Biography

Dominique Thorne (born November 5, 1997) is an American actress. She began her career with appearances in the films If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) and Judas and the Black Messiah (2021). In 2022, she began playing Riri Williams/Ironheart with the Marvel Cinematic Universe feature film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. She reprises her role as Riri Williams/Ironheart in the upcoming Disney+ miniseries Ironheart (2025). In 2024, she starred in the Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck film Freaky Tales.

Dominique Thorne was born November 5, 1997, in New York to Trinidadian immigrants. She has two brothers.

Thorne attended the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan (PPAS), where she studied dramatic theatre formally. During her senior year of high school, she won the 2015 Young Arts Award in Spoken Theatre as well as the U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, which is given annually by the White House. After applying to a number of universities for both academics and art programs, Thorne chose to attend Cornell University, where she was initiated into the Mu Gamma chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority in Spring 2018. The following year, she received her bachelor's degree in Human Development with a minor in Inequality Studies. Prior to graduating in May 2019, she became a member of the Sphinx Head secret senior honours society. As of 2020, she and her family live in Atlanta.

In 2018 Thorne made her feature film debut as Shelia Hunt, the ill-tempered younger sister of main character Fonny Hunt, in the film If Beale Street Could Talk, which was based on James Baldwin's novel of the same name. In 2021 she played Judy Harmon, a member of the Black Panthers, in the film Judas and the Black Messiah.

In 2016, she auditioned with Marvel Studios for the role of Shuri in the 2018 Marvel Cinematic Universe film Black Panther. Her audition involved screen tests with Chadwick Boseman. The role eventually went to Letitia Wright.

In 2020, she was cast as Riri Williams/Ironheart in the upcoming Disney+ television series Ironheart. Because of her earlier tests with Marvel Studios, she was cast in this role without any additional auditions. She made her debut as Riri in the 2022 feature film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Producer Nate Moore said that when Marvel Studios was casting Riri Williams, Dominique was their "first and only call."

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