Wunmi Mosaku shows ancestral power with Bafta win and independent London gown choice
Wunmi Mosaku won the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Sinners, saying the part helped her reclaim elements of herself she had tried to dim as an immigrant trying to fit in. The victory — and her choice of an independent London designer for the BAFTAs — matters because it ties a high-profile award to identity, representation and a film that has become a major cultural touchstone.
Wunmi Mosaku: the win, the speech and the moment
The 39-year-old said she was really shocked at the win and described finding parts of herself in Annie, the Hoodoo priestess she plays in Sinners. She framed that discovery as a reconnection with ancestral power and with hopes she thought she had lost. At the winners' press conference she emphasised the relief of seeing story and experience represented with integrity and creativity and welcomed the response of black women who felt seen, loved, valued and treasured; that reaction, she said, turned a long-standing feeling of loneliness into a sense of kinship with people she had never met.
Sinners, the role and awards momentum
Sinners casts Mosaku as Annie, a Hoodoo priestess and the wife of Smoke. The film mixes musical elements, vampire-thriller beats, romance and period drama, set against blues in the Jim Crow-era Mississippi Delta. In interviews she framed the film as concerned with capitalism and the cost of freedom, posing the question of whether to stay in one’s truth or follow money and power. The film reached audiences strongly: in the 10 months since its release it has been described as an instant classic, performed well at the box office and earned critical acclaim, with some viewers seeing it more than 20 times. Mosaku and co-star Jack O’Connell have won praise for their performances, and Sinners also took a Bafta for best original screenplay. Mosaku has been tipped for an Oscar for her portrayal of Annie.
Background: Manchester roots, Zaria origin and early inspiration
Mosaku was born in Nigeria and moved with her family from the historic Nigerian city of Zaria to Manchester when she was a one-year-old baby. She grew up in Manchester and has reflected on an upbringing shaped by tough realities on an estate, noting that people she knew from school died in gang trouble and that she often thought that, in a different place or time, it could have been her. Early inspiration came from watching the 1980s musical film Annie every single day after school; curiosity about the film’s cast prompted an online search that led her to drama schools after she learned that the Salford-born actor who played Daddy Warbucks had trained at RADA in London.
Career context: TV, film and personal life
Mosaku’s Bafta film award follows a previous win in the same category at television awards nine years earlier for her role in the drama Damilola, Our Loved Boy, a programme about the death of 10-year-old Damilola Taylor, who was stabbed while walking home from a library in London. She has also appeared in television dramas such as Luther and Black Mirror as well as in Marvel films. Speaking about her latest victory, Mosaku — who is pregnant — described being breathless and stunned by the announcement; she also thanked her daughter, calling her a greatest teacher.
BAFTAs night and wider ceremony highlights
The awards night saw One Battle After Another win best film, defeating Hamnet and Sinners. Robert Aramayo won best actor for I Swear in a surprise, while Jessie Buckley won best actress for Hamnet. The ceremony opened with a long list of films accompanied by a Goldfrapp song and featured a red carpet montage that included many first-time attendees, one of whom threatened to vomit. High-profile red carpet moments included Paul Mescal and Gracie Abrams making their relationship public with a kiss; Mescal wore Prada while Abrams chose a beaded floral look from Chanel. A member of the public heckled a royal with the question, "Is the monarchy in peril?", and the royal commented that One Battle After Another was "weird", had not seen Sinners because it was "a bit dark", and mentioned a liking for F1.
Preparation, presentation and the BAFTAs gown
In the run-up to the awards Mosaku juggled interviews, hair and make-up and schedules during what she described as a 14-day week; on day five she was still trying to secure tickets to a West End production at the Wyndham Theatre. For the BAFTAs she called upon an independent London designer for her gown, a choice that complemented the cultural and personal themes of her night and the film’s broader impact.
Recent updates indicate these are the confirmed facts drawn from coverage of the ceremony and Mosaku’s remarks; details that were unclear in the provided context have been noted as such where relevant.
