Adepero Oduye

Adepero Oduye is an American actress, director, and writer.

Adepero Oduye (pronounced “Add-eh-pair-o Oh-due-yay) was born in Brooklyn, New York, one of seven children to 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. During her Golden Globe acceptance speech for The Iron Lady, Meryl Streep mentioned some of her favorite performances of the year, highlighting Oduye in Pariah.

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.

Oduye 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.

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, she shared the screen with Steve Carell in Adam McKay’s comedy-drama The Big Short, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

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 has garnered several film festival acknowledgments and awards.

Her upcoming projects include the sci-fi action film Geostorm and the American drama thriller The Dinner, starring Richard Gere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adepero_Oduye

Mini Bio (1)

Adepero Oduye hails from Brooklyn, New York City by way of Nigeria. She is a graduate of Cornell University; and has studied acting with Wynn Handman, Austin Pendleton, and Susan Batson. Her name is pronounced "Add-eh-pair-o Oh-due-yay."

Her theatre credits include Danai Gurira's play Eclipsed, at the Yale Repertory Theatre; The Bluest Eye, at the Hartford Stage and Long Wharf Theatres; and Fela!, in the AEA workshop, directed and choreographed by Bill T. Jones.

Ms. Oduye first starred for writer/director Dee Rees as Alike in the award-winning short film Pariah. Among the other shorts that she has starred in are Gabriele Zamparini's Water; Russell Costanzo's The Tested; and Nadiah Hamzah's Sub Rosa.

She has made guest appearances on such television programs as Louie and two Law & Order series.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: MO Iroy FRom focusfeatures.com

Trivia (1)

In 2011, Meryl Streep forgot her reading glasses when she accepted her Golden Globe win for The Iron Lady (2011) and therefore spontaneously mentioned some of her favorite performances of the year, one being Oduye in Pariah (2011).