Sophie Okonedo was born in England to a Nigerian father and a Jewish mother. Sophie’s father left the family when she was only 5 years old. Coupled with her multiracial makeup, she endured a rough childhood, therefore as she grew up, she found comfort and solace in art of performing.
She dropped out of school at the age of 16 to perhaps “find herself”? She later enrolled in a writing class at the Royal Court Theater and eventually won herself a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ( anything in England that begins with Royal has got my vote of prestige)!
The Academy gave her the edge that she needed, because she soon found that she has a natural gift of ‘disappearing into her characters.” She first began with stage plays and later took the leap into films.
Having become a very familiar face in the UK during the 90’s, this gorgeous actress was edged on by her success at home to branch out and carve herself a piece of the famous Hollywood pie. With auditions in the US, she landed roles in movies like Ace Ventura, opposite Jim Carrey, and The Jackal, alongside Bruce Willis and Jack Black.
She knew that these roles were not challenging enough for her to grow artistically so she pressed on, appearing in movies that most of us never heard of. Okonedo finally made her world wide debut in the 2002 ‘critically acclaimed, organ harvesting thriller ‘Dirty Pretty Things’, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor. The movie featured at international film festivals including, Toronto, Venice and Hong Kong, and, as she traveled the world from one festival to another, she knew she had arrived!
Two years later she lands the high-profile role of her career when she played Don Cheadle’s wife in the 2004 hit movie Hotel Rwanda. Her performance as Tatiana Rusesabagina(Cheadle’s wife) brought her some of the best reviews of her career!
The movie won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and won her an Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role category, a few months later. Although Cate Blanchett walked away with the award, the Oscar buzz always does wonders for one’s career in Hollywood.
Sophie’s first movie post Hotel Rwanda {Aeon Flux, with two other African sisters, Charlize Theron and Caroline Chikezie} did not do so well. She did go on to star in more promising movies including the very controversial HBO miniseries, Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006), and The Martian Child opposite John Cusack and Amanda Peet (2007).
In her new movie, The Secret Life of Bees, she plays one of the intelligent and independent Boatwright sisters (Queen Latifa, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo). The movie has a release date of October 2008. Many of you may have read the book but for more buzz on the upcoming movie, go here.
Sophie is one of those exotic women with a timeless and ageless beauty. She has been described as having confidence and a bright demeanor that is impossible to resist. She, unlike some others in the glamorous world of Hollywood, has not resorted to plastic surgery. She continues to looks better with age! She may not be well known by her name but Sophie Okonedo definitely has a face to remember, and has become one of those fresh new faces in Hollywood to look out for.