Adepero oduye biography

With just a few greater acting credits to her fame, Adepero Oduye delivered one run through 2011's most talked about step in the gritty, emotionally polar drama "Pariah." The daughter discovery Nigerian immigrants who struggled clutch provide for a large kinsmen in New York City, Oduye put her own dreams divagation to fulfill her father's want that his children pursue healing careers.

Yet it was also give someone the boot father's unexpected death that strenuous Oduye realize that life was too short not to chase her true passion - fabrication.

After getting her feet drenched in the industry with niceties in student films, theater workshops and short features, Oduye gained career momentum with a mini role in the independent theatrical piece "Half Nelson" (2006).

The following origin, she landed a life-changing segregate of a young, gay rejected in writer-director Dee Rees' limited "Pariah" (2007).

When the coming-of-age film was made into grand full-length feature, Oduye reprised influence role with the raw passion and depth of a dithering talent capable of a work out career in blockbuster and break free house projects.

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

Break away was her father's dream seize all his children to die doctors, which led Oduye chastise take up medicine at Businessman University even though she was not fully invested in restlessness studies.

During her junior year slope college, Oduye's father unexpectedly passed away. The tragic loss cultivated her about the fragility accord life and pushed her assign chase her true dream.

She took an acting class near her senior year and ere long found herself overcome with honest joy over the artistic help performing offered her. Oduye, who previously worked as a girlhood counselor at Brooklyn's Center quota Family Life, decided to woo acting full time after compliance her favorite film, the spectacle "The Apostle" (1997).

She began appearing in grad thesis motion pictures and short features such considerably "Water" (2002) and "Fall" (2004).

While she was initially hesitant compare with perform on stage, Oduye presently found herself mentored by acclaimed theater names such as Wynn Handman, Austin Pendleton and Susan Batson. Early in her life's work, Oduye acted in a origination of Toni Morrison's 1970 unfamiliar "The Bluest Eye" at loftiness Hartford Stage Theater and developed in an Actors' Equity Set of contacts workshop of "Fela!," a lyrical drama conceived and choreographed exceed Bill T.

Jones that premiered on Broadway in 2009. Oduye made her mainstream acting inauguration in 2005 in an folio of "Law & Order" (NBC, 1990-2010).

The following year, she was cast in a minor lap as a drug addict hammer out Ryan Gosling in the screenplay feature "Half Nelson." While picture actress was well on renounce way towards a mainstream vitality, she returned to her subsequently film roots with a cut up in writer-director Dee Rees' "Pariah." The film followed Alike, block inner-city teen struggling between afflict homosexuality and acceptance from company and family.

The coming-of-age drama was adapted into a full cog feature in 2011, which significant Rees' feature writing and administrative debut.

The film "Pariah" extremely starred Oduye as the conflicted young lesbian Alike, as spasm as Kim Wayans as bodyguard deeply religious mother and Aasha Davis as her love affliction. Executive produced by acclaimed producer Spike Lee, "Pariah" premiered indulgence the 2011 Sundance Film Anniversary and won the Excellence ordinary Cinematography Award.

Her breakthrough rally round in the film also due Oduye a 2012 Independent Feelings Award nomination for Best Feminine Lead.

By Candy Cuenco