Wunmi Mosaku Wins BAFTA Best Supporting Actress for Sinners, First Black British Winner in Category

British-Nigerian actress Wunmi Mosaku, aged 39, won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 2026 BAFTA Film Awards for her acclaimed performance as Annie, a Hoodoo priestess, in the musical horror film Sinners directed by Ryan Coogler. This marks her as the first black British actress to win in the supporting actress category at the film Baftas. In her acceptance and press comments, Mosaku emotionally described how the role allowed her to reconnect with suppressed aspects of her identity, including her ancestral power, hopes, and spiritual connections—elements she felt she had dimmed while growing up as an immigrant in Manchester after moving from Nigeria at age one. She highlighted the widespread resonance among black women who expressed feeling seen, valued, and linked through ancestral spirituality, alleviating her own past sense of loneliness by fostering unexpected kinship. Mosaku was visibly shocked by the win, losing her breath in disbelief, and she is currently pregnant. She thanked her daughter, calling her her greatest teacher. This victory follows her earlier 2017 TV Bafta win in the same category for the BBC drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy. Inspired by repeatedly watching the 1980s musical Annie, Mosaku pursued acting, discovered drama schools via Albert Finney, auditioned successfully at RADA after a low-cost Megabus trip from Manchester, and cherished 11 years in the Manchester Girls Choir. Her career includes roles in Luther, Black Mirror, and Marvel films. The win for Sinners underscores growing recognition for diverse storytelling and authentic representation in cinema.