Cleopatra was more than a queen; she was an activist, a mother, and a powerful seductress. Adele James effortlessly transforms herself into the famed ruler in Netflix’s new docuseries Queen Cleopatra. In just 24 hours since the show’s premiere, it has made its way onto the streamer’s Top 10 list. With all eyes on this show, many are wondering where they’ve seen James before.
The docuseries premiered on Wednesday (May 10) after being hit with heavy criticisms for its portrayal of the Egyptian Queen as a Black woman. The show is part of Jada Pinkett Smith’s African Queens collection for Netflix, with its predecessor focusing on Njinga Ana de Sousa Mbande, ruler of Ndongo and Matamba. Both works are executive produced and narrated by Smith.
Queen Cleopatra is not James’s first time on screen, the actor previously held a role in a popular British series after studying at Richmond-upon-Thames College and the University of Bristol, per Greek City Times.
Curious to learn more about the actor? Here’s everything you need to know about James, including her previous roles, where to find her on social media, and her response to the accusations of “Black-washing” in her latest role.
What Else Has Adele James Starred In?
James is a writer, producer, and actor who held her breakthrough role in the BBC series Casualty, where she starred as Tina Mollett. The ongoing series first premiered in 1986 and currently has 37 seasons. The Cleopatra actor appeared in a variety of episodes in seasons 34-26, which aired in 2020 and 2021.
James made her on-screen debut in the 2014 short film One Minute and went on to star in another short, Who I Am, and the television series Nate & Jamie.
The actor also co-created the television series That’s What She Said and starred in a single episode. Additional producing credits include the short films Last Call and Post-You Me, and she also wrote an episode of The Corona Connections for Shoreditch Pictures.
According to James’s Instagram account (@adele_jjames), she is also an acting coach for the company In the Room and previously hosted a podcast with the same name. Her account also states that she’s a “champion” for the UK mental health organization Papyrus, which aims to support youths struggling with suicide.
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Adele James Responds To Accusations of “Black-Washing”
Ahead of Queen Cleopatra’s debut, the series was met with harsh accusations from the Egyptian government and others for its portrayal of the Egyptian Queen as a Black woman. Egypt‘s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a statement in April accusing the docuseries of taking excessive creative liberties as the famed ruler had “white skin and Hellenistic characteristics.” Other critics created a petition opposing the Netflix docuseries, slamming the Afrocentrism movement as “pseudoscience” and accusing the creators of “robbing” Egyptians of their history.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, James addressed these criticisms in an appearance on The Wayner Ayers podcast, saying, “Blackwashing isn’t a thing, is it?” She continued, “I find it sad that people are either so self-loathing or so threatened by Blackness that they feel the need to do that, to separate Egypt from the rest of the continent.”
Later, the Casualty actor addressed the reception on the podcast Steph’s Packed Lunch. Per The Independent, she said that she expected some backlash, but “didn’t expect the scale of it.” James called the controversy “fundamentally racist” and said, “People are talking about the wrong things.”
Speaking about the documentary, she added, “If you watch it, is a very small part of the conversation really, this is about the fullness of who this woman was and she was a human being and she shouldn’t be reduced to her race any more than I should or anybody should.”
The show’s portrayal of Cleopatra as Black is briefly addressed in the first episode of the series and then never again. One of the experts featured in the documentary, Professor Shelley Haley, who teaches Classics at Hamilton College, noted that African Egyptians had a variety of different skin colors “ranging from Black to pale brown, much like the people of South Sudan to modern-day Egypt.” Another interview subject, Dr. Sally-Ann Ashton, author of Cleopatra and Egypt, questioned the previous lack of representation of Cleopatra as a non-white person, saying it’s “very strange that we insist on depicting her as wholly European.”
While these conversations seem uncalled for and deeply rooted in anti-Blackness, James continues to hold her head high and has been tweeting about her recent press appearances, saying she wants to be remembered by them rather than “being run off the internet by bullies and racists!”
James has nothing to worry about as the series seems to be a success on the platform and critics are raving about her performance. Decider’s Joel Keller wrote in his review that she did a “good job” portraying Cleopatra as “a strong, intelligent and determined leader,” and The Guardian’s Leila Latif praised James’s performance as “strikingly better than what surrounds her.”
Queen Cleopatra is currently streaming on Netflix.
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