Inside Nava Mau’s vibey life when she’s not playing the best character in Baby Reindeer

Fully obsessed with her

2 weeks ago

Everyone involved with Baby Reindeer on Netflix deserves a BAFTA – Richard Gadd’s vulnerable and moving true story has got widespread acclaim for the writing, the performances and the honesty. When you take the stalker storyline of Martha and Donny out of the equation, the heart of this show lies with Nava Mau and her performance as Teri. Baby Reindeer’s handling of its trans character and dating as a trans woman is one of the highlights of the entire thing – and Nava Mau is just incredible. Here’s a look inside what Nava Mau gets up to outside of Baby Reindeer, and a look at her life.

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She’s an award winning filmmaker!

Nava Mau was born in Mexico City, and before she broke into acting she’s best known for her work as a filmmaker – both writing and producing – and advocacy work as a counsellor for LGBTQ+ violence survivors.

I was lucky to speak to some students abt trans visibility, and I recognize the reality that visibility often functions as a trap for trans + non-binary ppl. I quoted @Eric_A_Stanley @tourmaliiine & Johanna Burton's "Trap Door" to address the current attack on trans ppl's rights pic.twitter.com/d3840vuoHe

— Nava Mau (@navamau) May 17, 2022

She broke into acting on HBO’s Generation

Mau got critical acclaim for her first major on camera role as Ana in Generation on HBO – where she is an instantly warm character. Nava Mau plays a wise, maternal role who everyone comes to for advice – not unlike Teri on Baby Reindeer then!

She’s directed two short films and nine episodes of TV

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Nava Mau directed nine episodes of queer show Hidden Canyons, as well as two short films that took her to the Sundance film festival.

Nava Mau on her role as Teri in Baby Reindeer…

Speaking on a press junket, Nava said:

“When I read [the script], I could tell that Richard really loved her, whoever inspired this character. I think I knew that it was based on real life and it seemed really important to show people that trans women exist in real life and in relationships with real people. I could see Richard’s heart in the writing and I hope that people will see it too.”

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On whether the fact that Teri was based on a real woman impacted her approach to the character, she continued: “Of course. I felt a great sense of responsibility, and I cared a lot about telling the story in the best way possible.”

Catch Nava Mau in Baby Reindeer – available on Netflix now. For more like this and all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.