# Carmen Ejogo

Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (/iˈdʒoʊɡoʊ/; born 22 October 1973) is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in such films as Metro (1997), Love's Labour's Lost (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Boycott (2001), Away We Go (2009), Sparkle (2012), Alex Cross (2012), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), Selma (2014), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), It Comes at Night (2017), Alien: Covenant (2017), and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018).
Ejogo also starred in the NBC crime drama series Kidnapped (2006–2007), the ABC thriller series Zero Hour (2013), the Starz anthology drama series The Girlfriend Experience (2017), the HBO anthology crime series True Detective (2019), the Netflix limited series Self Made (2020), and the Showtime series Your Honor (2021) opposite Bryan Cranston.
She appeared in the Boots Riley show, I'm a Virgo for Amazon.

## Early life

Ejogo was born on 22 October 1973 in Kensington, London, England. She is the daughter of a Scottish mother, Elizabeth (née Douglas), and a Nigerian father, Charles Ejogo. Ejogo remembers her mother as having been "a bit of a hippie" during her childhood. She attended the Oratory Roman Catholic Primary School and Glendower Preparatory School, and was then educated at Godolphin and Latymer School.

## Career

She began her career as host of the Saturday Disney morning show from 1993 to 1995. Her film credits include The Avengers (1998) Love's Labour's Lost (2000), What's the Worst That Could Happen? (2001), Away We Go (2009), Sparkle (2012), Alex Cross (2012), The Purge: Anarchy (2014), It Comes at Night (2017), and Alien: Covenant (2017). She is also known for her role as Seraphina Picquery in the Fantastic Beasts film series. She plays Amelia Reardon in the HBO series True Detective (2019).
Ejogo has appeared as civil rights activist Coretta Scott King in two films: Boycott (2001) and Selma (2014). While preparing for the role in Boycott, she met with King and was given King's blessing for her portrayal.

### Music career

Ejogo has been involved in the music industry, having collaborated with several artists since the 1990s. She presented The Carmen Ejogo Video Show, her own video show on BSB's Power Station channel.
She wrote and sang lead vocals on the song "Candles" by English drum 'n' bass DJ Alex Reece—she appeared in the music video and is listed in the production credits as "Carmen". Ejogo also sang vocals and duets with ex-husband Tricky on a song called "Slowly". She sang vocals for the film Love's Labour's Lost (2000).
Aside from "Candles", Ejogo appears on four songs of the Sparkle original soundtrack album from the movie of the same name, singing lead on "Yes I Do" (as a solo), and lead vocals with Jordin Sparks and Tika Sumpter singing backup on "Jump", "Hooked on Your Love" and "Something He Can Feel". She also starred as Rose Angelina in Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind.

## Personal life

Ejogo was briefly married to trip-hop artist Tricky. In 2000, she married American actor Jeffrey Wright, whom she met while making the HBO film Boycott. They have a son, Elijah (b. 18 October 2001), and a daughter, Juno (b. 14 April 2004). Ejogo and Wright have since divorced.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1986 | Absolute Beginners | Carmen | |
| 1997 | Metro | Ronnie Tate | |
| 1998 | I Want You | Amber | |
| 1998 | The Avengers | Brenda | |
| 1999 | Tube Tales | Girl | Drama |
| 2000 | Love's Labour's Lost | Maria | |
| 2001 | Perfume | Chloe | |
| 2001 | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Amber Belhaven | |
| 2001 | Boycott | Coretta Scott King | |
| 2004 | Noel | Dr. Matthew Batiste | Drama / Holiday |
| 2007 | The Brave One | Jackie | |
| 2008 | Pride and Glory | Tasha | |
| 2009 | Away We Go | Grace De Tessant | |
| 2012 | Sparkle | Tammy "Sister" Anderson | |
| 2012 | Alex Cross | Maria Cross | |
| 2014 | The Purge: Anarchy | Eva | Sci-Fi / Thriller |
| 2014 | Selma | Coretta Scott King | |
| 2015 | Born to Be Blue | Jane / Elaine | Biography / Drama |
| 2016 | Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them | President Seraphina Picquery | |
| 2017 | It Comes at Night | Sarah | |
| 2017 | Alien: Covenant | Karine Oram | |
| 2017 | Roman J. Israel, Esq. | Maya | |
| 2018 | Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald | President Seraphina Picquery | |
| 2019 | Rattlesnake | Katrina Ridgeway | |
| 2022 | Forty Winks | Nina Sherman | |
| 2024 | Goodrich | Lola Thompson | |
| 2025 | Fountain of Youth | TBA | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Cold Lazarus | Blinda | 4 episodes |
| 1998 | Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind | Rose Angela | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Tube Tales | Girl | 1 episode |
| 2000 | Sally Hemings: An American Scandal | Sally Hemings | Television film |
| 2001 | Boycott | Coretta Scott King | Television film |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Alean Hudson | Television film |
| 2006–2007 | Kidnapped | Turner | Main role, 13 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order | April Lannen | 1 episode |
| 2011 | CHAOS | Fay Carson | Main role, 13 episodes |
| 2013 | Zero Hour | Rebecca "Beck" Riley | Main role, 13 episodes |
| 2017 | The Girlfriend Experience | Bria Jones | Recurring role, 7 episodes |
| 2019 | True Detective | Amelia Reardon | Main role, 8 episodes |
| 2020 | Self Made | Addie | Miniseries, 4 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | Your Honor | Lee Delamere | Main role, 9 episodes |
| 2023 | The Crowded Room | Patricia Richards | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 2023 | I'm a Virgo | Lafrancine | Main role, 7 episodes |
| 2024 | The Penguin | Eve Karlo | Miniseries, 6 episodes |

### Video games

| Year | Title | Voice role |
| 2016 | Lego Dimensions | Seraphina Picquery |

## Awards and nominations

| Association | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
| Black Reel Awards | 2001 | Best Actress, Network/Cable | Sally Hemings: An American Scandal | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | 2006 | Best Supporting Actress, Television | Lackawanna Blues | Won |
| Black Reel Awards | 2015 | Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture | Selma | Won |
| Black Reel Awards | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture | It Comes at Night | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | 2018 | Best Supporting Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series | The Girlfriend Experience | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | 2019 | Best Supporting Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series | True Detective | Nominated |
| Black Reel Awards | 2020 | Best Supporting Actress, TV Movie/Limited Series | Self Made | Nominated |
| Canadian Screen Awards | 2016 | Best Actress | Born to Be Blue | Nominated |
| Georgia Film Critics Association | 2015 | Best Acting Ensemble | Selma | Nominated |
| Independent Spirit Awards | 2015 | Best Supporting Female | Selma | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2002 | Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Boycott | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2006 | Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special | Lackawanna Blues | Nominated |
| NAACP Image Awards | 2015 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture | Selma | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society | 2014 | Best Acting Ensemble | Selma | Nominated |
| Washington DC Area Film Critics Association | 2014 | Best Acting Ensemble | Selma | Nominated |