Actress Thandie Newton reverts to original name spelling, Thandiwe

'That's my name. It's always been my name. I'm taking back what's mine,' she told 'Vogue'. Photo: Reuters

British actress Thandie Newton says she is reverting to the original Zimbabwean spelling of her name, Thandiwe, after decades in Hollywood.

Newton, the daughter of a British lab technician and a Zimbabwean princess, told Vogue magazine the spelling – which means "beloved" in the African country's Shona language and is pronounced "tan-DEE-way" – was changed in the credits for her first acting role, in 1991's Flirting, when she was just 16.