Onjanu Ellis is an American producer, as well as a film and television actress, known for her roles in many popular projects. As a child, she did not plan to connect her life with the film industry, but still achieved great success in this area. In the article we will get acquainted with the best roles of Onjanu, and also mention the awards that she deserved.
Biography
Onjanu Ellis (photo below) was born in 1969 in San Francisco, California, but grew up in McComb (Mississippi), where her grandmother's farm was located. She studied at Tougaloo Private College, then entered Brown University, where she received a bachelor's degree in African American studies. It was there that she first felt like an actress, taking part in a student performance. And after graduating, she moved to New York to enroll in the Tisch School of the Arts, which is one of the best acting schools in the world.
Undergraduate Graduates
For the first time, Onjanu Ellis flashed on television in 1995 - she played a cameo role in the Fox police drama "Police Undercover" (1994 - 1999). But a year later she got the main role in Jim McKay's comedy drama Graduates.
In 2000, the actress replenished the cast of the biographical drama of George Tillman Jr. "Military Diver." In 2002, starred in the comedy thriller Malcolm D. Lee "The Secret Brother". And in the same year she appeared in the Taylor Hackward biographical musical “Ray”, where she played the role of Mary Ann Fisher, the vocalist of the famous musician Ray Charles, who was blinded at the age of seven.
Domestic Refuge
In 2006, Onjanu Ellis, along with Samuel L. Jackson and Julianne Moore, starred in Joe Roth's thriller The Other Side of the Truth. Between 2005 and 2006, she played the role of Marine Corps Sergeant Jocelyn Pearce in the NBC’s Last Frontier military drama. Played Miranda Lee, an astute jury consultant, in nine episodes of Jerry Bruckheimer's legal drama Justice. And the role of the protagonist, a housewife and an artist, performed in the thriller Bill Duke's "Asylum" (2007).
Nadia, a girl from a yoga school, the actress played in the hunger ghosts drama by Michael Imperioli (2009). As Candy Carson, a writer and businesswoman, appeared in Thomas Carter's television drama Golden Hands (2009). In the image of Sidney, a first-person character, appeared in the British thriller Antti Jokinen's “Trap” (2010). And she played the role of maid Yul Mae Davis in Tate Taylor’s dramatic film, The Servant. The film earned many positive reviews on relevant resources, and also won several prestigious awards for successfully selected cast members.
Book of volunteers
In the detective drama by Vondi Curtis Hall, “Abducted: The Story of Carlin White”, Anjanu Ellis was played by Anne Patway, a girl who took a newborn girl from a New York hospital. She played the role of the main character, a woman named Lee, who started an affair with a homeless man in the drama “Volunteer” (2013) by Vicky White. From 2010 to 2013 played Madeleine Hightower, a special agent who led the KBR for several episodes, in the detective series Bruno Heller's “The Mentalist” (2008 - 2015). And then she became a member of the cast of Ritchie Adams's musical drama Una Vida: A Tale of Music and Mind. She played a singer with Alzheimer's disease, and was recognized as the "best actress" in two awards at once: NBFF Award and ABFF Award.
The role of Amiata Diallo, sold into slavery in South Carolina, the actress performed in the mini-series by Clement Virgo's “Book of Blacks” (2015). For this work, she earned two more awards: the Canadian Screen Awards, CA and the Gracie Allen Awards. And from 2015 to 2017. played Miranda Shaw, a former Assistant Director of the FBI, in the serial Joshua Safran thriller “Quantico Base”.
What to expect?
As for the next films with Onjanu Ellis, the final work on the crime drama by Barry Jenkins “If Beale Street Could Talk” is underway. The shooting process of the drama by R.J. Danielle Hannah Miss Virginia, which is likely to also be released in 2018. Only about the release date of the drama Zetna Fuentes Chiefs, on which work is also underway, while there is no information.