Ella Thomas is an Eritrean American actress, model and producer.

Early life and education

Ella Thomas was born to an Eritrean mother from

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

and an American Air Force officer, who was stationed in the Province of Eritrea. When she was still a child, Thomas' family relocated to Germany, where they lived in the small town of

Kindsbach Kindsbach is a municipality in the district of Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea ...

. There, she attended a local German school. Thomas also studied French, while simultaneously continuing Tigrinya and English lessons at home with her mother. Around this time, Thomas first developed an appreciation for the performing arts, and began taking part in local school and theater productions. She likewise would periodically return home to Asmara to visit relatives.

Career

Thomas has guest starred as Agent Deborah Meade on '' CSI: NY'' and played one of the lead characters, Anna Roberts, in '' The Storm'' miniseries on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In the fall 2009, she appeared opposite

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting (TV series), Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and has appeared in over one hundred films, gaining ...

in the Touchstone/Disney sci-fi thriller ''

Surrogates ''Surrogates'' is a 2009 American science fiction action film based on the 2005–2006 comic book series ''The Surrogates''. Directed by Jonathan Mostow, it stars Bruce Willis as Tom Greer, an FBI agent who ventures out into the real world to ...

'', which opened September 25, 2009. She appeared as the model Viveca on the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

series ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'' and as

P Diddy Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a ...

's fiancée Nadine Alcott on '' CSI: Miami''. Thomas also starred on the series '' Parenthood'', as well as the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

's show ''

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

''. Thomas had a recurring role on '' NCIS: Los Angeles'' as the character Jada Khaled. Thomas also guest starred in the episode "Skin" of the

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and television series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. ...

and

Michael Ealy Michael David Brown (born August 3, 1973), known professionally as Michael Ealy, is an American actor. He is known for his roles in '' Barbershop'' (2002), '' 2 Fast 2 Furious'' (2003), '' Takers'' (2010), '' Think Like a Man'' (2012), '' Abou ...

helmed FOX series '' Almost Human''. She was seen opposite

Zoe Saldana Zoe or variants may refer to: People * Zoe (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** Zoë (British singer) (Zoë Pollock, born 1969) ** Zoë (Austrian singer) (Zoë Straub, born 1996) Arts and entertainment ...

as the author

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

in the Nina Simone biopic, ''Nina''. In January of 2022 she was the co-lead roles in the Tubi original ''Unborn'' as well as recurring on the newly released to Netflix ''

Ballers ''Ballers'' is an American sports comedy-drama series created by Stephen Levinson that aired for five seasons on HBO from June 21, 2015, to October 13, 2019. It stars Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player who must navigate his new career as th ...

'' alongside

Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...

and John David Washington which aired originally aired on

. Ella has also been featured in editorial spreads for ''American Vogue'' and ''Glamour'' and ''ELLE'' and she has also appeared in print ads for companies such as ''Gap'', ''Tiffany & Co.'', and'' Levi's'' and appeared in the Lexus ES automotive commercials. She completed a recurring arc on season 4 of

's ''

Mistresses Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a female lover of a married man ** Royal mistress * Maîtresse-en-titre, official mistress of a ...

'' as well as

Antoine Fuqua Antoine Fuqua (; born May 30, 1965) is an American film director 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 ...

's series for DirectTV ''Ice'' in the role of Lala Agabaria. She starred opposite

Kyra Sedgwick Kyra Minturn Sedgwick ( ; born August 19, 1965) is an American film and television actress. She is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the crime drama ''The Closer'' (2005–2012), for which she won a Golden ...

in the ABC series ''

Ten Days in the Valley ''Ten Days in the Valley'' is an American drama television series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 1, 2017, through January 6, 2018. The series, starring Kyra Sedgwick, was ordered direct-to-series on August 4, 2016. ...

'' as Detective Isabel Knight and appeared in the CBS series ''Me, Myself & I''. She has also guest starred on ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' and '' The Detour''. Next she will appear opposite

Garrett Hedlund Garrett John Hedlund (born September 3, 1984) is an American actor and musician. His films include ''Troy'' (2004), '' Friday Night Lights'' (2004), '' Four Brothers'' (2005), ''Eragon'' (2006), ''Death Sentence'' (2007), '' Tron: Legacy'' (201 ...

in Liongate's '' Desperation Road'' as well as Searchlight's '' Nightbitch'' starring

Amy Adams Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Known for both her comedic and dramatic roles, she has been featured three times in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actresses. She has received List of awards and nom ...

. '' Nightbitch'' is slated to debut at TIFF with a wide theatrical release Dec. 6, 2024.

Personal life

As of 2024, she lives in Los Angeles. She is active with the Eritrean Youth Community and has served on the board of Eritrean Diaspora Network for two years.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

References

External links

* *
July 2020 Professional Spotlight: Ella Thomas
2020 interview at the Eritrean Diaspora Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ella American television actresses American film actresses Living people People from Asmara Eritrean emigrants to the United States American people of Eritrean descent People from Kaiserslautern (district) 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people)