Sofia Boutella

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title: "Sofia Boutella" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1982-births", "living-people", "people-from-bab-el-oued", "people-from-algiers", "21st-century-algerian-actresses", "21st-century-french-actresses", "algerian-rhythmic-gymnasts", "algerian-emigrants-to-france", "algerian-film-actresses", "algerian-television-actresses", "algerian-female-dancers", "algerian-female-models", "french-rhythmic-gymnasts", "french-female-dancers", "french-female-models", "french-breakdancers", "hip-hop-dancers", "algerian-expatriates-in-the-united-states", "berklee-college-of-music-alumni", "21st-century-french-sportswomen"] description: "Algerian-French actress, dancer and model (born 1982)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Boutella" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Algerian-French actress, dancer and model (born 1982) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Sofia Boutella
image	Sofia Boutella (34705024651).jpg
caption	Boutella in 2017
birth_date
birth_place	Bab El Oued, Algiers, Algeria
alma_mater	Berklee College of Music
occupation
father	Safy Boutella
years_active	1998–present
::

| name = Sofia Boutella | image = Sofia Boutella (34705024651).jpg | caption = Boutella in 2017 | birth_date = | birth_place = Bab El Oued, Algiers, Algeria | alma_mater = Berklee College of Music | occupation = | father = Safy Boutella | height = | years_active = 1998–present Sofia Boutella (; born 3 April 1982) is an Algerian-French actress, dancer and model. Born in Algiers, she emigrated to Paris at the age of 10. Shortly thereafter, she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at the age of 18. She began dancing in film and television shows, as well as in commercials and concerts. She was one of Madonna's backup dancers for six years, performing in numerous music videos and at the 2012 Super Bowl. As an actress, her breakthrough role came in 2012 in the British film, StreetDance 2.

She went on to appear in the well-received films Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Star Trek Beyond (2016), Atomic Blonde (2017), Climax (2019), Prisoners of the Ghostland (2021), and the Rebel Moon duology (2023, 2024), among others. In 2017, she portrayed the titular character in the American fantasy action-adventure film The Mummy. As a model, Boutella has featured in a series of Nike ads and videos, choreographed by creative director Jamie King.

Early life

Sofia Boutella was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers, Algeria, to an architect mother and a jazz musician father, Safy Boutella. Her brother, Seif, works as a visual effects artist in the entertainment industry. Her surname means "the men of the mountains". She was raised in a household that cultivated artistic expression and creativity. Boutella described her childhood as a happy one, stating that she was "blessed to be born into a family that allowed me to express myself, to be myself and let out all sorts of colours that were living in my imagination and in my heart."

With her family's encouragement, Boutella started classical dance education when she was five years old. In 1992, at the age of 10, she left Algeria with her family in the midst of the Algerian Civil War and moved to France. Shortly thereafter, she started rhythmic gymnastics, joining the French national team at age 18. She later graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

Dancing career

Growing up in Paris, Boutella was exposed to many more forms of dance, particularly hip hop and street-dance, which intrigued her for offering more "freedom" compared to the more disciplined styles of ballet and gymnastics.

Her breakthrough as a dancer came in 2007, when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike Women's "Keep Up" campaign, serving as a role model of femininity and hip-hop.

Boutella successfully auditioned for the Michael Jackson This Is It tour, but could not attend due to the extension of the Madonna tour, whose dates coincided with the Jackson tour. She was the main character in the music video for "Hollywood Tonight" by Michael Jackson in February 2011.

Acting career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Sofía_Boutella_2018_3.jpg" caption="Boutella in 2018"] ::

Beginning at age 17, Boutella rehearsed with famed Spanish choreographer Blanca Li. She began dancing in film and television shows, as well as in commercials and concert tours.

She played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2 (2012), the sequel to StreetDance 3D (2010).

In 2014, after 12 years as a dancer, Boutella sought a career in acting. Initially, she purposefully avoided auditioning for lead roles, wishing to play supporting characters so as to learn from more experienced actors. In 2015, she appeared in her first major film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which jump-started her career as an actress. One year later, she appeared as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, released on 22 July 2016.

In 2017, she portrayed a French secret agent in the David Leitch film Atomic Blonde, which also featured Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Toby Jones. The same year, she played the titular character in The Mummy, along with Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Annabelle Wallis. Also that year, GQ called her "the best new action star of 2017" while Vanity Fair said she was "this season's breakout action star."

Beginning in 2018, Boutella's profile rose, and she began to appear in more central roles. That year, she appeared in the Gaspar Noé dark psychological horror film Climax, starred alongside Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon in the HBO drama film Fahrenheit 451, and portrayed French contract killer 'Nice' in the near-future action crime thriller Hotel Artemis, alongside Jodie Foster, Jeff Goldblum, and Dave Bautista.

In October 2019, she starred in episode 5 of the first season of Amazon Prime's Modern Love.

In November 2021, Boutella was cast as the lead in the sci-fi adventure film Rebel Moon directed by Zack Snyder for Netflix.

Boutella played the fictional female Free French spy Eve Mansour in SAS: Rogue Heroes in 2022 and reprised the role for the second series released in 2025.

Personal life

Although she has lived mostly in France since age 10, Boutella maintains strong ties to her Algerian roots and identity. In an interview she stated:

From March 2014 until October 2018, Boutella was in a relationship with Irish actor Robert Sheehan.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Tile	Role	Notes	Reference
2002	Le Défi
2005	Permis D'Aimer	Lila
2006	Azur et Asmar	La Fée des elfes	Voice role
Megatánc (Megadance)
2007	The Confessions Tour: Live from London		Dancer
2012	StreetDance 2	Eva
2014	Kingsman: The Secret Service	Gazelle
2015	Tiger Raid	Shadha
2016	Star Trek: Beyond	Jaylah
2017	The Mummy	Ahmanet
Atomic Blonde	Delphine Lasalle
2018	Climax	Selva
Fahrenheit 451	Clarisse McClellan
Hotel Artemis	Nice
2021	Settlers	Ilsa
Prisoners of the Ghostland	Bernice
2023	Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire	Kora
2024	The Killer's Game	Maize Arnaud
Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver	Kora
Argylle	Saba Al-Badr
TBA	Tower Stories	TBA	Post-production
Moral Capacity	Andrea	Post-production
Basics of Philosophy	Rebecca Richards	Post-production
DreamQuil	Rebecca	Post-production
Only What We Carry	Charlotte Levant	Post-production
::

TV Series

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Reference
2004	Les Cordier, juge et flic	Maya	Episode: "Temps mort"
2007	Supermodelo
2010	Dancing with the Stars		Episode: "Macy's Stars of Dance"
2019	Modern Love	Yasmine	2 episodes
2022	Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities	Dr. Zahra	1 episode
2022–2025	SAS: Rogue Heroes	Eve Mansour	12 episodes
::

Music videos

• Cesária Évora – "Nutridinha" (2001)
• Jamiroquai – "Little L" (2001)
• Matt Pokora – "Showbiz (The Battle)" (2004)
• BodyRockers – "I Like the Way (You Move)" (2005)
• Axwell – "Feel the Vibe ('Til the Morning Comes)" (2005)
• Madonna – "Hung Up" (2005)
• Madonna – "Sorry" (2006)
• Rihanna – "SOS (Nike Version)" (2006)
• Chris Brown – "Wall to Wall" (2007)
• Matt Pokora – "Dangerous" (2008)
• Madonna – "Celebration" (2009)
• Usher – "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" (2009)
• Beat Freaks/Geminiz – "Jump II" (2010)
• Ne-Yo – "Beautiful Monster" (2010)
• Ne-Yo – "Champagne Life" (2010)
• Michael Jackson – "Hollywood Tonight" (2011)
• Take That – "Get Ready For It" (2015)
• Thirty Seconds to Mars – "Rescue Me" (2018)
• Madonna – "God Control" (2019)
• Foo Fighters – "Shame Shame" (2020)
• Silas Bassa – "Katia the runaway" (2020)

References

References

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6. (14 June 2017). "La Momie: Sofia Boutella, une danseuse franco-algérienne adoptée par Hollywood".
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14. (June 2017). "Meet Sofia Boutella: Bazaar's June Cover Star".
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46. Sono, Sion. (2021-09-17). "Prisoners of the Ghostland". Patriot Pictures, Eleven Arts, Baked Studios.
47. (2023-12-22). "Sofia Boutella Kicks Her Way to a Leading Role in ‘Rebel Moon’ (Published 2023)".
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56. (2020-01-06). "Sofia Boutella Stars in Amazon’s “Modern Love” - Hayat Life". Hayat Life.
57. (2022-09-30). "Guillermo del Toro's CABINET OF CURIOSITIES Trailer Unlocks Twisted Frights".
58. (2024-11-16). "Sofia Boutella promotes BBC drama ‘SAS Rogue Heroes’".
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62. Rigby, Sam. (7 September 2017). "Watch Take That's music video for 'Get Ready For It'".
63. Furdyk, Brent. (June 12, 2018). "Paris Jackson Gets Emotional In Thirty Seconds To Mars' New Video For 'Rescue Me'". Entertainment Tonight Canada.
64. Nolfi, Joey. (26 June 2019). "Madonna features shocking mass shooting scene in 'God Control' music video".
65. Reilly, Nick. (10 November 2020). "Dave Grohl on Foo Fighters' 'Shame Shame' video: "It's darker than anything we've ever done"".
66. Masini, Patrice. (26 February 2020). "Katia the runaway (official video) starring Sofia Boutella".

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