Adepero Oduye
American Actress, Director, Singer, and Writer
| Date of Birth | : | 11 Jan, 1978 |
| Place of Birth | : | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Profession | : | American Actress, Director |
| Nationality | : | American |
| Social Profiles | : |
Twitter
Instagram
|
Adepero Oduye is an actress who has appeared in many films, including 12 Years a Slave and Pariah. Her first major role was in the 2006 film, Half Nelson. She has also appeared in TV shows, including episodes of Louie and Law & Order.
Life and Career
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. 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.
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 has 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.
Movies
- 12 Years a Slave in 2013
- The Door in 2013
- My Name Is David in 2015
- The Big Short in 2015
- Geostorm in 2017
- The Dinner in 2017
- Widows in 2018
- Viper Club in 2018
- Tazmanian Devil in 2020
Quotes
Total 18 Quotes
It's a surreal experience. During the first show, I was like, "Wow, I'm onstage with Ms. Tyson!" Everybody has been amazing, and the energy is really beautiful. I'm replacing my friend Condola, so everyone making sure that I'm OK has turned what could've been a very scary, nerve-racking and lonely experience into a supportive environment.
Adepero Oduye
Beautiful
Lonely
Scary
Supportive
Energy
Environment
Tyson
Surreal
Firsts
Nerves
Shows
Wow Has
Beens
My Friends
I was reading the paper and saw a cartoon with Ray Kelly frisking Obama, and I was like "Wait, what's happening?" so I Googled it. For everything Obama stands for and the things he's said in the past in his books, especially with the Trayvon Martin thing - and I'm not sure if he [made his comments on Trayvon] because he was asked a question and he was trying to be diplomatic and neutral - that can't happen.
Adepero Oduye
Book
Reading
Past
Waiting
Trying
Cartoon
Not Sure
Comment
Diplomatic
Made
Paper
Rays Said
Saws
Trayvon
Martin
Happenings
Happens Ifs
There are conservative people in all colours in America.
I love that you can watch a film and 10 years later still be affected.
I assume Obama knows about stop and frisk, so this is not the person that should be the head of homeland security. I had to say something. Kelly's nomination would go against who President Obama is.
Adepero Oduye
President
Assuming
President Obama
Security
Homeland
Homeland Security
Nominations
Persons
Should
Stop And
Frisk Knows
I'm in awe of how grounded Ms. Tyson is and how her performances can be different but the same. She can switch up the delivery, but it's still with the right intention. Her words are effortless in terms of their meaning and how she inhabits them. She's been doing Trip to Bountiful for four months, and it still feels real. She's pretty amazing.
Adepero Oduye
Real
Different
Intention
Tyson
Term
Awe Delivery
Effortless
Feels
Four
Grounded
Months
Performances
Stills
I grew up in New York and I've always lived here, so I look at myself as a regular person. When somebody recognizes me from the film - and it can be a wide range of people, which shows the power of film - I feel like they're talking about someone else we both know. I just find it hard to believe that anyone would stop me to share how much they loved something that I was a part of.
Adepero Oduye
Believe
People
Film
Share
Hard To Believe
Feels
Grew Grew
Up Looks
New York
Persons
Range
Shows
Talking
Hard Talking
About Someone
Wide Knows
You look up to your parents and you want them to accept you, and you don't want them to look at you in a negative light. So you do things to make them proud and accept you.
That's what you want art to do, to open people up and start conversations.
My mother's a pretty warm, open person.
