Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo was born on October 22, 1973 (Carmen Ejogo age: 46) to parents Elizabeth Ejogo and Charles Ejogo.
CARMEN EJOGO BIOGRAPHY: EARLY LIFE, AGE, FAMILY, EDUCATION
Her father is Nigerian and her mother is Scottish. Ejogo was born in London, England. She has one brother, also named Charles Ejogo.
Ejogo graduated from Godolphin and Latymer School in London.
CARMEN EJOGO BIOGRAPHY: MOVIES AND TV SHOWS
Ejogo made her film debut in the 1986 film Absolute Beginners with a small role alongside stars Patsy Kensit, James Fox, David Bowie and more. In an exclusive chat with uInterview, she revealed that a neighbor’s friend brought her along to the audition casually and she ended up getting a part. She described the film as a “cult favorite,” although not very well-known. After her first role in Absolute Beginners, Ejogo did not appear in any projects until 1993. “I didn’t work again for many years because I was focused on school and other stuff but it was a great introduction and it really set my imagination on fire,” Ejogo said.
From 1993 to 1995, Ejogo hosted Saturday Disney, a children’s show that featured Disney cartoons, games, and celebrity appearances. In 1998, Ejogo starred in the British film The Avengers alongside Ralph Fiennes, Uma Thurman and Sean Connery.
In 2012, Ejogo played Tammy “Sister” Anderson in Sparkle with Jordin Sparks and Tika Sumpter. Ejogo recorded four songs on the soundtrack for the film. In addition to acting, Ejogo has also collaborated with musical artists during her career.
Ejogo portrayed American civil rights activist Coretta Scott King twice in her career. Ejogo first played King in the 2001 biographical drama film Boycott. In her preparation for the role, Ejogo had the opportunity to meet King before her death in 2006. Boycott aired on HBO and won a Peabody Award. Ejogo then went on to play King again in Ava DuVernay‘s Selma (2014). Ejogo won the Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress and the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture for her second portrayal of King.
Ejogo is also known for her role as President Seraphina Picquery in the Harry Potter spinoff series, Fantastic Beasts.
CARMEN EJOGO BIOGRAPHY: ‘ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.’, WORKING WITH DENZEL WASHINGTON
In 2017, Ejogo sat down for an exclusive conversation regarding her film Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017) with uInterview. The legal drama film stars Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell and Ejogo.
Ejogo’s character, Maya Alston, is a young activist who works at a local volunteer organization who encounters lawyer Roman Israel (played by Washington) when he loses his job and is seeking employment. Ejogo described Maya and Roman as two individuals who are beginning to question, “Is this life of service worth all the sacrifice?”
Ejogo described the most memorable moment on set with Washington as the scene when their characters first meet. “There’s a great moment in one of the scenes that we do together where he comes to my office for the first time and at one point he starts to cry,” she said. According to Ejogo, they filmed the scene many times, but in only one take did Washington cry. She described it as a “really wonderful moment of just pure expression on his part that reminded me just how in complete control and fully accessible of his own wealth of talent he is… We played that scene so many different ways.”
Working with such a seasoned actor, Ejogo praised Washington for continually expanding his artistry and expression. “It’s just exciting when you see somebody at this point in their career when they can just get lazy with it all, and just phone it in frankly, when they’re still pushing hard and still trying to find new ways to play… The character, as a result, of Roman Israel is unlike anything you’ve ever seen.”
CARMEN EJOGO BIOGRAPHY: PERSONAL LIFE
Ejogo was married to producer and rapper Tricky for less than a year in 1998. Ejogo married actor Jeffrey Wright in 2000. The couple has two children, Elijah Wright and Juno Wright. They were married for 14 years before their divorce in 2014. Ejogo presently lives in New York City.
CARMEN EJOGO BIOGRAPHY: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is Carmen Ejogo married? Ejogo is currently single. She was married to Jeffrey Wright from 2000 to 2014 and married to Tricky from 1998 to 1998.
How tall is Carmen Ejogo? Ejogo is 5’6″.
Who plays the president in Fantastic Beasts? Ejogo plays the character Seraphina Picquery in the Fantastic Beasts film series.
CARMEN EJOGO FILMOGRAPHY
Year Title Role
1986 Absolute Beginners Carmen
1996 Cold Lazarus (TV Series)
– Episode #1.4
– Episode #1.3
– Episode #1.2
– Episode #1.1 Blinda
1997 Metro Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Tate
1998 I Want You Amber
1998 The Avengers Brenda
1998 Colour Blind (TV Series)
– Episode #1.3
– Episode #1.2 Rose-Angela Patterson
1999 Tube Tales Girl (segment “Steal Away”)
2000 Sally Hemings: An American Scandal Sally Hemings
2000 Love’s Labour’s Lost Maria
2001 Perfume Chloe
2001 Boycott Coretta Scott King
2001 What’s the Worst That Could Happen? Amber Belhaven
2004 Noel Dr. Batiste
2005 Lackawanna Blues Alean
2006-2007 Kidnapped (TV Series) (13 episodes) Turner
2007 The Brave One Jackie
2007 M.O.N.Y. Francine Tyson
2008 Law & Order (TV Series)
– Burn Card April Lannen
2008 Pride and Glory Tasha
2009 Away We Go Grace
2011 Chaos (TV Series) (13 episodes) Fay Carson
2012 Whitney Houston & Jordin Sparks: Celebrate (Video short)
2012 Sparkle Sister
2012 Alex Cross Maria Cross
2013 Zero Hour (TV Series) (13 episodes) Rebecca ‘Beck’ Riley
2014 The Purge: Anarchy Eva Sanchez
2014 Selma Coretta Scott King
2015 Born to Be Blue Jane
Elaine
2015 Lego Dimensions (Video Game) Seraphina Picquery (voice)
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Seraphina Picquery
2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Snapchat (Short) Seraphina Picquery
2017 Alien: Covenant – Prologue: Last Supper (Short) Karine
2017 It Comes at Night Sarah
2017 Alien: Covenant Karine
2017 Roman J. Israel, Esq. Maya Alston
2017 The Girlfriend Experience (TV Series)
– Relapse
– Citizens First
– Living Like a Tornado
– Moral Inventory
– Negotiation
– Eggshells
– Bria: Admitting Bria Jones
2018 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Seraphina Picquery
2019 True Detective (TV Series)
– Now Am Found
– The Final Country
– Hunters in the Dark
– If You Have Ghosts
– The Hour and the Day
– The Big Never
– Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
– The Great War and Modern Memory Amelia Reardon
2019 Rattlesnake Katrina Ridgeway
2020 Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker (TV Series)
– A Credit to the Race
– The Walker Girl
– Bootstraps
– The Fight of the Century Addie
2020 Dirty Diana (TV Series)
