Baby Reindeer is the hot new Netflix drama series currently all over our group chats. Nava Mau, the actress who stars in the show, is topping those conversations: who is she, and do we recognise her from something else?
For those who haven't yet watched Baby Reindeer, it chronicles a real-life experience that Scottish comedian Richard Gadd (who plays himself in the series) had when he was faced with a stalker, Martha (Jessica Gunning). Mau, meanwhile, plays Teri, the American trans woman and therapist Gadd falls in love with – a relationship jeopardised by the unwelcome presence of Martha.
Who is Nava Mau, who plays Teri in Baby Reindeer?
So, what do we know about Mau?
Well – first thing's first, the 31-year-old star is also a filmmaker and cultural change worker.
She was born in Mexico City, raised in San Antonio, Texas, and holds a BA in Linguistics & Cognitive Science from liberal arts college Pomona in California.
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According to her iMDb page, her previous acting credits include HBO Max dramedy series ‘Generation’ – a show which, according to TexasMonthly, “subverts transgender stereotypes”, in which she starred as a series regular.
Previously, there was 2019 short film ‘Waking Hour’ (which she also produced and directed). She also served as a Production Fellow on the Netflix Documentary, “Disclosure”.
The show portray's one man's experience with a female stalker.
Martha was a victim, not a culprit, according to Richard Gadd.
In a 2021 interview with ELLE, Mau spoke of her gratitude for her “introduction to the world of film was through independent film and through projects that I had a lot of agency over”, adding that she “really like[s] working in a variety of capacities”.
To add her her impressive multi-hyphenate status, Mau's cultural change work includes advocacy around trans and LGBTQ issues, speaking on panels for the likes of Buzzfeed and Smithsonian National Museum of the American Latino.
She also continues to post around these issues on her Instagram page, where she has 23.1k followers (a figure likely to soar with the series' popularity). She is also in the process of co-editing an anthology, titled Paradise on the Margins: Worldmaking by Trans Women of Color, which brings together myriad accounts from transgender women of colour.
As for forthcoming roles, we can see she is in another short film, All the Words But One, coming out later this year, which she has again produced and directed. And we're sure this is only just the beginning for the multi-talented star.
Baby Reindeer episode 6 is dedicated to Harrison.
- EntertainmentWho is the real Martha from Baby Reindeer?
