Marianne Jean-Baptiste

Jean-Baptiste was born in London to a mother from Antigua and a father from Saint Lucia, growing up in Peckham.[1] She attended St Saviour’s and St Olave’s secondary school.[2] She was classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and performed at the Royal National Theatre. She was nominated for a 1994 Ian Charleson Award for her performance in William Shakespeare's Measure For Measure with theatre company Cheek by Jowl.

Jean-Baptiste gained international acclaim for the Mike Leigh-directed social drama Secrets & Lies (1996), receiving both Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nominations for her performance, becoming the first black British actress to be nominated for an Academy Award and the second black Briton to be nominated, succeeding Jaye Davidson. She collaborated with director Mike Leigh onstage in It's a Great Big Shame (1993).[3] She caused a bit of controversy when she accused the film industry of racism. She noted that leading actors had been asked to attend the Cannes Film Festival, but despite her success, she was not invited.[4]

A writer and composer, Jean-Baptiste recorded an album of blues songs and composed the musical score for Leigh's 1997 film Career Girls.[5] In 1999, she performed in Paris in a French-language production by Peter Brook of The Suit (Le Costume), a one-act play by Barney Simon and Mothobi Mutloatse, based on the short story by Can Themba.[6][7] She was also acclaimed for her role as Doreen Lawrence in The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999).[1]

Jean-Baptiste relocated for work reasons to the U.S. and lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two daughters.[1][8] She honed her American accent and starred in the American television series Without a Trace as FBI agent Vivian Johnson. More recently, the actress has appeared in such films as Takers (2010), Secrets in the Walls (2010) and Harry's Law (2012). She played Detroit police chief Karen Dean in RoboCop (2014).[9]

She was praised for her stage performance in the 2013 National Theatre production of James Baldwin's play The Amen Corner, directed by Rufus Norris.[10][11][12]

As a friend of Angela Bassett, Jean-Baptiste attended Women's Image Network Awards and on Bassett's behalf picked up an award, reading Bassett's poetic acceptance speech for her winning role in the 2013 film Betty & Coretta.[13]

• Marianne Jean-Baptiste at IMDb
• "Marianne Jean-Baptiste as Vivian Johnson". Without a Trace. CBS. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009.