Tessa Lynne Thompson is a popular American film and television actress and musician who is best known for her portrayal of Jackie Cook on the teen noir mystery drama TV series ‘Veronica Mars’ which aired on Warner Bros television, appearing in its second season from 2005-2006. Thompson also gained prominence for her role of Sara Freeman in the BBC America period crime drama series ‘Copper’ and also appeared in shows like ‘Hidden Palms’ ‘666 Park Avenue’ and ‘Westworld’ in significant roles.
Thompson made her feature film debut with the 2006 film ‘When a Stranger Calls’. She received critical appreciation for her portrayal of Nyal Adrose in Tyler Perry’s adaptation of ‘For Colored Girls’, Diane Nash in historic drama ‘Selma’ and Biance in the sports drama film ‘Creed’. Thompson has been felicitated with several awards including an American Black Film Festival award, a Black Reel Award, a Gotham Award and an African-American Film Critics Association.
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Teessa Thompson – Age, Ethnicity and Education
Thompson was born on 3 October 1983 in Los Angeles, California where she was raised before her family moved to Brooklyn, New York City. Thompson is the daughter of Chocolate Genius, Inc’s singer and songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson and his wife. She has Mexican and European ancestry on her mother’s side of the family and Afro-Panamanian ancestry on her father’s side.
Thompson studied at the Santa Monica High School from where she graduated and enrolled into the Santa Monica College. She graduated with a degree in cultural anthropology. As a student, Thompson was extremely active in the school’s theatre scene.
Career Rise
Thompson debuted on the stage professionally in 2002 with a production of ‘The Tempest’ by Women’s Shakespeare Company, Los Angeles and in the following year acted in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as Juliet for which she received a nomination at NAACP Theatre Awards. Her latest off-Broadway appearance was 2016’s ‘Smart People’. Thompson made her television debut in 2005, appearing in an episode of ‘Cold Case’ on CBS in which she played a circa 1930s bootlegging lesbian. She was cast in the second season of ‘Veronica Mars’ as Jackie Cook in the same year. In 2007, she appeared as Nikki Barnes in CW’s ‘Hidden Palms’ in a main role. Thompson appeared in episodes of shows like ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Life’, ‘Mental’, ‘Private Practice’, ‘Heroes’, ‘Three Rivers’, ‘Private Practice’ etc. She had significant roles in shows like ‘666 Park Avenue’ and ‘Copper’ in which she played Sara Freeman. She also appeared in three episodes of the show ‘Westworld’.
Thompson debuted on the silver screen in 2006 with ‘When a Stranger Calls’ as Scarlet and in 2008, appeared in ‘Make it Happen’ with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as her co-star. Thompson approached Tyler Perry directly to be cast in his 2010 film ‘For Colored Girls’. She essayed Diane Nash, the civil rights activist in ‘Selma’, the biopic on Martin Luther King, Jr and also appeared in Justin Simien’s ‘Dear White People’. Her next significant role was in Ryan Coogler’s ‘Creed’. Thompson has been cast as Valkyrie in the superhero film ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ slated to release in November 2017. Thompson is also a music producer having produced the music for ‘Dear White People’ along with her ‘Caught A Ghost’ electro band.
Personal Life
Thompson is a very private person and has never revealed any details of her personal life to the media. She was speculated to be dating American actor Ben Crowley a few years ago but neither parties confirmed nor denied the speculation and maintained that they didn’t wish to speak about their private lives. The duo maintained the same stance when speculation was rife about their alleged break up. Thompson is unmarried.
Tessa Thompson – Net Worth
Thompson has an estimated net worth of approximately $4 Million.
