Uzo Aduba
Biography
Uzo Aduba is an American actress who came to television from the stage. Born in Boston and raised in Medfield, Massachusetts, she studied classical voice at Boston University and earned a Helen Hayes nomination for Translations of Xhosa before making her Broadway debut in Coram Boy in 2007. Her breakthrough came as Suzanne Warren, called Crazy Eyes, in Orange Is the New Black, and the role brought her Emmys in both the comedy and drama categories, a feat matched by only one other actor. She went on to win another Emmy as Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America and a Tony nomination for Clyde's on Broadway, and she gave voice to Queen Novo in My Little Pony: The Movie (2017) while also appearing in American Pastoral (2016) and Lightyear (2022). She starred in The Residence in 2025.
45years old
Turns 46 on February 10in 91 days
- Born Boston
- Star sign: AquariusThe sign runs January 20 to February 18
- Also credited as Uzoamaka Aduba and Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba
Movie Career
- Films
- 16
- Career span
- 10 years2015 to 2025
Genres
Photos
Share
Did you know?!
Big break
Aduba tried out for a different part on Orange Is the New Black, and about a month later her representatives told her she did not get it. The good news was that the show offered her the part of Crazy Eyes.
Behind the award
Aduba earned a second Primetime Emmy in 2015, this time for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She and Ed Asner are the only two actors who have won drama and comedy Emmys for the same role.
Early training
Aduba studied classical voice at Boston University and also competed in track and field while she was a student there.
Uzo Aduba movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Uzo Aduba shares two films with Tim Blake Nelson, and one with each of the others. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Tim Blake Nelson's page
Kristin Chenoweth's page
J.K. Simmons's page
Tara Strong's page
Allison Janney's page
David Strathairn's page
All films by Angus MacLane
Derek CianfranceDirector, 1 film, 2025
All films by Derek Cianfrance
Walt BeckerDirector, 1 film, 2015
All films by Walt Becker
Box office
What Uzo Aduba's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$559 million
6 of the 16 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 16 films: 6 worldwide figure; 6 never in cinemas; 1 streaming, short cinema run; 3 figure not found.
- 6Worldwide figure
- 6Never in cinemas
- 1Streaming, short cinema run
- 3Figure not found
Highest grossing
The six biggest films earned 100% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$234M41.9% of the total
- 2$226M40.5% of the total
- 3$61M11.0% of the total
- 4$35M6.2% of the total
- 5$1.7M0.3% of the total
- 6$475K0.1% of the total
Awards
Four awards and honors from 2014 to 2020, three of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emmy Awards | |||
| 2020 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Mrs. America | Won |
| 2015 | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Orange Is the New Black | Won |
| 2014 | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Orange Is the New Black | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 2018 | OkayAfrica 100 Women | Won | |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.