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Tessa Thompson

Actor

Tessa Thompson

Born October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California, USA43 films

Tessa Lynne Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress. Known for her roles in both blockbusters and independent dramas, her accolades include nominations for two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

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Thompson began her professional acting career with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company while studying at Santa Monica College, acting in productions of The Tempest and Romeo and Juliet. She made her film debut in the horror film When a Stranger Calls (2006), followed by leading roles in the independent drama Mississippi Damned (2009) and Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls (2010). Thompson received favourable notices for roles in the comedy-drama Dear White People (2014) and as civil rights activist Diane Nash in Ava DuVernay's historical drama Selma (2014).

She gained mainstream attention for her roles in franchise films, playing Bianca Taylor in the sports dramas Creed (2015), Creed II (2018) and Creed III (2023), and as Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, including the movies Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), as well as her leading role in Men in Black: International (2019). She starred in the independent films Sorry to Bother You (2018), Little Woods (2018), and Annihilation (2018). For her role as a black woman living during the Harlem Renaissance in Passing (2021), she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. She portrayed the title role in Hedda (2025), which she also executive produced.

On stage, she acted in the off-Broadway production of the Lydia R. Diamond play Smart People (2016). On television, she took recurring roles in shows such as the teen mystery series Veronica Mars (2005–2006), the historical drama series Copper (2012–2013), and the science fiction series Westworld (2016–2022). She starred in the romantic drama film Sylvie's Love (2020) on Amazon Prime Video. Also, she served as an executive producer, for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Tessa Thompson, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Avengers: Endgame posterFirst watchAvengers: Endgame20198.2as ValkyrieAfter the devastating events of Avengers: Infinity War, the universe is in ruins due to the efforts of the Mad Titan, Thanos.View film

Essential films

Ranked by acclaim and reach

Filmography

43 films as actor
  1. TBAA Separation
  2. TBAFoxfinderSam
  3. TBALater the WarKiki
  4. TBALast MealsHannah
  5. 2025HeddaHedda Gabler
  6. 2024The ListenerBeth
  7. 2023The MarvelsValkyrie
  8. 2023Creed IIIBianca Creed
  9. 2022Thor: Love and ThunderKing Valkyrie
  10. 2021PassingIrene Redfield
  11. 2020Sylvie's LoveSylvie
  12. 2019Lady and the TrampLady (voice)
  13. 2019Between Two Ferns: The MovieTessa Thompson
  14. 2019Men in Black: InternationalAgent M
  15. 2019Avengers: EndgameValkyrie
  16. 2019Little WoodsOleander 'Ollie' Hale
  17. 2019Brave Girl RisingNasro (voice)
  18. 2018Creed IIBianca
  19. 2018Sorry to Bother YouDetroit
  20. 2018Dirty ComputerZen
  21. 2018FurloughNicole Stevens
  22. 2018AnnihilationJosie Radek
  23. 2017Thor: RagnarokValkyrie
  24. 2017MoonlightMonica
  25. 2017South DakotaChris
  26. 2016War on EveryoneJackie Hollis
  27. 2016Salt WaterBrit
  28. 2015CreedBianca
  29. 2014SelmaDiane Nash
  30. 2014Dear White PeopleSamantha White
  31. 2014Points of OriginRosemary
  32. 2014Grantham & RoseWallis
  33. 2013AutomotiveMaggie
  34. 2012Murder on the 13th FloorNia Palmer
  35. 2011Everyday Black ManClaire
  36. 2010For Colored GirlsNyla / Purple
  37. 2010BetwixtJenny
  38. 2010Exquisite CorpseLiz
  39. 2009Mississippi DamnedKari Peterson
  40. 2008The Human ContractWaitress
  41. 2008Make It HappenDana
  42. 2006The Initiation of SarahEsme
  43. 2006When a Stranger CallsScarlet