Jessica Oyelowo (née Watson; born 1978) is a British-American actress and singer.
Jessica Oyelowo | |
|---|---|
 Oyelowo in 2015 | |
| Born | Jessica Watson December 24, 1978 |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, singer |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
Early life
editShe was born Jessica Watson in Ipswich, and spent her childhood in Woodbridge, Suffolk.[1] She attended Woodbridge School as a child and was a member of the National Youth Music Theatre.[1]
Career
editIn 2006, she starred as Detective Sergeant Alex Jones[1] in Mayo, then went on to appear in Murphy's Law alongside James Nesbitt, in 2007.[2] She provided the voice of Mrs. Equiano (alongside her husband as Olaudah Equiano) in Grace Unshackled – The Olaudah Equiano Story (a radio play adapting Equiano's 1789 autobiography The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano), first broadcast on BBC 7 on 8 April 2007.[3]
Personal life
editOyelowo resides in Tarzana in the San Fernando Valley in Southern California, US with her husband, actor David Oyelowo. They met while attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.[4][1] They have four children.[4][5][6] They formerly resided in Brighton, England.[1]
Both she and her husband are committed Christians.[4]
Oyelowo and her husband became naturalised US citizens on 20 July 2016.[7][8]
As the wife of a Yoruba tribal prince, Oyelowo is entitled to the honorific style Olori. She currently does not use it.[9][10]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Sleepy Hollow | Sarah | |
| 2004 | Churchill: The Hollywood Years | Princess Margaret | |
| 2005 | It's a Boy! | Mary | Video short |
| 2009 | Big Guy | Bear Vendor | Short |
| 2010 | Alice in Wonderland | Woman with Large Poitrine in Red Queen Court | |
| 2011 | Rahab | Rahab | Short |
| 2015 | Captive | Meredith MacKenzie | |
| 2016 | After the Storm | None | Short; director, writer and producer |
| Nina | Nurse | ||
| A United Kingdom | Lady Lilly Canning | ||
| 2019 | Sorry, Not Sorry | Abby | Short |
| 2020 | The Water Man | Missus Bakemeyer | Also composed and performed several songs |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Unfinished Business | Flora | Episodes: "2.4", "2.6" |
| 1999 | People Like Us | Emma | Episode: "The Photographer" |
| 2000 | Madame Bovary | Felicite | TV miniseries |
| 2000 | Reach for the Moon | Claire Jones | Episode: "This Means Nothing to Me" |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | 1st Handmaiden | TV film |
| 2000 | The Sight | Isobel | TV film |
| 2001 | Lee Evans: So What Now? | Episode: "Swinger" | |
| 2002 | Helen West | Rose Darvey | Episodes: "Deep Sleep", "Shadow Play" |
| 2003 | The Deal | Make-up Artist | TV film |
| 2004 | Hex | Rachel McBain | Episode: "Pilot: The Story Begins" |
| 2006 | Mayo | Alex Jones | Main role |
| 2007 | Murphy's Law | Jackie Cole | Episodes: "Food Chain: Parts 1-3" |
| 2008 | Inseparable | Camille Hutton | TV film |
| 2011 | Off the Map | Chloe | Episode: "Smile. Don't Kill Anyone." |
| 2012 | Childrens Hospital | Mother | Episode: "British Hospital" |
| 2023 | Lawmen: Bass Reeves | Rachel Reeves | Episode: "Part I"; also Executive Producer |
Stage work
edit- Cyrano de Bergerac (as Roxanne) at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, 2006 [11]
- Ana in Love (play) at Hackney Empire for Inside Intelligence 2007
- As You Like It (Rosalind) for Inside Intelligence 1997, her professional debut
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Suffolk actress in crime show". Ipswich Star. 31 March 2006. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Be glad he's on your side". BBC. Retrieved 4 October 2007.[dead link]
- ^ "Network Radio Programme Information Week 15 Easter Sunday 15 April 2007" (Press release).[dead link]
- ^ a b c Gilbert, Gerard (8 February 2013). "Upwardly mobile: David Oyelowo on going from Tooting Bec to Tom Cruise's jet". The Independent. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
- ^ Gilbey, Ryan (1 February 2015). "David Oyelowo: 'No one says to Oliver Stone: white characters AGAIN?'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
- ^ Mandell, Andrea (10 October 2012). "David Oyelowo comes out of 'Nowhere' to become star". USA Today. Retrieved 16 September 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ WENN.com (29 September 2016). "David Oyelowo was inspired to become a citizen after filming Selma". The Oregonian. Archived from the original on 18 November 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
- ^ Park, Andrea (24 November 2016). "David Oyelowo on his first Thanksgiving as an American citizen". CBS News.
- ^ "David Oyelowo interview: The Selma actor on being an African prince". Independent.com. 13 June 2015. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
- ^ "BBC The Girl Before star's actress wife of 23 years and his unusual contract demand to keep the relationship working". mylondon.news. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
- ^ Hickling, Alfred (7 December 2006). "Cyrano de Bergerac". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
External links
edit- Jessica Oyelowo at IMDb
- Mayo at BBC