A Salute to Rising Stars

It’s that time again to salute those actresses who are on the move, actresses who deserve a little extra attention for their latest work, those actresses who are rising stars. Landing that crucial role in a TV movie or guest appearance in a successful show or film makes all the difference for aspiring actors.

Let’s take a look at the next group of actresses who viewers should keep their eyes on, and they both are from the new Shonda Rhimes drama Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story:

Arsema Thomas

Arsema Thomas was born in Atlanta but grew up in countries like Tanzania, Benin, Togo, Kenya and India. After graduating from Linden Hall, an independent boarding school in Pennsylvania, she went on to graduate with a BA in Biophysics from Carnegie Mellon University and then got her Master of Public Health from Yale University.

She shifted gears, however, after the death of her father. She decided to pursue acting and took courses at the American Academy of Dramatics Arts, the Cours Florent in Paris and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London from which she earned her Master in Fine Arts.

After signing with an agent in South Africa, she landed her debut feature film role in the independent movie Redeeming Love in 2022; and then landed her latest role that of young Lady Agatha Danbury in the Netflix prequel series Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

Arsema is multi-lingual, speaking French, Spanish, Yoruba and Amharic in addition to English.

You can follow Arsema on Instagram @arsemathomas.

Related: A Salute to Rising Stars

India Amarteifio

India Amarteifio is a 22-year-old British actress, who got started as a child actress on the West End, appearing as young Nala in The Lion King and also in Matilda the Musical.She also appeared on stage in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. She joined the Richmond Academy of Dance in 2012, and later earned a scholarship to attend the Syliva Young Theatre School.

Among her TV roles are appearances in Doctor Who, The Evermoor Chronicles, Line of Duty and The Tunnel [among others]. Her biggest role to date is playing the young Queen Charlotte in the Netflix period drama Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story.

India was selected in 2023 by Variety for their 10 Brits to Watch list and was named a Bright Young Thing by the British magazine Tatler.

You can follow Inda on Instagram @india_amarteifio.

You can watch Arsema and India in their respective roles in Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, which is currently airing all of its six episodes on Netflix right now.