Background
Aduba was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Nigerian parents of Igbo origin from Achi in Enugu State. She grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts.
Aduba was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Nigerian parents of Igbo origin from Achi in Enugu State. She grew up in Medfield, Massachusetts.
She graduated from Medfield High School in 1999. She attended Boston University, where she studied classical voice and competed in track and field
She describes her family as a "sports family". Her younger brother, Obi, played hockey at the University of Massachusetts and went on to play six seasons professionally. Aduba first garnered recognition for her acting in 2003, when her performance in Translations of Xhosa at the Olney Theatre Center for the Arts earned her a Helen Hayes Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Play.
In 2007, she made her Broadway debut, portraying Toby in Coram Boy.
From 2011 through 2012, she sang "By My Side" as part of the original revival cast of Godspell at the Circle in the Square Theatre. Her first television appearance was as a nurse on Blue Bloods in 2012.
She also played the mother of the title character of Venice at The Public Theater in New New York In 2013, Aduba began portraying Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in the Netflix comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black.
On being cast, Aduba said: Casting director Jennifer Euston explains the selection of Aduba for the role thus: "Uzo Aduba..had her hair in those knots for the audition..They saw something amazing in her and were able to connect it to what they were looking for in Crazy Eyes." In joining the series, Aduba obtained her Screen Actors Guild card, about which she says, "I was just like, "Wow, this means I"m a full actor now." lieutenant was such a big deal, and I remember being so thankful and feeling so proud." Aduba"s season 2 performance earned her the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series as well as recognition for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 21st Screen Actors Guild Awards and a nomination Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or at the 72nd Golden Globe Awards.
In March 2014, Aduba performed at Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome benefit concert Broadway Backwards. Aduba teamed with Rachel Bay Jones for a rendition of the song "Lily"s Eyes" from the play The Secret Garden.
She is known for her role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren on the Netflix television series Orange Is the New Black (2013–present), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2014, a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series in 2014 and 2015. She is the only actress to win Emmy Award recognition in both the comedy and drama genres for the same role. She has been recognized for her performance as "Crazy Eyes": Aduba won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series at the 66th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards as well as Best Guest Performer in a Comedy Series at the 4th Critics" Choice Television Awards and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film at the 18th Satellite Awards for her season 1 performance. She won a second Primetime Emmy at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2015, winning the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. This makes her the first actress to win both a drama and comedy Emmy for the same role.
