Onjanu Ellis ( born Aunjanue Ellis , born February 21, 1969) is an American actress and producer. She began her career on the stage, before debuting on the big screen in the film "Graduates" (1996). Since then, she has played supporting roles in mainstream films and leading in a number of independent projects.
| Onjanu Ellis | |
|---|---|
| Aunjanue ellis | |
 Ellis in 2015. | |
| Date of Birth | February 21, 1969 (aged 50) |
| Place of Birth | San Francisco , USA |
| Citizenship | |
| Profession | actress |
| Career | 1995 - present time |
| IMDb | |
Ellis is best known for her roles in the films Military Diver (2000), Clochear (2001), Secret Brother (2002), Ray (2004), Express: The History of Sports Legend Ernie Davis (2008), “ Dangerous passengers of train 123 ” (2009) and “ Servant ” (2011). On television, Ellis at the beginning of her career starred in several short-lived series, and then took on secondary roles in Practice , True Blood and The Mentalist . In 2015, Ellis played a lead role in the historical mini-series The Book of Blacks , which earned her praise from critics.
Life and career
Onjanu Ellis was born in San Francisco , California , and raised on her grandmother's farm in Mississippi . After graduating from college, she received a bachelor's degree in art from Brown University , and then went to study acting at New York University [1] . She began her career in the early nineties with small roles in films such as "Graduates" and "Ed's Next Moving", and in 1996 got a regular role in the television series "Big Incidents", which was closed after two seasons.
Ellis has starred in over fifty different films and television series. On the big screen, she achieved the greatest fame for significant roles in the films “ Military Diver ” (2000), “ Kloshar ” (2002) and “ Secret Brother ” (2002), and was also noticeable in such films as “ Ray ” (2004) and Servant (2011), both of which were nominated for an Academy Award. On television, Ellis starred in several short-lived series, including Medics (2002-2003), Johnny Ziro (2005), The Last Frontier (2005-2006) and Justice (2006-2007) )
Ellis had a recurring role in the series Mentalist in 2010-2013, and in 2012 she played the role of Ashley Judd 's best friend in the series Missing , which was closed after one season. She also starred in the television movie Golden Hands: The Story of Ben Carson in 2009, and performed in several productions on Broadway [2] . In 2014, she appeared in the biopic James Brown: The Way Up, playing the role of singer Vicki Anderson. She played a key role in the pilot episode of the series " Separation ", but later left the project and was replaced by Nia Long [3] .
In 2014, Ellis played the lead role in the epic mini-series of international production “ The Book of Blacks ”, which was shot based on the novel of the same name by Lawrence Hill. The project was shot in South Africa, and its premiere took place at the beginning of 2014 at BET in the USA and CBC in Canada [4] [5] . She received many positive reviews from critics for her game in the project [6] . A few days after the premiere of the mini-series in the USA, Ellis was invited to her first leading role on national television, in the ABC series Quantico , about a group of young FBI recruits led by a tough and professional character performed by Ellis [7] . Also in 2015, Ellis was again involved in the movie about slavery, the historical drama " Birth of a Nation " about Neta Turner [8] [9] . Ellis played the role of his mother [10] .
Filmography
Movies
| Year | Title in Russian | English name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Graduates | Girls town | Nikki | |
| 1996 | Ed's next move | Ed's next move | Erica | |
| 1998 | Backyards of New York | Side streets | Brenda boyce | |
| 1998 | Sadness of the desert | Desert blue | Agent summers | |
| 1999 | At the bottom of the abyss | In too deep | Denise | |
| 1999 | World map | A map of the world | Dyshett | |
| 2000 | Fly John! | John john in the sky | Earlene | |
| 2000 | Military diver | Men of honor | Jo brashear | Nomination - NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture |
| 2000 | Rival | The opppent | June | |
| 2000 | Vanishing | Disappearing acts | Pam | TV movie |
| 2001 | Clochard | The caveman's valentine | Lulu | |
| 2001 | Charming and attractive | Lovely & amazing | Lorraine | |
| 2002 | Secret brother | Undercover brother | Sistah girl | Nomination - Black Reel Award for Best Actress |
| 2004 | Like brother to brother | Brother to brother | Zora | |
| 2004 | Ray | Ray | Mary ann fisher | Nomination - US Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Movie |
| 2005 | Understanding | Perception | Vera | |
| 2006 | The reverse side of the truth | Freedomlan | Felicia | |
| 2007 | Shelter | Cover | Valerie mass | |
| 2008 | Run Vanessa Run | Racing for time | Officer baker | TV movie |
| 2008 | Express: The Story of Sports Legend Ernie Davis | The express | Marie davis | |
| 2009 | Notorius | Notorious | Sandy | |
| 2009 | I love you phillip morris | I love you phillip morris | Reba | |
| 2009 | Hungry ghosts | The hungry ghosts | Nadia | |
| 2009 | Motherhood | Motherhood | Sample Sale Friend | |
| 2009 | Golden Hands: The Story of Ben Carson | Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story | Candy | TV movie Nomination - NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 2009 | Dangerous passengers of the train 123 | The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 | Therese | |
| 2010 | Verified | The tested | Darraylynn warren | |
| 2010 | Game of death | Game of death | Rachel | |
| 2011 | Trap | The resident | Sydney | |
| 2011 | Maid | The help | Yule may davis | US National Film Critics Award for Best Cast Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Cast Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Sputnik Award for Best Cast Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Women Film Critics Circle Award for Best Female Cast Nomination - US Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Movie Nomination - Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nomination - MTV Movie Award for Best Cast Nomination - San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nomination - Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast |
| 2011 | Money matters | Money matters | Pamela matters | |
| 2012 | Kidnapped: The Story of Carlin White | Abducted: The Carlina White Story | Ann pettway | TV movie Black Reel Award for Best Actress in a Mini Series or Movie |
| 2013 | Volunteer | The volunteer | Leigh | |
| 2014 | Romeo and Juliet in Harlem | Romeo and Juliet in Harlem | Lady capulet | |
| 2014 | Una Vida: A Story of Music and Mind | Una Vida: A Fable of Music and the Mind | Una vida | Newport Beach Film Festival Award for Best Actress [11] [12] American Black Film Festival Award for Best Actress |
| 2014 | James Brown: The Way Up | Get on up | Vicki anderson | Nomination - Black Reel Award for Best Cast |
| 2016 | Birth of a nation | The birth of a nation | Nancy turner |
Television
| Year | Title in Russian | English name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Undercover cops | New york undercover | Claudia | Episode: "Buster and Claudia" |
| 1996-1997 | Big incidents | High incident | Off. Leslie joyner | Regular role, 24 episodes |
| 1999 | Practice | The practice | Sharon young | 4 episodes |
| 2000 | Third shift | Third watch | Gail moore | Episodes: Journey to the Himalayas and 32 Bullets and a Broken Heart |
| 2001 | Central street, 100 \\ | 100 Center Street | Amanda davis | 3 episodes |
| 2002 | Doctors | MDs | Quinn joyner | Regular role, 10 episodes |
| 2004 | District attorney | The DA | Ellen baker | Episode: The People vs. Sergius Kovinsky » |
| 2005 | Johnny ziro | Jonny zero | Gloria | 6 episodes |
| 2005-2006 | The Last Frontier | E-ring | Jocelyn pierce | Regular role, 23 episodes |
| 2007 | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Carmen rivra | Episode: "Flipped" |
| 2006-2007 | Justice | Justice | Miranda lee | 9 episodes |
| 2008 | 4 isla | Numb3rs | Ivy kirk | Episode: "Power" |
| 2008 | The border | The border | Amira | Episode: "Family Values" |
| 2008 | Real blood | True blood | Diane | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | The prince of motor city | Cora neel | Pilot | |
| 2009 | Good wife | The good wife | Linda underwood | Episode: "Crash" |
| 2012 | Blue blood | Blue bloods | Sylvia marshall | Episode: "Reagan V. Reagan" |
| 2012 | Missing | Missing | Mary dresden | 3 episodes |
| 2012-2014 | Maritime Police: Los Angeles | NCIS: Los Angeles | Michelle hanna | 5 episodes |
| 2010-2013 | Mentalist | The mentalist | Madeleine hightower | 17 episodes |
| 2014 | Sleepy Hollow | Sleepy hollow | Lori mills | Episode: "Mama" |
| 2015 | Black book | The book of negroes | Amminata diallo | Mini-series Nomination - Award "Choice of Television Critics" for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Movie |
| 2015 - present time | Quantico | Quantico | Miranda Shaw | Regular role |
Notes
- ↑ Cammila Albertson. Aunjanue Ellis Biography (unreachable link) . AllRovi . Date of treatment September 7, 2012. Archived March 1, 2012.
- ↑ Aunjanue Ellis unopened (inaccessible link) . Internet Broadway Database . Date of treatment September 7, 2012. Archived June 16, 2012.
- ↑ Natasha Greeves. Nia Long Takes Over For Aunjanue Ellis In WEtv Legal Thriller 'The Divide' . ShadowAndAct (December 13, 2013). Date of treatment April 23, 2014.
- ↑ Louis Gossett Jr, Cuba Gooding Jr, Aunjanue Ellis & Lyriq Bent Set For 'Book Of Negroes' Miniseries . Deadline.com (February 4, 2014). Date of treatment February 3, 2015.
- ↑ DeNeen L. Brown. BET screens miniseries 'Book of Negroes' at the National Archives . The Washington Post (January 24, 2015). Date of treatment February 3, 2015.
- ↑ The Book of Negroes . Metacritic . Date of treatment February 25, 2015.
- ↑ Lesley Goldberg. Aunjanue Ellis Nabs Female Lead in ABC's 'Quantico' (Exclusive) . The Hollywood Reporter (February 25, 2015). Date of treatment February 25, 2015.
- ↑ Dave McNary. Aja Naomi King Joins Armie Hammer in Nat Turner Movie . Variety Date of treatment April 10, 2015.
- ↑ Erik Pedersen. 'The Birth Of A Nation' Adds To Cast; Ryan Gosling In Talks For 'The Haunted Mansion' . Deadline Date of treatment April 10, 2015.
- ↑ Nate Parker Recruits Aunjanue Ellis, Gabrielle Union And More For 'Birth Of a Nation' . Blackfilm. Date of treatment April 11, 2015.
- ↑ Film festival winners - Daily Pilot . Articles.dailypilot.com (May 2, 2014). Date of treatment May 24, 2014.
- ↑ Coker, Matt The Sublime and Beautiful, Kickstarted Drama, is Big Newport Beach Film Fest Award Winner | OC Weekly (inaccessible link) . Blogs.ocweekly.com (May 5, 2014). Date of treatment May 24, 2014. Archived on May 25, 2014.
Links
- Onjanu Ellis on the Internet Movie Database
- Onjanu Ellis on the Internet Broadway Database