Sheila Atim

Sheila Atim was born in Uganda, Africa, in 1992. Her father is a dentist and when she was only five years old her mother left Uganda with Sheila to seek refuge in the UK. Her father chose to stay behind and Sheila no longer has a relationship with him. Having migrated to Essex, UK, her mother struggled and then started working in the health services. Being one of the two black girls in Rainham, Essex, at that time, Sheila had to face racism and ‘name calling’, while growing up. Sheila studied biomedical science at the ‘King’s College London’ and drama & singing at ‘Wac Arts College’ in London. She is a private person and has not revealed if she is dating anyone or not.

Like many other refugees immigrating to the UK, Sheila Atim wanted a better life for herself. With that intention, she went on to study biomedical science. However, having always loved theatre and drama, she glided towards performing arts and started studying acting and singing at the ‘WAC Arts College’ in London. This was a turning point in her life as Sheila achieved an artistic breakthrough and switched careers. She even got an agent and started taking acting more seriously.

At the ‘Wac Arts College’, Sheila found her mentor and tutor in playwright Ché Walker. Ché became and remains to date her biggest inspiration in the industry. Later Sheila Atim made her debut on stage in Ché Walker’s play ‘The Lightning Child’ (2013), at the ‘Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’. She later admitted in an interview, that this was life-changing for her and industry experts also started noticing this upcoming talent.

Sheila then had a small role in the TV series ‘I Live With Models’. Her primary focus remained in the theatre world and Atim was seen in a number of plays in 2014, including ‘Hopelessly Devoted’, ‘Rachel’, ‘Klook’s Last Stand’, and ‘Ghosttown’. She not only received critical acclaim for her performances but also gained invaluable experience.

Like all theatre artists, getting to do Shakespearean plays on stage was one of the ultimate goals for Atim. She got her first chance with ‘Twelfth Night’, in 2015, and portrayed the lead characters of Viola and Sebastian to critical acclaim. The same year she went on to star in classics like ‘Volpone’, ‘Love’s Sacrifice’, and ‘The Jew of Malta’. Her extraordinary performances led to her being cast in Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female Shakespeare trilogy at the ‘Donmar Warehouse’ in 2016. She portrayed Ferdinand in ‘The Tempest’, Gadshill and Lady Percy in ‘Henry IV’, and Lucius in ‘Julius Caesar’.

Vowing critics and audiences with her performances, Sheila Atim followed that up with ‘Girl From The North Country’ the next year. She played the part of Marianne in the ‘five star’ play, which was a musical re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s music. Her heartfelt rendition of Bob Dylan’s ‘Tight Connection To My Heart’ along with her acting landed her the prestigious ‘Best Supporting Actress in a Musical’ award at the 2018 ‘Laurence Oliver Awards’.