Akosua Gyamama Busia (born 30 December 1966) is a Ghanaian actress, film director, author and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

who lives in the United Kingdom. She played Nettie Harris in the 1985 film '' The Color Purple'' alongside

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

Family and early life

Busia is the daughter of

Kofi Abrefa Busia Kofi Abrefa Busia (born 11 July 1913 – 28 August 1978) was a Ghanaian political leader and academic who was Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972. As a nationalist leader and prime minister, he helped to restore civilian government to t ...

, who was prime minister of the

Republic of Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...

(from 1969 to 1972) and a prince of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term p ...

of Wenchi, a subgroup of the Ashanti, making Akosua a princess too. Her sister,

Abena Busia Abena Pokua Adompim Busia (born 1953) is a Ghanaian writer, poet, feminist, lecturer and diplomat. She is a daughter of former Prime Minister of Ghana Kofi Abrefa Busia, and is the sister of actress Akosua Busia. Busia is an associate professor of ...

, is a poet and academic, who was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

in English at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and wa ...

, and since 2017 has been the Ghanaian ambassador to

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. Busia grew up in Ghana, and began her acting career at the age of 16, attending

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's Central School of Speech and Drama on scholarship.Smith, Gail (4 December 1998)
"Just don't say 'no'"
''Mail & Guardian'' (South Africa). Her first acting role was as Juliet in an otherwise white cast performing

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where her siblings were studying.

Career

Busia's film roles include a notable performance as Bessie in a 1986 film adaptation of Richard Wright's novel ''

Native Son ''Native Son'' (1940) is a novel written by the American author Richard Wright. It tells the story of 20-year-old Bigger Thomas, a black youth living in utter poverty in a poor area on Chicago's South Side in the 1930s. While not apologizing ...

'' (with

Geraldine Page Geraldine Sue Page (November 22, 1924June 13, 1987) was an American actress. With a career which spanned four decades across film, stage, and television, Page was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Acad ...

and Matt Dillon. She also starred in ''

Hard Lessons ''Hard Lessons: Senior Year at Beverly Hills High School'' is a 1988 nonfiction book by Michael Leahy. Plot overview The book follows the lives of six Beverly Hills High School students, class of 1986, and deals with the challenges and anxi ...

'' alongside

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

and

Lynn Whitfield Lynn Whitfield (''née'' Smith; born February 15, 1953) is an American actress. She began her acting career in television and theatre before progressing to supporting roles in film. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a ...

in 1986. Busia played Nettie (opposite

Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover (; born July 22, 1946) is an American actor, film director, and political activist. He is widely known for his lead role as Roger Murtaugh in the '' Lethal Weapon'' film series. He also had leading roles in his films inclu ...

and

) in

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

's 1985 '' The Color Purple'', adapted from

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awa ...

's novel of the same title, as Ruth in ''

Badge of the Assassin ''Badge of the Assassin'' is a 1985 television film starring James Woods, Yaphet Kotto and Alex Rocco. It was directed by Mel Damski. The film first aired on the Columbia Broadcasting System network on November 2, 1985. The film's production c ...

'' (1985), as Jewel in

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing '' Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for ...

's ''

Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...

'' (1997), and as Patience in

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (born May 30, 1965) is an American filmmaker, known for his work in the action and thriller genres. He was originally known as a director of music videos, and made his film debut in 1998 with '' The Replacement Killers''. His critic ...

's '' Tears of the Sun'' (2003). She has also appeared on television in the series '' ER''. Busia is the author of ''The Seasons of Beento Blackbird: A Novel'' (

Washington Square Press Atria Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster. The publishing group launched as Atria Books in 2002. The Atria Publishing Group was later created internally at Simon & Schuster to house a number of im ...

, 1997, ). She was one of three co-writers for the

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, ...

adaptation of

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, '' The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' S ...

's 1987 novel '' Beloved'' for the 1998

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dial ...

of the same name directed by

Jonathan Demme Robert Jonathan Demme ( ; February 22, 1944 – April 26, 2017) was an American filmmaker. Beginning his career under B-movie producer Roger Corman, Demme made his directorial debut with the 1974 women-in-prison film '' Caged Heat'', befo ...

. In 2008 Busia directed a film about her father: ''The Prof. A Man Remembered. Life, Vision & Legacy of K.A. Busia''. Busia also co-wrote the song "Moon Blue" with

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, sou ...

for his album '' A Time 2 Love'', released in 2005. Her poem "Mama" is included in the 2019 anthology '' New Daughters of Africa'', edited by Margaret Busby. After 18-year hiatus to raise her daughter, in 2016 Busia returned to acting in the off-Broadway and Broadway production of Danai Gurira's play '' Eclipsed'', alongside

Lupita Nyong'o Lupita Amondi Nyong'o (, ; ; born 1 March 1983) is a Kenyan-Mexican actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, and nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Tony Award. The daughter of Kenyan politi ...

. For her performance off-Broadway, she received an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance as Rita

Personal life

On 12 October 1996, Akosua Busia married the American film director

, with whom she has a daughter — Hadar Busia-Singleton (born 3 April 1997); the couple divorced on 15 June 1997. Their daughter attended school in Ghana, before returning to the US. She co-founded with her sister

the Busia Foundation International, aiming "to provide assistance to the disadvantaged".Foundations
Akosua Busia website.

Filmography

References

External links

*
"Ama K. interviews Akosua Busia"
YouTube video. {{DEFAULTSORT:Busia, Akosua Ghanaian film actresses Alumni of the University of Oxford 1966 births Living people Ghanaian novelists Ghanaian women novelists 20th-century novelists Ghanaian film directors Ghanaian songwriters Ghanaian screenwriters 20th-century Ghanaian women writers 20th-century Ghanaian writers 21st-century Ghanaian women writers 21st-century Ghanaian writers Ghanaian women film directors Ghanaian women poets