Natasha Ofili
She // Her // Hers
Actress, Writer, Director, and Filmmaker
Los Angeles, California
“If everyone practiced kindness and acceptance, it would expand minds and hearts in ways we can’t even imagine. Perfection isn’t the goal. The goal is understanding, harmony, and a shared respect for one another.”
Being an artist, writer, and storyteller started at a young age, but Natasha Ofili did not realize this passion would bloom later in her life. Ofili's mom immigrated from Sierra Leone on the West Coast of Africa to the United States. Ofili is a first-generation American, and at eighteen months old, she became deaf from a high fever. That did not scare her mother, who became Ofili’s biggest supporter, and it shaped who Ofili is today as a proud Black, Deaf woman.
Growing up as the only deaf child in her family meant being solitary in her world of imagination and observation. Ofili loved going to the library and reading stories to ignite her imagination, and stories and music allow her to tap into her inner emotions and accept how she sees the world. She loves and believes in the power of storytelling to invoke feelings of human connection, openness, and learning, driving her passion for acting, writing, and filmmaking.
As a rising actress, Ofili was recognized for her breakout role as Principal Karen Vaughn in Ryan Murphy's Netflix series The Politician, with Oprah Daily singling her out as one of "a host of newcomers that manage to steal the screen" from the show's seasoned actors. Ofili achieved historical milestones by winning the 2024 Game Accessibility Conference award for Best Representation for portraying Hailey Cooper, the first Black Deaf playable character in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 video game. She also played Hailey in Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales video game. In collaboration with Coldplay, Pulse Films, and Director Ben Mor, Ofili developed the story and creative direction for the music video for Coldplay’s first single, "feelslikeimfallinginlove," off their album Moon Music as the Creative Director and lead performer. The video was nominated for two MTV VMA awards: Best Rock and Video for Good.
Ofili’s other credits include Amazon Originals' animated series Undone, where she is the first Black Deaf animated character. A Writers Guild of America West (WGA) member, she was a staff writer on the Starz/Warner Brothers’ Untitled, produced by Ava DuVernay’s production company, ARRAY. Founder of NIOVISION Productions, she wrote, acted, produced, and directed her award-winning short film The Multi, which was accepted by fourteen film festivals, including several BAFTA, Oscars, and Canadian Screen qualifiers. In the theater world, she wrote her first play, The Window, workshopped by NIOVISION, WACO Theatre (founded by Tina Knowles and Richard Lawson), and Deaf West Theatre.
A natural-born advocate whenever she is on set, in the writer's room, or working as a consultant, Ofili advocates for accessibility, authentic representation, and opportunities for the Deaf and disabled community, especially Black and BIPOC deaf youth.