Though Gugu told the Evening Standard that "It's not like I deliberately go out looking to work with female directors", some of her most powerful and memorable roles have been in films with female directors: Amma Asante, Ava DuVernay, and Gina Prince-Bythewood. One such role was the lead in Amma Asante's Belle, a period drama based on the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate child of a slave and an English naval officer who was raised in the British aristocracy. This was a breakout role for the star and put her on Oprah Winfrey's radar.