Portrait of Tessa Thompson

Tessa Thompson

Acting

Biography

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. 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.

Born: October 3, 1983

Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California, USA

Known For

Filmography

2026
HIS & HERS

as Anna Andrews

2025
Hedda

as Hedda Gabler

2025
Marvel Zombies

as Valkyrie (voice)

2024
2023
The Marvels

as Valkyrie

2023
Creed III

as Bianca Creed

2022
Sherri

as Self - Guest

2022
Thor: Love and Thunder

as King Valkyrie

2021
Passing

as Irene Redfield

2021
What If...?

as Valkyrie (voice)

2021
Marvel Studios Legends

as Valkyrie (archive footage) (uncredited)

2020
Sylvie's Love

as Sylvie

2019
Shadow Stalker

as Tessa Thompson

2019
Lady and the Tramp

as Lady (voice)

2019
2019
2019
Little Woods

as Oleander 'Ollie' Hale

2019
Brave Girl Rising

as Nasro (voice)

2018
Creed II

as Bianca

2018
2018
2018
Furlough

as Nicole Stevens

2018
Annihilation

as Josie Radek

2017
Thor: Ragnarok

as Valkyrie

2017
Moonlight

as Monica

2017
Dear White People

as Rikki Carter

2017
South Dakota

as Chris

2017
100 Years

as Narrator (voice)

2016
War on Everyone

as Jackie Hollis

2016
Westworld

as Charlotte Hale

2016
Salt Water

as Brit

2015
Creed

as Bianca

2015
Hot Ones

as Self

2014
Selma

as Diane Nash

2014
Dear White People

as Samantha White

2014
BoJack Horseman

as Taneisha (voice)

2014
Points of Origin

as Rosemary

2014
2013
Automotive

as Maggie

2012
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars

as Self - Guest Judge

2012
2011
2011
Portlandia

as Bailey

2010
For Colored Girls

as Nyla / Purple

2010
Rizzoli & Isles

as Anna Farrell

2010
Betwixt

as Jenny

2009
2009
Mississippi Damned

as Kari Peterson

2008
2008
2007
Life

as Liza

2007
Private Practice

as Zoe Salter

2007
Hidden Palms

as Nikki Barnes

2006
Heroes

as Rebecca Taylor

2006
2005
Grey's Anatomy

as Camille Travis

2004
Veronica Mars

as Jackie Cook

2003
Cold Case

as Wilhemina 'Billie' Doucette

2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!

as Self - Guest

1996
1992
MTV Movie & TV Awards

as Self - Presenter

1988