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Naomi Scott is best known for her work in Aladdin and Charlie’s Angels. She was recently seen in the horror filmSmile 2, which has reportedly received positive acclaim from critics and has earned $109 million at the box office. Scott has a long lineup of films, including her debut as a producer inEternal Return.
Ever since herAladdindays, Scott’s ethnicity has been under scrutiny. While Disney’s live-action adaptation sought to correct the racial stereotypes propagated by the animated original, Scott’s casting was controversial due to Princess Jasmine being largely believed to be Middle-Eastern or Indian. However, Scott’s ethnicity is actually pretty interesting.
What Is Naomi Scott’s Ethnicity?
Naomi Scotthails from London and was born on August 21, 2025. According toEmpire, the actress’s father Christopher Scott was British with possible Scottish roots while her mother, Usha Scott is of Indian descent. Naomi Scott’s mother is reportedly of Gujarati Indian descent and was based in Uganda.
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While Scott does have mixed ancestry, the actress is based in London, England, and primarily identifies as British. She has also spoken about her Christian upbringing, with both her parents being pastors. She mentioned in an interview withW Magazineabout her faith and how her parents brought her up,
I’m sure there are many things that come to mind when people hear ‘pastor’s kid’. Ultimately, what’s really important is having an openness to questions. I’m definitely a questioner in every sense—and if someone shuts down my questions, then I question even more. Like, hmm, there’s something weird there.
She also reportedly met her future husband footballer Jordan Spence at the age of 16 while at church.
Naomi Scott Began Her Career As A Musician Before Starring inAladdin
Before being the Princess Jasmine of a new era, Naomi Scott had a prolific career as a musician. She reportedly began her singing career in church and was discovered by Kéllé Bryan of Eternal and was signed by the group at the age of fifteen. Scott has released two EPs,Invisible DivisionandPromises.
Scott began her acting career with a role in Disney Channel UK’sLife Bitesand then went on to appear in the TV filmLemonade Mouth, which was her breakthrough. The actress also reportedly featured in Ridley Scott’sThe Martianbut most of her scenes were deleted, including some pivotal speaking scenes (viaCollider).
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Before she starred inAladdin, she had her first taste of a big franchise film with 2017’sPower Rangers. Despite being an adaptation of a popular IP, the film failed at the box office, earning only $142 million against a $100 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo). Scott played the role of the Pink Ranger in the film.
Naomi Scott Was Cast InAladdinAfter A Four-Month Search For The Perfect Actress
With the live-action adaptation ofAladdin, Disney seemingly hoped to correct many of the offensive stereotypes that were propagated in the 1992 animated film. The first step in the right direction was to cast actors of the right ethnicity to portray roles that were generally thought to be of Middle Eastern descent.
Over 2,000 actresses were reportedly auditioned for the role, with production even being pushed by a month to find the right actress (via7iber). Finally, Naomi Scott won the role after a battle with Indian actress Tara Sutaria. Actor Mena Massoud was also chosen after a long search.
Naomi Scott’s Casting inAladdinLed To A Controversy
A live-action adaptation ofAladdinalready came with a lot of baggage. After years of receiving criticism for whitewashing characters who belonged to different cultures, Disney had the opportunity to right those wrongs with ethnicity-appropriate casting and staying away from ‘Oriental’ storytelling troupes.
However, when Aladdin found its Jasmine in Naomi Scott, it was still not enough. According toThe Guardian, the casting of Scott was controversial because Hollywood had a chance to choose a brown actress but decided to go with an actress who had“a name that’s easy to pronounce and looks just white enough.”
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While the character itself has been ethnically ambiguous, with the fictional city of Agrabah being attributed to both Arabic as well as Indian origins, Scott’s ethnicity being part-British and part-Indian was considered a safe move by the studio. Scott, however, mentioned to W,
My responsibility is to the character…It’s hard, man. I’m not going to lie to you and say I never look at Twitter to see what people are saying about me. Anyone who says that is a liar! So you have to train yourself. It’s actually like a discipline not to look.
The original film itself has been criticized for propagating an ‘Oriental’ perspective and the story’s origins do not seem to have a clear cultural connection to the Middle East (viaVox).
Nishanth A
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2415
Nishanth A is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, majorly focusing on TV shows with over 2,000 articles published. He has been an entertainment journalist for the past two years and a scriptwriter at various corporations before that, working on educational content. With a Communications, English Literature, and Psychology triple major, Nishanth usually covers news and analyses on Star Trek, particularly Strange New Worlds and The Next Generation; Doctor Who, the DCU, and more.A Nolan fan, Nishanth spends his time exploring the filmographies of various directors with an auteurial style or can be found making short movies of his own. He has also contributed as a feature writer for Film Companion, focusing on the South division.
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