Celebrity ambassadors and supporters

Alesha Dixon

Singer, Britain’s Got Talent judge and ActionAid Ambassador Alesha Dixon started supporting ActionAid in 2016 by joining our campaign to end FGM. In 2017, she travelled to Ghana to support our campaign to end child marriage. She met young girls who had been abducted and forced into marriage, and saw ActionAid’s work within the community to end this form of violence against girls.

"I was able to see for myself the work ActionAid is doing to help young girls escape from child marriage, by encouraging them to get back to school and regain hope for a better and brighter future," says Alesha.

David Morrissey

Actor, director and producer, ActionAid Ambassador David Morrissey has supported many of our humanitarian emergency appeals and fundraising campaigns.  In November 2024 he hosted our exclusive screening of Waad al-Kateab’s film Death Without Mercy with partners Violet and Action for Sama to remember the devastating impact of the 2023 Türkiye-Syria earthquakes.   

This event was an opportunity to shine a spotlight on the tragedy so we can remind ourselves, other NGOs and governments of the need to learn from it and bring justice to the individuals, families and communities rebuilding their lives.   

David also appeared in our award-nominated short film The Impossible Question to raise awareness of the importance of girls education.  

Fay Ripley

Actor and cookery writer, ActionAid Ambassador Fay Ripley has supported ActionAid since 2008 when she started sponsoring a child in Tanzania. Fay has since gone on to support many campaigns, fundraisers and emergency appeals.

Giles Paley-Phillips

Award-winning author and podcast host Giles Paley-Phillips has supported ActionAid since 2015. He ran the London Marathon for ActionAid in 2017 and supported our first Big Me event to raise money in schools. 

For our No Girl Afraid Christmas campaign in 2017, Giles wrote 'The Story of Hope', to raise awareness of the experiences of girls in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Hugh Dennis

Actor, comedian and ActionAid child sponsor Hugh Dennis has supported us ever since he got his first pay cheque over 30 years ago. He has supported many campaigns and fundraisers as well as taking part in RideLondon to help raise funds for ActionAid.

"Through ActionAid I've learned how simple things can transform a community," says Hugh. "My support has helped pay for local schools so kids are educated for longer. It's the incredibly simple things that can change lives for good." 

James Purefoy

Actor James Purefoy has been supporting ActionAid for over 20 years, has supported many of our campaigns and fundraisers and is a proud child sponsor. In his role as an Ambassador he has visited ActionAid's work in South Africa, where we support young women at risk of violence.

"When I visited South Africa I saw the appalling conditions that some people are forced to live in. But I've also witnessed the difference that ActionAid makes, working with people to help them create brighter futures for themselves and break away from living in poverty," James says.

Jodie Whittaker

Jodie Whittaker, actor and the first female Doctor Who, became an ActionAid Ambassador in 2013. She has helped to raise awareness of child sponsorship and been very supportive of our work ending violence against women and girls, helping to promote our Safe Cities campaign and attending the Survivors' Runway fashion show.

“I am a proud ActionAid supporter and have been involved in lots of their amazing initiatives to shine a light on the many issues affecting women and girls across the world,” Jodie says.

Kiran Sonia Sawar

Actor Kiran Sonia Sawar has been supporting ActionAid since 2018 when she helped to launch our MyBodyIsMine campaign demanding that women and girls around the world have the right to be free from violence, to control their own bodies, and to determine their own futures. Since then she has supported a number of our campaigns and fundraisers and will be joining the ActionAid team of runners in the 2025 London Marathon. (Photo: Julia Fullerton-Batten) 

Miriam Margolyes

Stage and screen actor Miriam Margolyes has been supporting ActionAid for over 30 years. She visited our work in the West Bank of the occupied Palestinian territory in 2010.

“I’ve had the joy of sponsoring several children," says Miriam. "A tiny offering from me has made an enormous impact on their life and mine.”

Phoebe Dynevor

Actor and ActionAid Ambassador Phoebe Dynevor has been supporting ActionAid since she was a child, and in 2007 travelled to India to visit ActionAid projects with her mum Sally. More recently she has supported our 'She is the Answer’ Aid Match appeal as well as our ‘Stand with Women’, ‘Share a better period’ and #MyBodyIsMine campaigns and a number of emergency appeals.

"ActionAid is a charity that has been very close to my heart for such a long time, so it is such an honour to be an Ambassador,” says Phoebe.

Sonali Shah 

Broadcaster Sonali Shah has been supporting ActionAid since 2017 after she attended our Survivors Runway event.  Since then, she has helped to launch our global Arise Fund which directly supports women-led emergency response and preparedness work around the world.  Most recently, she fronted our 2024 Christmas appeal putting a spotlight on the women-led organisations, partnering with ActionAid, that are supporting refugee women and girls on their new journey as they heal, learn, work and thrive. 

Wunmi Mosaku

BAFTA Award-winning actor and ActionAid Ambassador Wunmi Mosaku started supporting ActionAid in 2018. A strong advocate for women’s rights, Wunmi visited Ghana in March 2019 to meet with survivors of domestic violence and to learn about our work helping them to access the justice they deserve. Wunmi’s trip was also a personal journey into her family history.

"I met some incredible women and girls in Ghana, many of whom were victims of terrible violence. Their experiences struck a personal chord for me as I reflected on the story of my grandma - having grown up in Ghana, she fought back against a forced marriage on return to her homeland Nigeria. I want to help enable women and girls to understand their rights and speak out against violence like my grandma did. I can’t think of a better way to do that than shine a light on ActionAid UK’s life-changing work as a celebrity ambassador."