Uzo Aduba is an American actress born Uzoamaka Nwanneka Aduba in Boston, Massachusetts, in February 1981, to Nigerian immigrant parents of Igbo descent. She trained at Boston University’s College of Fine Arts and began her career on stage, earning a Tony Award nomination for her performance in Godspell before moving into television.

Aduba became a household name playing Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren in Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black, a role she held across the show’s full run from 2013 to 2019. Her performance made her one of only two actors in history to win a Primetime Emmy Award in both the comedy and drama categories for the same role, alongside three Emmy wins overall and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Beyond Orange Is the New Black, Aduba has continued building a wide-ranging body of work, including an acclaimed turn as Shirley Chisholm in Mrs. America, which earned her further Golden Globe recognition, alongside additional film and television credits that have cemented her reputation for range across comedic and dramatic roles.

With a career built on both stage training and sustained television success, Aduba remains one of the most decorated Nigerian-American actresses working in Hollywood, having turned a single breakout role into one of the most award-laden careers of her generation.