Tessa Thompson

Tessa Thompson
Thompson at the 46th NAACP Image Awards Nominee Press Conference
Born	Tessa Lynne Thompson (1983-10-03) October 3, 1983 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, musician
Years active	2002–present

Tessa Lynne Thompson^[1] (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress and musician. She played Jackie Cook on the film noir television series Veronica Mars, Nyla Adrose in the film For Colored Girls, civil rights activist Diane Nash in Selma, and starred as Samantha White in Dear White People. She also played Bianca in the Rocky franchise film Creed.

Early life

Thompson was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father is of Panamanian (Afro-Panamanian) descent and her mother is of half Mexican and half European ancestry.^[2] She grew up in Los Angeles while spending summers and winters in New York, where her father, singer/songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson of the band Chocolate Genius, Inc., is based.^[3] She attended Santa Monica High School and then Santa Monica College, where she studied cultural anthropology.^[4]

Career

Theatre

In 2002, Thompson made her professional stage debut in Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company's production of The Tempest. In 2003, Thompson appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum New Orleans, 1836 with The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena, California, which earned her an NAACP Theatre Award nomination.^[4]

She is set to appear in the upcoming off-broadway run of the Lydia R. Diamond production Smart People alongside Mahershala Ali, Joshua Jackson and Anne Son^[5]

Television

Thompson made her first TV appearance in a 2005 episode of the CBS series Cold Case in the role of a bootlegging lesbian from the 1930s. In the same year, she rose to fame as she landed on the role of Jackie Cook on the UPN/CW neo-noir drama series Veronica Mars, starring as a series regular for the show's second season.^[4][6] In 2006, she appeared on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

In 2007, she was a part of the cast on the CW's short-lived drama Hidden Palms, portraying Nikki Barnes. She worked on guest star roles on Life and Private Practice, and appeared in the fourth season of Heroes.

In 2010, she had a guest role as the wife of a detective on Detroit 187. In 2012, she had a guest role as Gavin Doran's daughter, Sasha, on 666 Park Avenue. In 2013, she starred in BBC America's first original series Copper.^[4]

Film

With Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan promoting Creed, November 2015.

Thompson's first feature film appearance was in the 2006 remake of the horror film When a Stranger Calls playing the role of Scarlet. Thompson was next seen opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the dancing film Make it Happen in 2008.

In 2010, Thompson appeared in Tyler Perry's stage play adaptation For Colored Girls after she directly approached Perry to be cast in the film.^[4] In 2014, she starred in Justin Simien's Sundance winner Dear White People, and played civil rights activist Diane Nash in Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma.^[7] In 2015, she appeared in Ryan Coogler's Rocky spin-off-sequel film Creed.^[6]

Music

Thompson has produced music as part of the electro band Caught A Ghost. The band provided songs for the film Dear White People, in which she also starred.^[7]

Filmography

Film

Television

Accolades

References

External links

• Tessa Thompson at the Internet Movie Database