Sofia Boutella

SOFIA BOUTELLA

Date of Birth: April 6, 1982

Sofia Boutella, the daughter of jazz musician Safy Boutella and an architect mother, was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers. When Sofia was five years old, she started classical dance education, and in 1992, 10-year-old Sofia left Algeria with her family and moved to France, where she started rhythmic gymnastics. At 18, she joined the French national team, and then later graduated from Berklee College of Music.

Sofia had an interest in hip hop and street dance, and began rehearsing at age 17 with choreographer Blanca Li. After winning the competition Battle of the Year in 2006 as part of the Vagabond Crew, she also participated in a group called Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites, created by fellow Vagabond member, Momo.

Sofia has made several film and TV appearances as a dancer, as well as concert tours and commercials. Some music videos you may have seen her in are Madonna’s Hung Up, Chris Brown’s Wall to Wall, Usher’s Hey Daddy, and Ne-yo’s Beautiful Monster.

Her breakthrough in the industry came in 2007, when she was picked as a role model of hip hop and femininity in Jamie King and Nike’s collaboration. This led her to her working with stars such as Rihanna and Madonna. In February 2011, she had the main role in Michael Jackson’s music video for Hollywood Tonight. Sofia also auditioned for Michael Jackson’s This Is It concerts, but despite being successful in her audition, she could not attend due to scheduling conflicts with Madonna’s Confessions tour.

Sofia's dancing has led her to many film opportunities as well, playing the lead character Eva in the film StreetDance 2, and co-starring in Kingsman: The Secret Service. Sofia’s influences include Fred Astaire, Karim Barouche, Daniel Day-Lewis, Bob Fosse, and Jean-Michel Basquiat.

She has been in a relationship with Jet Trash co-star Robert Sheehan since 2014.

Sofia appeared as alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond (2016) and in 2017, she carried the title role in Universal’s reboot of The Mummy (2017). Most recently, she played a role in Hotel Artemis (2018), starring Jodie Foster.

Filmography:

Hotel Artemis (2018)
Atomic Blonde (2017)
The Mummy (2017)
The Coldest City (2017)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Jet Trash (2016)
Tiger Raid (2016)
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Monsters: Dark Continent (2014)
StreetDance 2 (2012)
Azur et Asmar (2006)
Permis D’Aimer (2005)