Uzo Aduba facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Uzo Aduba
Aduba at the premiere of American Pastoral at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival
Born	Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba (1981-02-10) February 10, 1981 (age 44) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Education	Boston University (BM)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2003–present
Spouse(s)	Robert Sweeting ​ (m. 2020)​
Children	1

Uzoamaka Nwanneka "Uzo" Aduba (born February 10, 1981) is an American actress. She is well-known for playing Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019). For this role, she won several big awards. These include an Emmy Award in 2014 and another Emmy Award in 2015. She also won two SAG Awards in 2014 and 2015. Uzo Aduba is one of only two actors to win an Emmy for the same role in both comedy and drama categories.

In 2020, Aduba played Shirley Chisholm in the Hulu show Mrs. America. Shirley Chisholm was an important politician. For this role, Uzo won another Emmy Award. She has also appeared in many movies like Lightyear (2022) and My Little Pony: The Movie (2017). In 2021, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway play Clyde's.

About Uzo Aduba

Her Early Life and School

Uzo Aduba was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents are from Nigeria, and they are Igbo. She grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts, and finished high school there in 1999.

She went to Boston University where she studied classical singing. She was also a talented athlete and competed in track and field. Uzo often says her family is a "sports family." Her younger brother, Obi, played professional hockey for six seasons.

Starting Her Acting Journey

Uzo Aduba first got noticed for her acting in 2003. She was in a play called Translations of Xhosa. Her performance earned her a nomination for the Helen Hayes Award. This award is given to talented actors in the Washington D.C. area.

In 2007, she made her first appearance on Broadway. She played Toby in a play called Coram Boy. From 2011 to 2012, she sang in the Broadway show Godspell. Her first time on TV was in 2012, playing a nurse on the show Blue Bloods.

Becoming Famous with Orange Is the New Black

Aduba at the premiere of American Pastoral at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival

In 2013, Uzo Aduba started playing Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black. This role made her very famous. The casting director, Jennifer Euston, said that Uzo's audition was amazing. She had her hair in knots, which helped her connect with the character.

When Uzo joined the show, she got her Screen Actors Guild card. She said this made her feel like a "full actress." She was very thankful and proud.

Her role as "Crazy Eyes" earned her many awards. She won an Emmy Award in 2014. She also won a Critics' Choice Award that same year. For her performance in the second season, she won a SAG Award in 2015.

Uzo won another Emmy in 2015, this time for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. This was special because she was the first actress to win both a comedy and a drama Emmy for the same role. She also won another SAG Award in 2016 for her work in the third season.

In 2015, Uzo Aduba played Glinda the Good Witch in the live TV musical The Wiz Live!. Critics really liked her performance. She also started appearing in movies. Her first film was Pearly Gates in 2015. She later voiced Queen Novo in the animated movie My Little Pony: The Movie in 2017. She also starred in the movie Miss Virginia in 2019.

Recent Roles and Theatre Work

After Orange Is the New Black finished, Uzo Aduba took on new roles. In 2020, she played Shirley Chisholm in the miniseries Mrs. America. Shirley Chisholm was a very important person in American history. She was the first black woman to run for President of the United States from a major party. Uzo won an Primetime Emmy Award for her role as Shirley Chisholm.

In 2021, Uzo Aduba returned to Broadway in the play Clyde's. She received a Tony Award nomination for her performance. In 2023, Netflix announced that Uzo will star in a new mystery series called The Residence.

Helping Others

Uzo Aduba uses her fame to help others.

• In 2017, she received an award from the Point Foundation. This was for her support of the LGBT community.
• In 2018, she became the first celebrity ambassador for Heifer International in Africa. She had seen their work helping communities in Uganda.
• In 2020, Uzo became an investor in a new women's soccer team in Los Angeles, called Angel City FC.

Her Personal Life

Uzo Aduba has always felt supported by her family and culture. On September 12, 2021, she shared that she had married filmmaker Robert Sweeting in 2020. They had a private ceremony in New York.

On June 11, 2023, Uzo announced that she was expecting her first child with Robert. She shared the happy news at the Tony Awards. On November 12, 2023, Uzo welcomed her baby, a daughter named Adaiba Lee Nonyem.

Film and TV Roles

Key

Denotes productions that have not yet been released

Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2012	Blue Bloods	Nurse	Episode: "Nightmares"
2013	How to Live Like a Lady	Acting Teacher	Television film
2013–2019	Orange Is the New Black	Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren	Recurring role (season 1); main role (seasons 2–7)
2014	Saturday Night Live	Daughter Dudley	Episode: "Woody Harrelson/Kendrick Lamar"
2015	Comedy Bang! Bang!	Herself	Episode: "Uzo Aduba Wears a White Blouse and Royal Blue Heels"
	The Wiz Live!	Glinda the Good Witch	Television special
2016–2019	Steven Universe	Bismuth	Voice, 9 episodes
2018–2019	3Below: Tales of Arcadia	Officer Kubritz	Voice, 11 episodes
2020	Steven Universe Future	Bismuth, Khadijah	Voice, episode: "Bismuth Casual"
	Mrs. America	Shirley Chisholm	Miniseries
2021	In Treatment	Dr. Brooke Taylor	Main role
	Solos	Sasha	Episode: "Sasha"
	Last Week Tonight with John Oliver	Herself	Episode: "Hair"
2022	Animal	Narrator	Voice, episode: "Dolphins"
	Ada Twist, Scientist	Lifeguard	Voice, episode: "Swift The Waves"
2023	Painkiller	Edie Flowers	Netflix miniseries
2024	Magicampers	Treena	Voice, series regular
2025	The Residence	Cordelia Cupp	Miniseries

Stage Roles

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Uzo Aduba para niños