Aunjanue Ellis, American actress and producer
Aunjanue L. Ellis ( born February 21, 1969) is an American actress and producer. She began her acting career in theater, and made her film debut in Girls Town (1996). Ellis is best known for her roles in the films Men of Honor (2000), The Caveman's Valentine (2001), Undercover Brother (2002), Ray (2004), The Express: The Ernie Davis Story (2008), The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) and The Help (2011). In 2021, Ellis starred in the critically acclaimed film King Richard, which earned her nominations for the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, British Academy Film Award, and Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress.
On television, Ellis had recurring roles in the ABC police drama series High Incident (1996–1997), The Practice (1999), True Blood (2008), and The Mentalist (2010–2013), and played roles in a number of television films, such as Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (2009), Abducted: The Carlina White Story (2013), and The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel (2020). In 2015, Ellis played the leading role in the miniseries The Book of Negroes, based on a bestselling novel by Lawrence Hill. She received critical acclaim and a Critic's Choice Television Award nomination for Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries.
From 2015 to 2017, she starred as Miranda Shaw in the ABC thriller series Quantico, and in 2016, Ellis played Nancy Turner, Nat Turner's mother, in the period drama film The Birth of a Nation. In 2019, she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her performance in the Netflix miniseries When They See Us. Ellis later starred in the HBO drama series Lovecraft Country (2020), for which she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
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1969Feb, 21
Aunjanue Ellis
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Events on 1969
- 2Mar
Concorde
In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted. - 17Apr
Robert F. Kennedy
Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy. - 16Jul
Apollo 11
Apollo program: Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida. - 20Jul
Apollo 11
Apollo program: Apollo 11's crew successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon (July 21 UTC). - 30Jul
Richard Nixon
Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.