Noma Dumezweni was born in Swaziland of South African parents and grew up in Felixstowe. Her first stage experience was with the Wolsey Youth Theatre, Ipswich. Dumezweni was on the Board and Governors of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 2013 - 2016. She understudied Harriet Walter as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at the RSC in 1999. Dumezweni has won two Olivier Awards: Best Performance in A Supporting Role playing Ruth Younger in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun at the Lyric, Hammersmith in 2006 and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Hermione Granger in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in 2017.