Adepero Oduye was born in Brooklyn, New York, one of seven children of Nigerian parents. Although she graduated pre-med from
Cornell University, she decided to pursue her passion for acting upon graduation. Oduye's breakout role came in 2011 when she starred in
Dee Rees' 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 following year, she joined an all-star cast in the
Steel Magnolias television remake as Annelle Dupuy-Desoto, a role originated by
Daryl Hannah. In 2013, Oduye co-starred alongside
Chiwetel Ejiofor in
Steve McQueen'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 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 in Horton Foote's
The Trip To Bountiful. 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. In 2018, she appeared in films
Geostorm and
Widows. In 2019, she played activist
Nomsa Brath in the
Ava DuVernay's miniseries
When They See Us. ==Filmography==