Enuka Okuma

Okuma made her directorial debut with the short film Cookie, on which she was also a writer, actor, and executive producer. She has since expanded into writing for television.

• Name — Enuka Okuma • Birth Name — Enuka Vanessa Okuma • Birthplace — Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • Occupation — * Actress • writer • director • Years Active — 1990–present • Website — enukaokuma.com

Okuma was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is of Nigerian descent, from the Igbo people, and is a graduate of Simon Fraser University's School for the Contemporary Arts.

In 1990, she began her career on television, appearing as a regular cast member during the first season of the Canadian teen soap opera Hillside. Throughout the 1990s, she also played supporting roles in several made for television films and Canadian television series, such as Madison. She eventually made her feature film debut with a supporting role in Double Jeopardy (1999).

Okuma began to transition from teenage roles to adult roles, with appearances on a wide range of productions, especially television. Okuma co-starred in the American crime drama series Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye from 2002 to 2005. She guest starred on various hit television series, including Dark Angel, Odyssey 5, Cold Case, Grey's Anatomy and NCIS: Los Angeles. She also had the recurring role as Marika Donoso on the seventh season of the Fox series 24.

In 2010, Okuma began starring in the Global/ABC police drama series, Rookie Blue as detective Traci Nash. When being interviewed about how she got her role on Rookie Blue, Okuma said: I originally auditioned for the part of Gail [played by Charlotte Sullivan] and Charlotte auditioned for Traci. When we got the parts, I said, "I think I would rather play Traci" and Charlotte said, "I think I would rather play Gail." Thankfully, the producers thought the same. • Illustration — Okuma at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival Okuma was cast as one of lead characters in the ABC pilot, The Adversaries, in 2015. That year, she also guest starred as Nia Lahey on the hit series How to Get Away with Murder. She joined the series Workin' Moms in 2021 as recurring character Sloane Mitchell and became a regular the following season. Okuma was cast in the series Paradise as recurring character Terri Rogers-Collins, and became a series regular in season two.

Okuma made her directorial debut with the short film, Cookie, on which she was also a writer, actor, and executive producer. In 2015, Okuma co-wrote the Rookie Blue episode titled "Best Man".

On July 2, 2011, Okuma married musician Joe Gasparik in Toronto, where they met while working on a television show together. Gasparik proposed to Okuma on a beach in Vancouver after three years of dating.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1990 — MacGyver — Young Club Member — Episode: "The Gun"; credited as Vanessa Okuma • 1991 — Hillside — Kelly — 13 episodes; credited as Vanessa Okuma • 1993–1997 — Madison — Sheri Davis — 5 episodes; credited as Enuka Vanessa Okuma and Vanessa Okuma • 1998 — Da Vinci's Inquest — Summer — 2 episodes • | NightMan — Singer/Crystal — 3 episodes • | Shadow Raiders — Jade (voice) — 10 episodes • 1999 — data-sort-value="City, The" | The City — Kira — 5 episodes • 2000 — Mobile Suit Gundam Wing — Lady Une (voice) — English dub • | These Arms of Mine — Adrian — 2 episodes • 2001 — Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz — Lady Une (voice) — English dub • | Andromeda — Sofia/Isabella Ortiz — Episode: "Last Call at the Broken Hammer" • 2002 — Da Vinci's Inquest — Maria — 2 episodes • 2002–2005 — Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye — Lucy Dotson — 56 episodes • 2006 — Cold Case — Alice Stallworth in 1948 — Episode: "Sandhogs" • 2007 — Grey's Anatomy — Teresa Brotherton — Episode: "Physical Attraction... Chemical Reaction" • 2009 — 24 — Marika Donoso — 4 episodes • 2010–2015 — Rookie Blue — Traci Nash — 74 episodes • 2015 — How to Get Away with Murder — Nia Lahey — 2 episodes • 2016 — Slasher — Lisa-Ann Follows — 4 episodes • | Masters of Sex — Cleo — Episode: "Coats or Keys" • 2017–2019 — Steven Universe — Rhodonite (voice) — 5 episodes • 2018 — Caught — KC Williams — 5 episodes • | Impulse — Deputy Anna Hulce — Main role • 2019 — data-sort-value="Million Little Things, A" | A Million Little Things — Sandra — 2 episodes • 2021 — Frankie Drake Mysteries — Toni Freedmon — Episode: "Sweet Justice" • 2021–2023 — Workin' Moms — Sloane Mitchell — Main role • 2022 — S.W.A.T. — DEA Agent Nadia Lyons — Episode: "Three Guns" • 2024 — Tracker — US Marshal Jenny Martinez — Episode: "Out of the Past" • 2025 — Paradise — Dr. Teri Rogers-Collins — Recurring role (season 1), main cast (season 2) • data-sort-value="Pitt, The" | The Pitt — Natalie Malone — Episode: "5:00 P.M." • St. Denis Medical — Dr. Fenner — Episode: "Two Docs, One Conf"

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 2024 — Mortal Kombat 1 — Cyrax (voice) — "Khaos Reigns" DLC • 2025 — Mecha Break — Female Protagonist Voice 6 (voice) — English version