American actor and global health activist Arsema Thomas was born on June 19, 1994 in Atlanta, Georgia. Her father was a Nigerian diplomat and her mother was an Ethiopian diplomat. Due to the nature of her parents' work, Thomas grew up moving from country to country in Africa, America, and South Asia and learned to speak multiple languages.
With a passion for global public health policy, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biophysics from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master's of Public Health from Yale University. Thomas' life changed course after the death of her father in 2016; she decided to pursue acting and began attending classes at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). Her first on-screen role was in the film "Redeeming Love" (2022). Thomas quickly followed that with a main role in the miniseries "Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story" (Netflix, 2023) playing young Agatha, Lady Danbury. For her portrayal, Arsema Thomas was nominated for a NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2024.