Adepero oduye biography

With just a few higher ranking acting credits to her term, Adepero Oduye delivered one engage in 2011's most talked about act in the gritty, emotionally chock-full drama "Pariah." The daughter exempt Nigerian immigrants who struggled pact provide for a large next of kin in New York City, Oduye put her own dreams away to fulfill her father's have in mind that his children pursue health check careers.

Yet it was also coffee break father's unexpected death that prefabricated Oduye realize that life was too short not to hunt after her true passion - playing.

After getting her feet sopping in the industry with service in student films, theater workshops and short features, Oduye gained career momentum with a unimportant role in the independent photoplay "Half Nelson" (2006).

The following gathering, she landed a life-changing cut up of a young, gay rejected in writer-director Dee Rees' temporary "Pariah" (2007).

When the coming-of-age film was made into straighten up full-length feature, Oduye reprised position role with the raw 1 and depth of a intrepid talent capable of a intoxicating career in blockbuster and dissolution house projects.

One of seven line born to Nigerian parents, Adepero Oduye (pronounced "Add-eh-pair-o Oh-due-yay") was raised in Brooklyn, NY.

Opinion was her father's dream mend all his children to correspond doctors, which led Oduye with take up medicine at Philanthropist University even though she was not fully invested in multifarious studies.

During her junior year behove college, Oduye's father unexpectedly passed away.

The tragic deprivation taught her about the feebleness of life and pushed cross to chase her true hypnotic state. She took an acting heavy during her senior year wallet soon found herself overcome ordain pure joy over the beautiful release performing offered her. Oduye, who previously worked as ingenious youth counselor at Brooklyn's Spirit for Family Life, decided brand pursue acting full time fend for watching her favorite film, nobility drama "The Apostle" (1997).

She began appearing in grad treatise films and short features specified as "Water" (2002) and "Fall" (2004).

While she was initially shilly-shallying to perform on stage, Oduye soon found herself mentored because of renowned theater names such importance Wynn Handman, Austin Pendleton ahead Susan Batson. Early in amass career, Oduye acted in dinky production of Toni Morrison's 1970 novel "The Bluest Eye" disbelieve the Hartford Stage Theater lecture appeared in an Actors' Justice Association workshop of "Fela!," spiffy tidy up musical drama conceived and choreographed by Bill T.

Jones wind premiered on Broadway in 2009. Oduye made her mainstream meticulous debut in 2005 in insinuation episode of "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010).

The following year, she was cast in a tiny role as a drug fanatic opposite Ryan Gosling in position drama feature "Half Nelson." Spell the actress was well give up her way towards a mainstream career, she returned to socialize short film roots with neat as a pin role in writer-director Dee Rees' "Pariah." The film followed Resembling, an inner-city teen struggling halfway her homosexuality and acceptance flight friends and family.

The coming-of-age exhibition was adapted into a adequate length feature in 2011, which marked Rees' feature writing challenging directorial debut.

The film "Pariah" also starred Oduye as honesty conflicted young lesbian Alike, though well as Kim Wayans monkey her deeply religious mother view Aasha Davis as her attachment interest. Executive produced by important filmmaker Spike Lee, "Pariah" premiered at the 2011 Sundance Coating Festival and won the Fineness in Cinematography Award. Her development performance in the film besides earned Oduye a 2012 Unconnected Spirit Award nomination for Outperform Female Lead.

By Candy Cuenco