Sofia Boutella

Sofia Boutella (born April 3, 1982) is an Algerian dancer, actress and musician, known mainly for hip-hop and street dance, and for Nike Women's advertising campaigns. Boutella is known for starring as Eva in StreetDance 2 (2012), Ara in Monsters: Dark Continent (2014), Gazelle in Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015), and an alien warrior named Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond (2016). She will be playing the title role in Universal's reboot of The Mummy (2017).

Boutella was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers, the daughter of jazz musician Safy Boutella and an architect mother. She started classical dance education at the age of 5, and at the age of 10 in 1992, she left Algeria with her family, and moved to France, where she started rhythmic gymnastics, and joined the French national team at age 18.

Boutella took up hip hop and street dance, and was part of a group called the Vagabond Crew, which won the Battle of the Year in 2006. She also participated in a group called "Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites" created by Momo from the Vagabond Crew. Sofia is a graduate of Berklee College of Music.

Boutella had been rehearsing since age 17 with choreographer Blanca Li. She has danced in several film and television appearances, as well as commercials and concert tours.

Her breakthrough arrived in 2007, when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike, as a role model of femininity and hip hop. This was a major boost in her career and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna, in her Confessions Tour, and Rihanna.

Boutella auditioned for the Michael Jackson This Is It concerts but, although successful, could not attend due to the extension of the Madonna tour whose dates coincided with the Jackson residency. In February 2011, she was the main character in the music video for "Hollywood Tonight" by Michael Jackson.

Boutella played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2, the sequel to StreetDance 3D, and co-starred in Kingsman: The Secret Service. She appeared as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, released on July 22, 2016.

Her influences include Fred Astaire, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Bob Fosse.

• Cesária Évora – "Nutridinha" (2001)
• Jamiroquai – "Little L" (2001)
• Matt Pokora – "Showbiz (The Battle)" (2004)
• BodyRockers – "I Like the Way (You Move)" (2005)
• Axwell – "Feel the Vibe ('Til the Morning Comes)" (2005)
• Madonna – "Hung Up" (2005)
• Madonna – "Sorry" (2006)
• Rihanna – "SOS (Nike Version)" (2006)
• Chris Brown – "Wall to Wall" (2007)
• Matt Pokora – "Dangerous" (2008)
• Madonna – "Celebration" (2009)
• Usher – "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" (2009)
• Beat Freaks/Geminiz – "Jump II" (2010)
• Ne-Yo – "Beautiful Monster" (2010)
• Ne-Yo – "Champagne Life" (2010)
• Michael Jackson – "Hollywood Tonight" (2011)
• Take That – "Get Ready For It" (2015)

• ^ "Sofia BOUTELLA" (in French). AgencesArtistiques.com. Archived from the original on 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-03-09. 
• Vogel, Joe (2011-03-14). "Exclusive: Inside Michael Jackson's "Hollywood"". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2011-03-15. Retrieved 2011-03-14. 
• Smith, Ryan (2015-01-13). "Take That become dapper Secret Service spies in the newly unveiled video for their track Get Ready For It". Daily Mail. Archived from the original on 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2015-01-18.