British actress (born 1973)
Carmen Ejogo
Ejogo in 2019
Born Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo
(1973-10-22 ) 22 October 1973 (age 51) Occupation(s) Actress, singer Years active 1986–present Spouses Children 2 Relatives Charles Ejogo (brother)
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973)[ 1] [ 2] is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in such films as Metro (1997), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Boycott (2001), Away We Go (2009), Sparkle (2012), Alex Cross (2012), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), Selma (2014), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), It Comes at Night (2017), Alien: Covenant (2017), and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
Ejogo also starred in the NBC crime drama series Kidnapped (2006–2007), the ABC thriller series Zero Hour (2013), the Starz anthology drama series The Girlfriend Experience (2017), the HBO anthology crime series True Detective (2019), the Netflix limited series Self Made (2020), and the Showtime series Your Honor (2021) opposite Bryan Cranston.
She appeared in the Boots Riley show, I'm a Virgo for Amazon .[ 3]
Early life
Ejogo was born on 22 October 1973 in Kensington , London , England. She is the daughter of a Scottish mother, Elizabeth (née Douglas), and a Nigerian father, Charles Ejogo.[ 4] [ 5] [ 6] Ejogo remembers her mother as having been "a bit of a hippie" during her childhood.[ 7] She attended the Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School and Glendower Preparatory School , and was then educated at Godolphin and Latymer School .
Career
She began her career as host of the Saturday Disney morning show from 1993 to 1995. Her film credits include The Avengers (1998) Love's Labour's Lost (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Away We Go (2009), Sparkle (2012), Alex Cross (2012), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), It Comes at Night (2017), and Alien: Covenant (2017). She is also known for her role as Seraphina Picquery in the Fantastic Beasts film series . She plays Amelia Reardon in the HBO series True Detective (2019).
Ejogo has appeared as civil rights activist Coretta Scott King in two films: Boycott (2001) and Selma (2014). While preparing for the role in Boycott , she met with King[ 8] and was given King's blessing for her portrayal.[ 9]
Music career
Ejogo has been involved in the music industry, having collaborated with several artists since the 1990s. She presented The Carmen Ejogo Video Show , her own video show on BSB 's Power Station channel.
She wrote and sang lead vocals on the song "Candles" by English drum 'n' bass DJ Alex Reece —she appeared in the music video and is listed in the production credits as "Carmen". Ejogo also sang vocals and duets with ex-husband Tricky on a song called "Slowly". She sang vocals for the film Love's Labour's Lost (2000).
Aside from "Candles", Ejogo appears on four songs of the Sparkle original soundtrack album from the movie of the same name , singing lead on "Yes I Do" (as a solo), and lead vocals with Jordin Sparks and Tika Sumpter singing backup on "Jump", "Hooked on Your Love" and "Something He Can Feel ". She also starred as Rose Angelina in Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind .
Personal life
Ejogo was briefly married to trip-hop artist Tricky .[ 10] In 2000, she married American actor Jeffrey Wright , whom she met while making the HBO film Boycott . They have a son, Elijah (b. 18 October 2001), and a daughter, Juno (b. 14 April 2004).[ 11] [ 12] [ 13] Ejogo and Wright have since divorced.[ 14]
Filmography
Film
Television
Year
Title
Role
Notes
1996
Cold Lazarus
Blinda
4 episodes
1998
Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind
Rose Angela
2 episodes
Tube Tales
Girl
1 episode
2000
Sally Hemings: An American Scandal
Sally Hemings
Television film
2001
Boycott
Coretta Scott King
Television film
2005
Lackawanna Blues
Alean Hudson
Television film
2006–2007
Kidnapped
Turner
Main role, 13 episodes
2008
Law & Order
April Lannen
1 episode
2011
CHAOS
Fay Carson
Main role, 13 episodes
2013
Zero Hour
Rebecca "Beck" Riley
Main role, 13 episodes
2017
The Girlfriend Experience
Bria Jones
Recurring role, 7 episodes
2019
True Detective
Amelia Reardon
Main role, 8 episodes
2020
Self Made
Addie
Miniseries, 4 episodes
2020–2021
Your Honor
Lee Delamere
Main role, 9 episodes
2023
The Crowded Room
Patricia Richards
Miniseries, 3 episodes
2023
I'm a Virgo
Lafrancine
Main role, 7 episodes
2024
The Penguin
Eve Karlo
Miniseries, 6 episodes
Video games
Awards and nominations
References
^ Family Search . Retrieved 11/22/14.
^ "Birth Registration Details" , Ancestry.co.uk (retrieved 19 July 2009).
^ Andreeva, Nellie (22 February 2022). "I'm a Virgo : Brett Gray, Kara Young, Allius Barnes, Olivia Washington, Mike Epps & Carmen Ejogo Join Prime Video Series" . Deadline . Retrieved 18 June 2022 .
^ Trybe, City (17 October 2023). "5 Prominent Global Figures with Nigerian Roots" . Trybe City . Retrieved 17 October 2023 .
^ "A Gran Day Out" CumnockChronicle.com, 24 June 2009 (retrieved 19 July 2009).
^ "Carmen Ejogo" , Global News, 16 March
^ Rich, Katey; "Interview: Away We Go's Carmen Ejogo" Archived 9 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine CinemaBlend.com, 2 June 2009 (retrieved 19 July 2009).
^ Juliet Izon, accessed 12/5/14 "Carmen Ejogo Talks Playing Coretta Scott King in 'Selma'" , Los Angeles Confidential .
^ Levy, Emanuel; "Selma: The Women’s Civil Rights Story" , EmanuelLevy.com, 24 December 2014 (retrieved 29 December 2014).
^ Kitty (10 October 1999). "Tricky biography" . Moon-palace.de . Retrieved 11 April 2017 .
^ "Actor Jeffrey Wright And Family" . Bckonline.com. 31 August 2009. Retrieved 11 April 2017 .
^ "Carmen Ejogo: 'There's some kind of trauma at play'" , The Independent , 4 September 2009 (retrieved 2 July 2015).
^ "Carmen, Elijah & Juno Wright" alittlemuse.com, 7 September 2011 (retrieved 2 July 2015).
^ Zahed, Ramin; "'Selma' allows Carmen Ejogo to play Coretta Scott King a second time" , LATimes.com , 18 December 2014 (retrieved 26 December 2014).
External links
International National Artists Other