur the King,” from Lionsgate. Emmanuel was twice nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards for performances in “Die Hart,” in 2020, and “Die Hart 2: Die Harter,” this year.
She had a feature starring role in “The Invitation,” a Screen Gems horror film. In 2024, she’s held leading parts in movies “The Killer,” directed by John Woo, and Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis.”
Makeup can help Emmanuel get into a role. “There might be a choice to not wear makeup, and that in itself says something about the character or the situation they’re in,” she said.
Emmanuel explained makeup, like the way one does hair or chooses clothing, “is another way to enhance the character that you’re playing. That also applies in life, as well.
“If you’re, for example, showing up to a situation or a space you are slightly nervous about, sometimes the way that you dress, do your hair and your makeup can help you feel more empowered — ready for it,” she said. “The inside will catch up to the outside.
“Historically for myself, especially as a person of color and a mixed-race person, my relationship with makeup and hair hasn’t always been that smooth,” she continued. Emmanuel said it is affirming when a person’s specific needs, beauty and individual qualities are being catered to and cared for.
“It helps you feel good,” said Emmanuel.
She hopes to impart a message as an Armani makeup ambassador.
“In an age of social media, it’s so easy to compare yourself to everybody,” she said. “There’s high and unobtainable standards. It’s really important to remember that your unique beauty is something to be celebrated and nurtured. You don’t have to look like somebody else.
“I would always want people to feel empowered to embrace their own beauty,” continued Emmanuel. “For a lot of people, it has been a long journey. I haven’t necessarily always appreciated my own unique looks. So to be a part of something like this … that enhances my natural beauty or natural qualities is a positive thing. The truth of it is that through makeup we get to express ourselves however we so choose.”
Back to acting: she’s set to appear in the third season of “Die Hart,” which was announced earlier this week. The series will be out on Dec. 13 on Roku. Meanwhile, Emmanuel is considering options for 2025.
“I’m trying to be really intentional with my next projects,” she said, adding she’s open to new projects — to read scripts and meet with people. “I don’t know what’s going to happen next year, and that’s both exciting and scary, which is where I like to be in life.
“Because if it doesn’t feel a bit scary, then I don’t think it’s worth doing sometimes,” she continued. “I’m looking for that next challenge.”
