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Annie Ilonzeh

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Annie Ilonzeh
Born
Annette Ngozi Ilonzeh[1]

(1983-08-23) August 23, 1983 (age 41)
Grapevine, Texas, U.S.[2]
OccupationActress
Years active2007–present

Annette Ngozi Ilonzeh (born August 23, 1983) is an American actress. From 2010 to 2011, she played Maya Ward on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital, and later starred as Kate Prince in the short-lived ABC reboot of Charlie's Angels. She later had recurring roles on shows such as Arrow, Drop Dead Diva and Empire. In 2017, Ilonzeh played Kidada Jones in the biographical drama film All Eyez on Me and starred in the thriller 'Til Death Do Us Part. From 2018 to 2020, she started as Emily Foster in the NBC drama series, Chicago Fire.

Life and career

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Ilonzeh was born in Grapevine, Texas, and went to Colleyville Heritage High School.[3] Her father is a Nigerian of Igbo descent,[4] and her mother is white.[5] In 2007, she made her television debut in an episode of the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. She had bit roles in the movies He's Just Not That Into You, Miss March and Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief.[6] Ilonzeh had a recurring role in the CW prime time soap opera Melrose Place from 2009 to 2010, and in 2010 guest starred in three episodes of Entourage. From 2010 to 2011, she played the role of Maya Ward on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital.

In January 2011, Ilonzeh was announced as one of the "Angels" on the reboot of the 1970s television series Charlie's Angels. The series, which premiered in September 2011, received mostly negative reviews,[7] and was cancelled the day after the fourth episode. In March 2012, it was announced that Ilonzeh would be recurring on The CW series Arrow.[8] Later that year, she began appearing in a recurring role in the ABC Family drama series Switched at Birth. In 2013, she played a leading role in the Lifetime television film Killer Reality.[9] Ilonzeh also guest starred in the second season of CW's Beauty & the Beast,[10] and had a recurring role on Lifetime comedy-drama Drop Dead Diva in 2013. Later, she had a recurring role on Person of Interest and Empire.

In 2017, Ilonzeh had her first major film role, playing Kidada Jones in the biographical drama All Eyez on Me, about hip-hop artist Tupac Shakur.[11] Later that year, she played the leading role in the psychological thriller film 'Til Death Do Us Part.[12] The film was released on September 29, 2017 and grossed $3.5 million.[13] Also that year she guest-starred in American Horror Story: Cult episode "Great Again". In 2018, Ilonzeh appeared in the action thriller Peppermint,[14] and was cast in a lead role on the ABC drama pilot Staties,[15] which was not picked up to the series. Later in 2018, Ilonzeh began portraying Emily Foster in Dick Wolf's Chicago franchise, first starring in Chicago Fire.[16] She was in two seasons, departing following Season 7.[17] In 2021 she starred in another unsold pilot, the drama Getaway for NBC.[18]

In 2022, Ilonzeh starred in the action-thriller film, Agent Game. The film was released in the United States on April 8, 2022, by Saban Films. It was panned by critics.[19] In 2023, Ilonzeh starred in four films playing leading roles: the horror thriller Fear, the psychological thriller Ruined, the thriller Vicious Affair, and the horror-thriller Soul Mates.[20][21] In 2024 she starred in the thriller film The Stepdaughter for Tubi.[22]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 He's Just Not That Into You Hot Girl
2009 Miss March Beautiful Girl #2
2009 Not Necessary Whitley Short film
2010 Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Aphrodite Girl
2017 All Eyez on Me Kidada Jones
2017 'Til Death Do Us Part Madison Roland/Kate Smith
2018 Peppermint FBI Agent Lisa Inman
2022 Agent Game Caroline Visser [23]
2023 Fear Bianca
2023 Ruined Olivia “Liv” Richards
2023 Vicious Affair Skylar Hastings Also producer
2023 Soul Mates Allison Also producer
2024 The Stepdaughter Whitney Hughes Also producer
TBA Thinestra Demetria Post-production

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2007 How I Met Your Mother Becky Episode: "The Yips"
2008 Do Not Disturb - Episode: "Pilot"
2009–10 Melrose Place Natasha Recurring cast
2010–11 General Hospital Maya Ward Regular Cast
Entourage Rachel Recurring cast: Season 7, guest: Season 8
2011 The Game Anthea Episode: "A Very Special Episode"
Charlie's Angels Kate Prince Main Cast
2012–13 Switched at Birth Lana Recurring cast: Season 1-2
2012–14 Arrow Joanna De La Vega Recurring cast: Season 1, guest: Season 2
2013 Killer Reality Hayley Vance TV movie
2013 Diary of a Champion Ciara Tryce Recurring cast
2013 Drop Dead Diva Nicole Recurring cast: Season 5
2013–14 Beauty & the Beast Beth Bowman Episode: "Reunion" & "Operation Fake Date"
2014 Rush Jordana Rourke Episode: "Where Is My Mind?"
2015 Allegiance Julia Marcus Episode: "Pilot"
Guy Theory Skylar Thomas Episode: "Perfect Storm"
Graceland Courtney Gallo Recurring cast: Season 3
2015–16 Person of Interest Harper Rose Recurring cast: Season 4, guest: Season 5
2016 Empire Harper Scott Recurring cast: Season 2
2017 American Horror Story: Cult Erika Episode: "Great Again"
2018–20 Chicago Fire Emily Foster Main Cast: Season 7-8
Chicago P.D. Emily Foster Crossover Cast: Season 6-7
2019 Chicago Med Emily Foster Episode: "Infection, Part II"
2021 The Lower Bottoms Beulah Rhodes Main Cast, podcast
2024 S.W.A.T. Devin Gamble Recurring

References

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  1. ^ "Annie Ilonzeh". TVGuide.com. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "Annie Ilonzeh Bio". Soapoperadigest.com. Archived from the original on June 12, 2012. Retrieved February 17, 2012.
  3. ^ Martindale, David (June 13, 2017). "Tarrant actress Annie Ilonzeh goes all-in on Tupac film, 'a story that needs to be told'". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved March 17, 2019 – via www.star-telegram.com.
  4. ^ @AnnieIlonzeh (October 19, 2014). "#family #ezinulo #igbo✈️ #Nigeria @ My Roots" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Annie Ilonzeh Doesn't See Color But Is Happy To Be Charlie's First Black Angel". October 10, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  6. ^ Filmography by type for Annie Ilonzeh. IMDb
  7. ^ Adams, Erik; VanDerWerff, Emily (September 22, 2011). "'Charlie's Angels' seems like it's embarrassed to be an 'Angels' remake". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  8. ^ Jeffery, Morgan (March 13, 2012). "'Arrow': CW superhero drama adds 'Charlie's Angels' star Annie Ilonzeh". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
  9. ^ "Killer Reality". myLifetime.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  10. ^ Ross, Robyn (September 5, 2013). "Beauty and the Beast Scoop: Who Are Cat and Vincent's New Threats?". TV Guide. Retrieved September 6, 2013.
  11. ^ Obenson, Tambay A. (February 20, 2016). "Annie Ilonzeh Cast to Play Kidada Jones in Morgan Creek's Tupac Shakur Biopic". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  12. ^ "'Til Death Do Us Part': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. September 30, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  13. ^ "Til Death Do Us Part". Box Office Mojo.
  14. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (November 28, 2017). "Jennifer Garner Thriller 'Peppermint' Adds Kyla Drew & Annie Ilonzeh". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  15. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (February 21, 2018). "'Staties': Annie Ilonzeh Cast As Lead Of ABC Drama Pilot". Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  16. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 20, 2018). "'Chicago Fire': Annie Ilonzeh Cast As New Series Regular For Season 7". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  17. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 16, 2020). "Annie Ilonzeh Departs 'Chicago Fire' After 2 Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  18. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 18, 2021). "Annie Ilonzeh to Star in NBC's 'Getaway'".
  19. ^ "Agent Game | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. April 8, 2022.
  20. ^ "Soul Mates | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. October 20, 2023.
  21. ^ "Fear | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. January 27, 2023.
  22. ^ "TUBI ORIGINAL: The Stepdaughter (2024)". February 24, 2024.
  23. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (March 5, 2021). "Mel Gibson, Dermot Mulroney, Katherine McNamara, Rhys Coiro & Annie Ilonzeh Join 'Agent Game' Spy Thriller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
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