May was born Jodhi Tania Edwards in 1975 in Camden Town, London. Her name was later legally changed to Jodhi Tania May.
Her mother, Jocelyn Hakim, is an art teacher of French-Turkish descent who as a student arranged to marry artist-designer Malcolm McLaren to obtain citizenship, paying him £50 to marry her in a Lewisham register office in 1972. They later divorced, a move that cost McLaren's grandmother £2,000. Jodhi has not publicly identified her father, besides stating he is German. She was educated at Camden School for Girls.
May first acted at the age of 12 for A World Apart (1988). For the role she received a Best Actress award at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival, shared with her co-stars Barbara Hershey and Linda Mvusi. Other than a brief lull while studying English at Wadham College, Oxford, she has had near constant work since her debut, and can regularly be seen on film, television and the British stage.
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