Sophie Okonedo

Okonedo made her Broadway debut portraying Ruth Younger in the 2014 revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. She returned to Broadway as Elizabeth Proctor in the 2016 revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible for which she was nominated for her second Tony Award. She returned to the stage portraying Cleopatra from 2018 to 2019 in the National Theatre production of Antony and Cleopatra for which she was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress. She began her film career in the British coming-of-age drama Young Soul Rebels (1991) before appearing in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995), and Stephen Frears's Dirty Pretty Things (2002). Her breakthrough role was as Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda (2004) for which she received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. She continued acting in films such as Æon Flux (2005), Martian Child (2007), The Secret Life of Bees (2008), Skin (2008), Christopher Robin (2018), Wild Rose (2018), and Death on the Nile (2022). For her television work she earned Golden Globe Award nomination for the miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006), three BAFTA TV Award nominations for Mrs. Mandela (2010), Criminal Justice (2010) and Criminal: UK (2021). She was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for her guest role in Ratched (2020).

Sophie Okonedo studied at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The recorded working language is English. Distinctions recorded are Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Theatre World Award, Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play and Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

• Name — Sophie Okonedo • Born — 11 August 1968 • Birthplace — London, England • Education — Royal Academy of Dramatic Art • Occupation — * Actress • narrator • Years Active — 1991–present • Spouse — Jamie Chalmers • Children — 3

Okonedo was born on 11 August 1968 in London, the daughter of Joan (née Allman), a Jewish Pilates teacher who was born in the East End of London, and Henry Okonedo (1939–2009), a British Nigerian who worked for the government. Okonedo's maternal grandparents, who spoke Yiddish, were from families of Russian-Jewish and Polish-Jewish origin. Okonedo was raised in her mother's Jewish faith. Her father left when Okonedo was five years old, returning to Nigeria and starting a new family. Her mother raised her in the Chalkhill Estate, part of the Wembley Park district in the London Borough of Brent. She then trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

She has worked in a variety of media including film, television, theatre and audio drama. She performed in Scream of the Shalka, a webcast based on the BBC television series Doctor Who as Alison Cheney, a companion of the Doctor. As well as providing the character's voice, Okonedo's likeness was used for the animation of the character. In 2010, Okonedo portrayed Liz Ten (Queen Elizabeth X) in the BBC TV series Doctor Who episodes "The Beast Below" and again briefly in "The Pandorica Opens". • Illustration — Okonedo in 2008 Okonedo played the role of Jenny in Danny Brocklehurst's BAFTA TV Award nominated episode of Paul Abbott's series Clocking Off. She also played the role of Tulip Jones in the film Stormbreaker (2006) and Nancy in the television adaptation of Oliver Twist (2007). She is also known for playing the role of the Wachati Princess in Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls (1995). In October 2017, Michael Caton-Jones stated that, in 1998, he had chosen Okonedo to star in B. Monkey. However, the film's producer, Harvey Weinstein, banned this because the actress did not meet his personal sexual preference. She was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Supporting Actress for her role as Tatiana Rusesabagina in Hotel Rwanda (2004) and nominated for a Golden Globe Award for a Lead Actress in a Miniseries for her work in Tsunami: The Aftermath (2006). She played alongside Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson, Alicia Keys and Dakota Fanning as May Boatwright, a woman who struggles with depression, in the film The Secret Life of Bees (2008); starred as Sandra Laing in Skin (2009) opposite to Sam Neill and Alice Krige; and portrayed Winnie Mandela in the BBC drama Mrs. Mandela broadcast in January 2010. In 2014 she appeared on Broadway as Ruth Younger in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun. She won the Tony Award, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for this role, beating out co-star and fellow nominee Anika Noni Rose. In 2016, Okonedo returned to Broadway in Ivo van Hove's production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre as Elizabeth Proctor opposite Bill Camp, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Butler Harner, Ciarán Hinds, Jim Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Thomas Jay Ryan and Ben Whishaw. Also in 2016, Okonedo appeared as Queen Margaret in the second season of the BBC's The Hollow Crown, an adaptation of the Shakespearean plays Henry VI, Part I, II, III and Richard III. She performed in the role of Stevie in the 2017 West End revival of the existentialist play The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, by Edward Albee. Directed by Ian Rickson and also starring Damian Lewis as Martin, the production's first preview was on 24 March 2017, opening night on 5 April 2017, and final performance on 24 June 2017, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket. In May 2013, Okonedo played the role of Hunter in a BBC radio production of Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, adapted by Dirk Maggs. She portrayed Siuan Sanche in the television series The Wheel of Time from 2021 to 2025. In 2024 she was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actress for playing the title role in Medea at the @sohoplace.

Okonedo has one daughter, from a relationship she had with Irish film editor Eoin Martin, and lives in Muswell Hill, London. On her heritage, Okonedo has said, "I feel as proud to be Jewish as I feel to be Black" and calls her daughter an "Irish, Nigerian Jew". As of 2023, Okonedo is married to Jamie Chalmers, a builder, and is the stepmother of his two children.

• Year — Title — Role — Notes • 1991 — Spatz — Kim — Episode: "Talent Contest" • Casualty — Gina Russell — Episode: "Judgement Day" • 1992 — Screen Two — Melanie — Episode: "Maria's Child" • 1993 — Age of Treason — Niobe — Television film • 1994 — The Bill — Adele Percy — Episode: "Darkness Before Dawn" • 1995 — The Governor — Moira Levitt — 6 episodes • Go Now — Paula — Television film • 1996 — Murder Most Horrid — Rachel — Episode: "Dead on Time" • Deep Secrets — Honey — Television film • 1996–1997 — Staying Alive — Kelly Booth — 12 episodes • 2000 — In Defence — Bernie Kramer — 4 episodes • Never Never — Jo Weller — 2-part drama • 2001 — Table 12 — Karen — Episode: "Opera Lover" • Sweet Revenge — Ellen — 2-part drama • 2002 — Clocking Off — Jenny Wood — 5 episodes • Dead Casual — Donna — Television film • VBirds — Bling (voice) — 6 episodes • 2003 — The Inspector Lynley Mysteries — Eve Bowen — Episode: “In the Presence of the Enemy” • Spooks — Amanda Roke — Episode: "Blood & Money" (uncredited role) • Alibi — Marcey Burgess — Television film • Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka — Alison Cheney (voice) — Miniseries; 6 episodes • 2004 — Whose Baby? — Karen Jenkins — Television films • 2005 — Born with Two Mothers — Lucretia Bridges • 2006 — The True Voice of Rape — (unknown) • Tsunami: The Aftermath — Susie Carter — Miniseries; 2 episodes • 2007 — Celebration — Sonia — Television film • Oliver Twist — Nancy — Miniseries; 5 episodes • Jackanory Junior — Herself - Storyteller — Episode: "The Woman Who Won Things" • 2009 — Father & Son — Connie Turner — Miniseries; 4 episodes • Criminal Justice — Jackie Woolf — 5 episodes • 2010 — Mrs. Mandela — Winnie Mandela — Television film • Doctor Who — Liz Ten — 2 episodes: "The Beast Below" & "The Pandorica Opens" • 2011 — Tinga Tinga Tales — Cheetah (voice) — Episode: "Why Cheetah Has Tears" • The Slap — Aisha — Miniseries; 8 episodes • 2012 — Sinbad — Razia — Episode: “Queen of the Water-Thieves” • 2013 — Mayday — Fiona Hill — Miniseries; 5 episodes • The Escape Artist — Margaret 'Maggie' Gardner — Miniseries; 3 episodes • 2014 — Wall Street — Bryce — Television film • 2015 — The Slap — Aisha — Miniseries; 7 episodes (U.S. adaptation of Australian series) • 2016 — Undercover — Maya Cobbina — Miniseries; 6 episodes • The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses — Margaret, Queen Consort of England — 3 episodes • 2018 — Wanderlust — Angela Bowden — 4 episodes • 2019 — Chimerica — Tessa Kendrick — 4 episodes • 2019–2020 — Flack — Caroline — 11 episodes • 2020 — Criminal: UK — Julia Bryce — Episode: "Julia" • Ratched — Charlotte Wells — 3 episodes • His Dark Materials — Xaphania (voice) — 4 episodes • 2021 — Modern Love — Elizabeth Cannon — Episode: “Second Embrace, with Hearts and Eyes Open” • Britannia — Hemple — 8 episodes • 2021–2025 — The Wheel of Time — Siuan Sanche — 7 episodes • 2022 — Inside No. 9 — Katrina — Episode: "Nine Lives Kat" • 2022–2023 — Slow Horses — Ingrid Tearney — 7 episodes • 2025 — The Scarecrows' Wedding — Narrator — Television film

In addition to her acting work, Okonedo has provided voice-overs for numerous TV documentaries, including: • Stan Collymore: Confessions of a Premiership Footballer (2004) • Blitz: London's Firestorm (2005) • Racism: A History (miniseries; 3 episodes; 2007) • Dispatches (3 episodes; 2008, 2009 & 2015) • Turin Shroud: New Evidence (2009) • Extraordinary Women (2 episodes; 2011) • Serious Explorers: Livingstone (2011) • Welcome to the World (2012) • 28UP South Africa (2013) • The Stranger on the Bridge (2015) • The Destruction of Memory (2016) • Ebola: The Doctors' Story (2016) • Thailand: Earth's Tropical Paradise (miniseries; 3 episodes; 2017) • Concorde: A Supersonic Story (2017) • Earth's Natural Wonders (3 episodes; 2018) • Grenfell: The First 24 Hours (2018) • Dreamflight (5 episodes; 2020) • Alien Worlds (4 episodes; 2020) • Frontline (1 episode; 2021) • Explained (1 episode; 2021) • The Conqueror: Hollywood Fallout (2023) • Flight of the Swans (2023) • Renaissance: The Blood and the Beauty (3 episodes; 2024) • Civilisations: Rise and Fall (4 episodes; 2025)

• Year — Title — Role (voice) — Notes • 2020 — Dreams — Dream Queen

• Year — Title — Playwright — Role — Venue • 2011 — Haunted Child — Joe Penhall — Julie — Royal Court (London, UK) • 2014 — A Raisin in the Sun — Lorraine Hansberry — Ruth — Ethel Barrymore Theater, (New York City) • 2016 — The Crucible — Arthur Miller — Elizabeth Proctor — Walter Kerr Theater (New York City) • 2017 — The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? — Edward Albee — Stevie Gray — Theatre Royal Haymarket (London, UK) • 2018 — Antony and Cleopatra — William Shakespeare — Cleopatra — Royal National Theatre (London, UK) • 2023 — Medea — Euripides — Medea — @sohoplace (London, UK)

Sophie Okonedo is recorded as actress.

Okonedo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours and Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours, both for services to drama. In December 2024, Okonedo received the Richard Harris Award at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs).

• Film and Television Awards • Award — Year — Category — Project — Result — Ref. References • Academy Awards — 2005 — Best Supporting Actress — Hotel Rwanda • BAFTA TV Awards — 2010 — Best Leading Actress — Mrs. Mandela • Best Supporting Actress — Criminal Justice • 2021 — Criminal: UK • Black Reel Awards — 2005 — Best Actress-Drama — Hotel Rwanda • 2008 — Best Ensemble — The Secret Life of Bees • Best Supporting Actress • 2010 — Best Actress — Skin • British Independent Film Awards — 2003 — Best Supporting Actress — Dirty Pretty Things • 2009 — Skin — Best Actress • Golden Globe Awards — 2007 — Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie — Tsunami: The Aftermath • Hollywood Film Festival — 2008 — Ensemble Acting of the Year — The Secret Life of Bees • NAACP Image Awards — 2005 — Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture — Hotel Rwanda • 2007 — Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie/Mini-Series — Tsunami: the Aftermath • 2009 — Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture — The Secret Life of Bees • 2010 — Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture — Skin • Primetime Emmy Awards — 2020 — Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series — Ratched • Screen Actors Guild Awards — 2004 — Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role — Hotel Rwanda • Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture Theatre Awards • Year — Award — Category — Work — Result — Ref. • 2014 — Tony Award — Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play — A Raisin in the Sun • Drama Desk Award — Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play • Outer Critics Circle Award — Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play • 2016 — Tony Award — Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play — The Crucible • 2018 — Evening Standard Theatre Award — Best Actress — Antony and Cleopatra • Critics’ Circle Theatre Award — Best Shakespearean Performance • 2019 — Laurence Olivier Award — Best Actress • 2023 — Evening Standard Theatre Award — Best Actress — Medea • 2024 — Laurence Olivier Award — Best Actress Audio • Year — Award — Category — Work — Result — Ref. • 2010 — Audie Awards — |Audiobook of the Year — Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales — rowspan=2 • Multi-Voiced Performance