Sofia Boutella was born in the
Bab El Oued district of
Algiers, Algeria,[7] to an architect mother and a jazz musician father,
Safy Boutella.[8] Her brother, Seif, works as a visual effects artist in the entertainment industry.[9][10] Her surname means "the men of the mountains". She was raised in a fairly
secular 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."[11]
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.[11] She joined a group called the Vagabond Crew, which won the
Battle of the Year in 2006, and participated in a spin-off group called "Chiennes de Vie and Aphrodites".[citation needed] She has cited
Fred Astaire,
Jean-Michel Basquiat,
Daniel Day-Lewis, and
Bob Fosse as artistic influences.[17]
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.[18][11] This was a major boost to her career and led to more work alongside stars like
Madonna, in her
Confessions Tour, and
Rihanna.[15][18] She credits her work with Madonna for helping her learn English.[19]
Boutella successfully auditioned for the
Michael JacksonThis Is It tour, but could not attend due to the extension of the Madonna tour, whose dates coincided with the Jackson tour.[20] She was the main character in the music video for "
Hollywood Tonight" by Michael Jackson in February 2011.[21][20]
Acting career
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.[15][18]
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.[3] In 2015, she appeared in her first major film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which jump-started her career as an actress.[23] One year later, she appeared as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, released on 22 July 2016.[24]
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.[26]
Boutella played the female lead in SAS: Rogue Heroes, released in 2022.
Personal life
Boutella is the cousin of actress Shirine Boutella.[citation needed]
Although she has lived mostly in France since age 10, Boutella maintains strong ties to her Algerian roots and identity:
Algeria is a country that is dear to me, because it's where I'm from, where my family is from, it's my home. That will never leave me. I feel very worldly. But leaving a place like that when you're so young doesn't come without missing a sense of identity and belonging to one place. I think I've been blessed with the ability to travel, because I'm fearless to go anywhere, but I miss a sense of home, which was originally Algeria. But I feel Algerian, I'm proud to be Algerian and I carry that with me wherever I go.[11]
From March 2014 until October 2018, Boutella was in a relationship with Irish actor
Robert Sheehan.[27][28]
^Gamboa, Shéyen (September–October 2009). Gamboa, Shéyen (ed.).
"Sofia Boutella, la force et la beauté" [Sofia Boutella, strength and beauty] (PDF). Juste Debout (in French). No. 24. Paris. pp. 14–18.
ISSN1772-189X. Archived from
the original(PDF) on 27 October 2013. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
^
abLeonard, Frédéric.
"Sofia Boutella – Curriculum Vitae". In English via Google Translate (in French). EN TETE – Agence Artistique. Archived from
the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2011.