Tessa Thompson
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2010) |
| Tessa Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 3, 1983 Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
Tessa Lynne Thompson[1] (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for the role of Jackie Cook on the TV series Veronica Mars.
Contents |
[edit] Personal life
Thompson was born in Cape Town, South Africa. She attended Santa Monica High School and was in many high school theatre productions. Thompson is the daughter of singer/songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson of the New York-based band Chocolate Genius, Inc.[citation needed] She is also the granddaughter of actor/musician Bobby Ramos ("Latin Cruise"), one of the first Latin Americans to have his own television show.[citation needed] She sings with the Cape Town Ladies Choir.
[edit] Career
[edit] Television
Thompson may be best known for her role as Jackie Cook on the UPN/CW neo-noir drama series Veronica Mars, starring as a series regular for the show's second season the character which she portrayed for 12 episodes but started in Los Angeles professional theater. Additional television appearances include a guest spot on Cold Case as Wilhemenia 'Billie' Ducette and as Dr. Richard Webber's niece, Camille, 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 most recently worked on guest star roles on Life and Private Practice, and appeared in the fourth season of Heroes. In 2010, she has a guest role as the wife of a detective on Detroit 187.
[edit] Film
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 will next be seen opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the dancing film Make it Happen in 2008. She is also set to appear in four additional film projects. Two 2008 releases The Human Contract and Periphery, as well as two additional 2009 releases Red & Blue Marbles and Mississippi Damned.
She appeared in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls in 2010.
[edit] Theater
Thompson made her stage debut in a fifth grade play, starring as a tap dancing wolf, opposite Amber Tamblyn. More recently, Thompson was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her stage performance as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum New Orleans 1836 with The Theatre at Boston Court in Pasadena, California which was her professional debut and her first professional Shakespeare production. Subsequently, she has appeared in many more plays in Los Angeles.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | When a Stranger Calls | Scarlet | |
| 2008 | Make It Happen | Dana | |
| 2008 | The Human Contract | Waitress | |
| 2009 | Mississippi Damned | Kari Peterson | |
| 2010 | Everyday Black Man | Claire | |
| 2010 | Exquisite Corpse | Liz | |
| 2010 | For Colored Girls | Nyla / Purple | |
| 2011 | South Dakota | Chris | |
| 2011 | Red & Blue Marbles | Becca | Completed |
| 2011 | Periphery | Caitlin | Completed |
| 2011 | Inner Auto Movie Project | Maggie | Post-production |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Cold Case | Wilhemina 'Billie' Doucette | Episode: "Best Friends" |
| 2005-2006 | Veronica Mars | Jackie Cook | 22 episodes |
| 2006 | Grey's Anatomy | Camille Travis | Episode: "Losing My Religion" Episode: "Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response" |
| 2006 | The Initiation of Sarah | Esme | TV movie |
| 2007 | Hidden Palms | Nikki Barnes | 7 episodes |
| 2008 | Life | Liza | Episode: "Trapdoor" |
| 2009 | Mental | Lainey Jefferson | Episode: "Lines in the Sand" |
| 2009 | Private Practice | Zoe | Episode: "Yours, Mine & Ours" Episode: "Strange Bedfellows" |
| 2009 | Heroes | Rebecca Taylor | 3 episodes |
| 2009 | Three Rivers | Penelope Kirkell | Episode: "A Roll of the Dice" |
| 2010 | Betwixt | Jenny | TV movie |
| 2010 | Blue Belle | Blue | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Lauren Washington | Episode: "Local Hero/Overboard" Episode: "Home Invasion/Drive-By" |
| 2011 | Detroit 1-8-7 | Lauren Washington | Episode: "Blackout" |
| 2011 | Off the Map | Sydney | Episode: "A Doctor Time Out" |
| 2012 | Copper | Sara |
[edit] Awards/Nominations
- 2011: Won- Outstanding Breakthrough Performance for For Colored Girls
- 2011: Won- Outstanding Ensemble for For Colored Girls
[edit] References
- ^ According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905-1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At Ancestry.com
