Adepero Oduye ( ) is an American actress, director, singer, and writer. She is known for '' Pariah'' (2011), '' 12 Years a Slave'' (2013), '' The Big Short'' (2015), and ''

Widows A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died and has usually not remarried. The male form, "widower", is first attested in the 14th century, by the 19th century supplanting "widow" with reference to men. The adjecti ...

'' (2018).

Life and career

Adepero Oduye was born in Brooklyn, New York, one of seven children of Nigerian parents. Although she graduated pre-med from

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, she decided to pursue her passion for acting upon graduation.Adepero Oduye- Biography
,

Yahoo! Yahoo (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web portal that provides the search engine Yahoo Search and related services including My Yahoo, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Sports, y!entertainment, yahoo!life, and its a ...

Oduye's breakout role came in 2011 when she starred in

Dee Rees Diandrea Rees (born February 7, 1977) is an American screenwriter and director. She is known for her feature films ''Pariah (2011 film), Pariah'' (2011), ''Bessie (film), Bessie'' (2015), ''Mudbound (film), Mudbound'' (2017), and ''The Last Thing ...

' critically acclaimed and award-winning independent film '' Pariah'', for which she received several awards and a nomination for Best Female Lead at the

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards, originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards, and later as the Film Independent Spirit Awards, are awards presented annually in Santa Monica, California, to independent filmmakers. Founded in ...

. During her Golden Globe acceptance speech for ''The Iron Lady'', Meryl Streep mentioned some of her favorite performances of the year, highlighting Oduye in ''Pariah''. The following year, she joined an all-star cast in the ''Steel Magnolias'' television remake as Annelle Dupuy-Desoto, a role originated by

Daryl Hannah Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American actress and environmental activist. She made her film debut in Brian De Palma's supernatural horror film ''The Fury (1978 film), The Fury'' (1978). She has starred in various films across the ...

. In 2013, Oduye co-starred alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor in

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

's historical drama '' 12 Years a Slave'', winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture. She also appeared in Ava DuVernay's short film ''The Door'' part of Miu Miu's ad campaign known as ''The Women's Tales''. In 2014, she made her directorial debut with ''Breaking In'', a short film about a young black man's first time being stopped and frisked by the NYPD, based on her brother's early experience. The film has garnered several film festival acknowledgments and awards. After several lead roles in regional theater productions, including '' Eclipsed'' and '' The Bluest Eye'', Oduye made her Broadway debut opposite

Cicely Tyson Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson (; December 19, 1924January 28, 2021) was an American actress. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, she is known for her portrayals of complex and strong-willed African American women. She received sev ...

in Horton Foote's ''

The Trip To Bountiful ''The Trip to Bountiful'' is a 1985 American road drama film directed by Peter Masterson and starring Geraldine Page, John Heard, Carlin Glynn, Richard Bradford and Rebecca De Mornay. It was adapted by Horton Foote from his 1953 play. Th ...

''. In 2015, Oduye co-starred with Steve Carell in Adam McKay's comedy-drama '' The Big Short'', which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, she co-starred in the drama thriller ''The Dinner'', with

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

. In 2018, she appeared in films '' Geostorm'' and ''

''. In 2019, she played activist Nomsa Brath in the Ava DuVernay's miniseries '' When They See Us''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Features

* '' Vanity Fair'' – Hollywood Issue Cover (2012) * ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' – Great Performances (2012) * ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' – Great Performances (2012) * '' W'' – Best Performances issue (February 2012)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Oduye, Adepero Living people 21st-century African-American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Brooklyn American people of Nigerian descent 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers Cornell University alumni Musicians from Brooklyn American television actresses American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American stage actresses 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers 21st-century African-American women singers 1978 births