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| Sophie Okonedo | |||||||
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 Okonedo at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival |
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| Born | 1 January 1969 London, England |
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Sophie Okonedo (born 1 January 1969) is an Academy Award-nominated English actress.
Contents |
Biography
Early life
Okonedo was born in London, England, the daughter of Joan, a pilates teacher, and Henry Okonedo, who worked for the government.1 Her father is Nigerian and her mother, an Ashkenazi Jew, was born in the East End to Yiddish-speaking immigrants from Poland and Russia; Okonedo was raised attending synagogue.2134 Her father left the family when Okonedo was five, and she was subsequently raised in poverty by her single mother.25
Career
Okonedo trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.6 She has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre, and audio drama. She performed in Scream of the Shalka — a webcast based on the BBC television series Doctor Who — as Alison Cheney, a companion of the Doctor. As well as providing the character's voice, Okonedo's likeness was used for the animation of the character. Okonedo also played the part of Ms. Tulip Jones in the movie Stormbreaker (2006) and Nancy in the 2007 television adaptation of Oliver Twist.
She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress in 2004 for her role in Hotel Rwanda and nominated for a Golden Globe for a Lead Actress in a Miniseries for her work in Tsunami: The Aftermath.
She played along side Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys, and Dakota Fanning as May Boatwright, a woman who struggles with depression, in the film The Secret Life of Bees (2008).
Personal life
Okonedo has a daughter, Aoife, from her previous relationship with Irish film editor Eoin Martin.7 They live in Muswell Hill, London. On her heritage, Sophie says, "I feel as proud to be Jewish as I feel to be black" and calls her daughter an "Irish, Nigerian Jew."8
Awards/nominations
- Academy Awards
- 2005, Best Supporting Actress: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
- Black Reel Award
- 2005, Best Actress in a Drama: Hotel Rwanda (Winner)
- Golden Globes
- 2007, Best Actress in a Television Movie/Mini-Series: Tsunami: The Aftermath (Nominated)
- Image Awards
- 2007, Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special: Tsunami: The Aftermath (Winner)
- 2005, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
- MTV Movie Awards
- 1996, Best Kiss: Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls shared with Jim Carrey (Nominated)
- Screen Actors Guild
- 2005, Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
- 2005, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture: Hotel Rwanda (Nominated)
Filmography
- Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995)
- The Jackal (1997)
- This Year's Love (1999)
- Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
- Hotel Rwanda (2004)
- Æon Flux (2005)
- Stormbreaker (2006)
- Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006)
- Oliver Twist (2007)
- Skin (2008)
- The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
References
- ^ a b Gavin Evans » Sophie Okonedo (profile)
- ^ a b Franks, Alan (2007-12-08). "Sophie Okonedo does the twist", Times Online. Retrieved on 8 December 2007.
- ^ Sophie Okonedo: Fame, here I come - Features, Film & TV - Independent.co.uk
- ^ 'I guess I'm up for grabs now' | Interviews | Guardian Unlimited Film
- ^ Interfaith Celebrities The Jewish Mermaid - InterfaithFamily.com
- ^ Vacancies
- ^ 'I guess I'm up for grabs now' | Features | Guardian Unlimited Film
- ^ http://www.gavinevans.net/?page_id=81
External links
- Sophie Okonedo at the Internet Movie Database
- Sophie Okonedo at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 17 November 2008, at 03:48.
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