Carmen Ejogo

Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (; born 22 October 1973) is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles in such films as Metro, 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 and grew up in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London. She is the daughter of a Scottish mother, Elizabeth (née Douglas), and a Nigerian father, Charles Ejogo; her parents married in Kensington in 1973. She has a younger brother Charles Alexander born in 1976. 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. She grew up in a mixed environment in London, living in a council flat within the "posh areas" of Kensington and Chelsea. While the location sounds affluent, she has clarified that her upbringing was not a "posh" lifestyle, as her family had limited financial means.

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 and a daughter. Ejogo and Wright have since divorced.

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

Television Year Title Role Notes 1996 Cold Lazarus Blinda Main role 1998 Catherine Cookson's Colour Blind Rose-Angela Patterson 2 episodes Tube Tales Girl 1 episode 2000 Sally Hemings: An American Scandal Sally Hemings Television film 2001 Boycott Coretta Scott King 2005 Lackawanna Blues Alean Hudson 2006–2007 Kidnapped Turner Main role 2007 M.O.N.Y. Francine Tyson Television short film 2008 Law & Order April Lannen 1 episode 2011 CHAOS Fay Carson Main role 2013 Zero Hour Rebecca "Beck" Riley 2017 The Girlfriend Experience Bria Jones Recurring role (season 2) 2019 True Detective Amelia Reardon Main role 2020 Self Made Annie Malone 2020–2021 Your Honor Lee Delamere 2023 The Crowded Room DDA Patricia Richards Recurring role I'm a Virgo LaFrancine Main role 2024 The Penguin Eve Karlo 2025 Wild Cherry Lorna Gibbons

Video games Year Title Voice role 2016 Lego Dimensions Seraphina Picquery

Awards and nominations