Carmen Elizabeth Ejogo (born 1973) is a US-based British actress.

Early life

Born and raised in London, Ejogo is the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Ejogo (née Douglas)."A Gran Day Out" CumnockChronicle.com, 24 June 2009 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009) Her father is a Nigerian entrepreneur and her mother a Scottish tour guide."Carmen Ejogo Biography" FilmReference.com (Retrieved: 19 July 2009) During her childhood, Ejogo remembers her mother as being "a hippie".Rich, Katey; "Interview: Away We Go's Carmen Ejogo" CinemaBlend.com, 2 June 2009 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009) Her younger brother, also called Charles, was the first successful candidate on the British version of the "business reality" television programme Dragons' Den. In the first episode, broadcast on 5 January 2005, his pitch for investment in an umbrella vending-machine business resulted in Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones making a joint offer of £150,000, which he accepted.Umbrolly website Umbrollys.com (Retrieved: 19 July 2009)Acey, Madeleine; "Dragons Den 'winner' takes to the streets" TimesOnline.co.uk, 7 August 2006 (Retrieved: 19 July 2009)

Career

Ejogo's television career began in the UK in the early 1990s, where she presented the children's series Saturday Disney. Subsequently, she has had an acting career in the US. She has appeared in Metro with Eddie Murphy, What's the Worst That Could Happen? with Martin Lawrence, and Love's Labour's Lost with Kenneth Branagh, among other films, and also presented The Carmen Ejogo Video Show — her own video show on BSB's Power Station channel. She starred as Thomas Jefferson's slave mistress in the television drama Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal.