Jodie Turner-Smith says her body is politicised as a dark-skinned black woman

Jodie Turner-Smith gets candid in a new cover interview with AnOther SS/22 on sale March 24

(Picture: AnOther magazine)

Jodie Turner-Smith has spoken about the challenges of being a dark-skinned black woman on screen.

The TV star, 35, courted attention when she became the first black actress to portray real-life historical character Queen Anne Boleyn, the tragic second wife of King Henry VIII.

As a black woman, the actress said her body is politicised and everything she does is political in a new interview with AnOther magazine.

As a black woman, the actress said her body is politicised and everything she does is political (AnOther magazine)

“I know how much it means to see someone who looks like me on screen,” she muses in a candid new cover interview with the magazine.

“As a dark-skinned Black woman, my body is politicised. Everything I do is political. My existence is political. I wish I could exist in a vacuum but I have an understanding of the systems and the social mores and everything that’s going on around me. And I know that I’m a part of all of that.

“Sometimes there are certain spaces where people that look like me aren’t expected to be seen.”

The Brit-born star made her acting debut back in 2013 when she appeared in the horror TV series True Blood.

Her debut led to a number of small and supporting roles in television and film.

The Brit-born star made her acting debut back in 2013 when she appeared in the horror TV series True Blood (AnOther magazine)

More prominent parts followed with The Last Ship and Nighflyers before she appeared alongside Daniel Kaluuya in the critically acclaimed 2019 film Queen & Slim.

Off camera, she also found herself at the centre of a media storm when it came to light that she was dating former child star Joshua Jackson after they met at Usher’s 40th birthday bash back in October 2018.

The couple married in 2019 and welcomed a daughter together the following year.

Joshua Jackson and Jodie Turner-Smith (PA)

Reflecting on life in the limelight, she told the publication: “It definitely is a little bit unnerving, fame, especially because a lot of my fame comes from the fact that my husband’s been famous for a long time and I’m a Black woman married to him. As I said, political body.”

The full interview with Jodie Turner-Smith will be published in AnOther SS/22 on sale March 24.