Adepero Oduye
Oduye at theNew York Film Festival, October 8, 2013
Born	Brooklyn,New York, U.S.
Education	Cornell University
Occupations	Actor director singer writer
Years active	2002–present

Adepero Oduye (/ˌædəˈpɛroʊoʊˈduːjeɪ/AD-ə-PERR-oh oh-DOO-yay)^[1] is an American actress, director, singer, and writer. She is known forPariah (2011),12 Years a Slave (2013),The Big Short (2015), andWidows (2018).

Adepero Oduye was born in Brooklyn, New York, one of seven children of Nigerian parents. Although she graduated pre-med fromCornell University, she decided to pursue her passion for acting upon graduation.^[2]

Oduye's breakout role came in 2011 when she starred inDee Rees' critically acclaimed and award-winning independent filmPariah, for which she received several awards and a nomination for Best Female Lead at theIndependent Spirit Awards.^[3][4][2] During her Golden Globe acceptance speech forThe Iron Lady,Meryl Streep mentioned some of her favorite performances of the year, highlighting Oduye inPariah.^[5] The following year, she joined an all-star cast in theSteel Magnolias television remake as Annelle Dupuy-Desoto, a role originated byDaryl Hannah.^[6][7]

In 2013, Oduye co-starred alongsideChiwetel Ejiofor inSteve McQueen's historical drama12 Years a Slave, winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Picture.^[8][9] She also appeared inAva DuVernay's short filmThe Door part ofMiu Miu's ad campaign known asThe Women's Tales.^[10] In 2014, she made her directorial debut withBreaking In, a short film about a young black man's first time being stopped and frisked by the NYPD, based on her brother's early experience.^[11] The film has garnered several film festival acknowledgments and awards.

After several lead roles in regional theater productions, includingEclipsed andThe Bluest Eye, Oduye made her Broadway debut oppositeCicely Tyson in Horton Foote'sThe Trip To Bountiful.^[12][13]

In 2015, Oduye co-starred withSteve Carell inAdam McKay's comedy-dramaThe Big Short, which won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. In 2017, she co-starred in the drama thrillerThe Dinner, withRichard Gere. In 2018, she appeared in filmsGeostorm andWidows. In 2019, she played activistNomsa Brath in theAva DuVernay's miniseriesWhen They See Us.^[14]

• Vanity Fair – Hollywood Issue Cover (2012)^[15]
• The New York Times – Great Performances (2012)^[16]
• Time – Great Performances (2012)^[17]
• W – Best Performances issue (February 2012)^[18]

• Adepero Oduye atIMDb

• Living people
• 21st-century African-American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Brooklyn
• American people of Nigerian descent
• 20th-century African-American women singers
• 20th-century American women singers
• 20th-century American singers
• Cornell University alumni
• Musicians from Brooklyn
• American television actresses
• American film actresses
• American musical theatre actresses
• American stage actresses
• 21st-century American women singers
• 21st-century American singers
• 21st-century African-American women singers
• 1978 births

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