# Jessica Oyelowo

Jessica Oyelowo (née Watson; born 1978) is a British-American actress and singer.

## Early life

She was born Jessica Watson in Ipswich, and spent her childhood in Woodbridge, Suffolk. She attended Woodbridge School as a child and was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre.

## Career

In 2006, she starred as Detective Sergeant Alex Jones in Mayo, then went on to appear in Murphy's Law alongside James Nesbitt, in 2007. She provided the voice of Mrs. Equiano (alongside her husband as Olaudah Equiano) in Grace Unshackled – The Olaudah Equiano Story (a radio play adapting Equiano's 1789 autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano), first broadcast on BBC 7 on 8 April 2007.

## Personal life

Oyelowo resides in Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, US with her husband, actor David Oyelowo. They met while attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. They have four children. They formerly resided in Brighton, England.
Both she and her husband are committed Christians.
Oyelowo and her husband became naturalised US citizens on 20 July 2016.
As the wife of a Yoruba tribal prince, Oyelowo is entitled to the honorific style Olori. She currently does not use it.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Sleepy Hollow | Sarah | |
| 2004 | Churchill: The Hollywood Years | Princess Margaret | |
| 2005 | It's a Boy! | Mary | Video short |
| 2009 | Big Guy | Bear Vendor | Short |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Woman with Large Poitrine in Red Queen Court | |
| 2011 | Rahab | Rahab | Short |
| 2015 | Captive | Meredith MacKenzie | |
| 2016 | After the Storm | None | Short; director, writer and producer |
| 2016 | Nina | Nurse | |
| 2016 | A United Kingdom | Lady Lilly Canning | |
| 2019 | Sorry, Not Sorry | Abby | Short |
| 2020 | The Water Man | Missus Bakemeyer | Also composed and performed several songs |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Unfinished Business | Flora | Episodes: "2.4", "2.6" |
| 1999 | People Like Us | Emma | Episode: "The Photographer" |
| 2000 | Madame Bovary | Felicite | TV miniseries |
| 2000 | Reach for the Moon | Claire Jones | Episode: "This Means Nothing to Me" |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | 1st Handmaiden | TV film |
| 2000 | The Sight | Isobel | TV film |
| 2001 | Lee Evans: So What Now? | | Episode: "Swinger" |
| 2002 | Helen West | Rose Darvey | Episodes: "Deep Sleep", "Shadow Play" |
| 2003 | The Deal | Make-up Artist | TV film |
| 2004 | Hex | Rachel McBain | Episode: "Pilot: The Story Begins" |
| 2006 | Mayo | Alex Jones | Main role |
| 2007 | Murphy's Law | Jackie Cole | Episodes: "Food Chain: Parts 1-3" |
| 2008 | Inseparable | Camille Hutton | TV film |
| 2011 | Off the Map | Chloe | Episode: "Smile. Don't Kill Anyone." |
| 2012 | Childrens Hospital | Mother | Episode: "British Hospital" |
| 2023 | Lawmen: Bass Reeves | Rachel Reeves | Episode: "Part I"; also Executive Producer |

## Stage work

* Cyrano de Bergerac (as Roxanne) at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2006
* Ana in Love (play) at Hackney Empire for Inside Intelligence 2007
* As You Like It (Rosalind) for Inside Intelligence 1997, her professional debut