A beautiful British actress of biracial heritage, Carmen Ejogo began her career as a child, landing her first professional gig in a music video at age eight. The London native made her film debut in a small role in Julien Temple's "Absolute Beginners" (1986) and then concentrated on stage and television work (most notably in the Dennis Potter-scripted "Cold Lazarus" in 1996). Stints as a TV host and veejay preceded her return to the silver screen as Eddie Murphy's love interest in the predictable action comedy "Metro" (1997). While the camera clearly captured her undeniable beauty, Ejogo proved less successful in the underwritten girlfriend role. with most critics dismissing her as just another pretty face. Undaunted, she returned to her native England and took roles in the box-office disappointment "The Avengers" and the more modestly received "I Want You" (both 1998). 2000 proved to be the actress' year. Ejogo landed the coveted title role in the four-hour CBS miniseries "Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal" and garnered good notices for her portrayal of the slave with whom Thomas Jefferson carried on a four decade romance. Later that same year, she was cast as one of the servants attending to the Princess of France (Alicia Silverstone) in Kenneth Branagh's musicalization of Shakespeare's "Love's Labour's Lost". Ejogo met her future husband Jeffrey Wright when they were cast opposite one another as Coretta Scott King and Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2001 HBO drama "Boycott".
- Also Credited As:
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo
- Born:
Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo in London, England, United Kingdom
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Job Titles:
Actor, Singer, TV host, Veejay
Family
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Brother: Charles Ejogo. Born c. 1975
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Father: Charles Ejogo. Nigerean; divorced from Ejogo s mother c. 1976
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Mother: Elizabeth Ejogo. Scottish; divorced from Ejogo s father c. 1976
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Son: Elijah Wright. Father, Jeffrey Wright
Significant Others
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Companion: Max Beesley. together from c. 1993 to c. 1998; couple exchanged rings although Beesley claimed not to believe in marriage; no longer together
Milestones
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1986 Film acting debut in small part in Absolute Beginners
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1996 Appeared in the British miniseries, Cold Lazarus
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1997 US feature acting debut as Eddie Murphy s love interest in Metro
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1998 Co-starred with Rachel Weisz in I Want You
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1999 Appeared in the Steal Away segment of Tube Tales (aired on British Sky Broadcasting)
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2000 Had a small role in Kenneth Branagh s Love s Labour s Lost ; film was based on the Shakespeare play
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2000 US TV debut, had title role in the CBS miniseries, Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal
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2001 Played Martin Lawrence s girlfriend in the comedy, What s the Worst That Can Happen?
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2001 Portrayed Coretta Scott King in the HBO original film, Boycott
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2005 Joined an ensemble cast for the HBO production of Lackawanna Blues
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2006 Cast in the short-lived NBC drama, Kidnapped
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2009 Co-starred in Sam Mendes Away We Go
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At age eight, made professional debut in a music videpo
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Raised in London
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Worked as a TV host and veejay in England