Born Tessa Lynn Thompson on October 3, 1983, in Los Angeles, California, her upbringing foreshadowed the breadth of her interests and abilities. The daughter of Panamanian‑American songwriter and musician Marc Anthony Thompson (of Chocolate Genius) and visual artist Maciallah Thompson, she grew up immersed in creative dialogue and artistic possibility. Her heritage, blending African, Mexican, and Panamanian roots, positioned her early on at the intersection of cultural identity and expressive self‑determination – elements that would define both her artistic sensibility and the roles she chose. She is also the granddaughter of Mexican‑American actor‑musician Bobby Ramos, indicating that performance and voice coursed through her lineage. Even as a teenager, she gravitated toward theatre, starring in community and school productions – most notably in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream -solidifying her love for performance before graduating with a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology from Santa Monica College.
Her professional path began in theatre, first in Los Angeles and later on stages in New York, but Thompson soon expanded to film and television with compelling tenacity. Early work included roles in Veronica Mars (2005–06) and a breakout appearance in Selma (2014), Ava DuVernay’s powerful dramatization of the Civil Rights Movement. Thompson’s portrayal of civil rights activist Diane Nash, among other early parts, demonstrated a natural authority and grace under pressure—not merely portraying history but inhabiting it.
Early Career and Broadening Horizons
In the mid‑2010s, Thompson became widely recognized for her role in the socially incisive comedy‑drama Dear White People (2014). In portraying Samantha White, a charismatic college radio host speaking truth to institutional power, Thompson embodied both vulnerability and commanding presence. Her performance was a hallmark of a film that merged satire with social commentary, engaging audiences and critics alike.
That same year, Thompson displayed her musical artistry: she was involved with the Los Angeles Ladies Choir and also sang for the electronic soul band Caught a Ghost from 2014 to 2016. She wrote songs for films such as Dear White People and Creed, showcasing a range of creative expression beyond acting.
Her early film roles, though diverse, were unified by Thompson’s ability to bring uncommon emotional clarity to each character – whether conveying the quiet resolve of a fervent activist or navigating the fraught tensions of race, identity, and power that Passing would later explore.
Breaking Into Genre and Mainstream Recognition
A significant turning point in Thompson’s public profile came with her role as Valkyrie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Introduced in Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Valkyrie was a weary but indomitable Asgardian warrior whose combination of physical strength and inner life made her a standout among comic‑book heroes. Thompson reprised the role in Avengers: Endgame (2019) and Thor: Love and Thunder (2022), becoming one of the franchise’s most recognized and beloved figures. Her embodiment of Valkyrie challenged the often reductive framing of female action leads, rendering a character with grit, humor, humanity—and a palpable yearning for something more than battlefield glory.
Despite her strong identification with a mainstream block‑buster universe, Thompson’s career choices remained rooted in artistic exploration. In Annihilation (2018), she played a physicist facing existential dread and transformation; in Sorry to Bother You, she brought nuance to a surreal, biting commentary on capitalism and identity. These roles reinforced her adaptability, depth, and willingness to work in projects that push narrative and conceptual boundaries.
Simultaneously, the Creed franchise—where she starred as Bianca Taylor, a musician and love interest to Michael B. Jordan’s Adonis Creed—allowed her to infuse emotional richness into stories of ambition, family, and legacy. At the 2025 American Cinematheque Awards, Thompson spoke lovingly and playfully about her longstanding on‑screen relationship with Jordan, joking that their fictional romance had been “the longest relationship either of us has ever been in.” The warmth in her remarks illustrated how deeply she invests in connections both on and off the screen.
Artistic Maturation: Passing and Independent Cinema
In 2021, Thompson starred in Passing opposite Ruth Negga. Directed by Rebecca Hall and adapted from Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel, the film examines race, identity, and the fluidity of self—especially the fraught act of “passing” as white in early‑20th‑century America. Thompson’s portrayal of Irene Redfield anchored the film’s emotional core, revealing layers of restraint, desire, fear, and moral tension. The complexity of Irene’s interior life, and Thompson’s exceptional specificity in embodying it, earned her a BAFTA nomination and cemented her reputation as an actor of considerable range and subtlety.
This period marked a shift from ensemble and facilitative roles to those that challenged both performer and audience in equal measure—roles that drew out inward complexity and invited reflection about who we are and how we construct collective narratives around identity.
2025: A Landmark Year with Hedda
The year 2025 proved a defining moment in Thompson’s career – one where her artistic evolution converged with mainstream recognition and critical acclaim on an unprecedented scale.
In Hedda, directed by Nia DaCosta, Thompson took on the iconic role inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler—a seminal work of modern drama. In this adaptation, the story is set in 1950s England, and the central figure is reimagined as a queer, socially constrained woman whose secretive ambitions and restless spirit catalyze the narrative’s dynamic interplay of desire, power, and social expectation. The film opens during a chaotic soirée, and through Thompson’s riveting performance, Hedda transforms from an emblem of societal frustration to a living, breathing, emotionally charged force. Critics described her work as “fearless,” “revelatory,” and “magnetic,” noting that she brought “new focus” to one of dramatic literature’s most complex characters.
Thompson also served as a producer on Hedda, reflecting her expanding role behind the camera as a creative steward and narrative architect. The film premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival to widespread acclaim – a testament not only to Thompson’s artistry but also to her commitment to reshaping classic material with contemporary resonance.
The cultural impact of Hedda rippled widely. At the 35th Annual Gotham Film Awards, Thompson was selected to receive the Spotlight Tribute – an honor celebrating her remarkable work in Hedda and her broader contributions to cinema. The Gotham Film & Media Institute cited her performance as transformative, breathing new life into a character long held as canon in dramatic literature.
Throughout the film’s promotional run, Thompson captivated audiences not only with her performance but also with a series of memorable red‑carpet moments. At the Critics’ Choice Association celebration of Black Cinema and Television, she won the Actress Award for her role in Hedda, and her eye‑popping pilgrimage of fashion – from boldly textured Diotima designs to immaculate couture statements – made her as talked about for her style as for her artistry. Critics highlighted how Thompson’s sartorial choices were themselves expressions of identity, poise, and self‑fashioning in a season of high‑stakes visibility.
At the 2026 Golden Globes, she appeared in a backless green sequin gown while being nominated for Best Female Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for Hedda, positioned alongside acclaimed actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Julia Roberts. Her heartfelt reflections upon her nomination expressed both gratitude and wonder at portraying such an emblematic character – emphasizing collaboration, personal joy, and reverence for storytelling’s enduring power.
In Hedda, Thompson’s performance was not merely an acting achievement – it was an act of reclamation. Under her stewardship, a canonical literary figure became a contemporary emblem of restless intellect, social stricture, and interior unrest. Her capacity to honor the text’s lineage while simultaneously reframing it for new audiences made Hedda a film that transcended genre, era, and conventional narrative expectation.
2026: Theatre Debut and Continued Evolution
With 2026 comes yet another milestone: Thompson’s Broadway debut. In early 2026, she premiered in The Fear of 13 at the James Earl Jones Theatre alongside Adrien Brody—a production based on David Sington’s documentary about Nick Yarris, who spent decades on death row. Thompson portrays Jackie, a volunteer whose connection to Yarris deepens into profound emotional terrain. Coming nearly two decades after her Off‑Broadway debut in Smart People (2016), this Broadway turn highlights Thompson’s return to theatre at a moment of artistic maturity and cross‑disciplinary respect.
This leap – one that bridges film, television, and stage – illustrates a rare versatility: a performer whose craft is as comfortable in the intimate intensity of live theatre as it is in the multi‑million‑dollar spectacle of global cinema.
Another significant project in 2026 is His & Hers – a limited mystery thriller series on Netflix starring Thompson. Adapted from Alice Feeney’s 2020 novel, this series adds a televised dimension to her already rich portfolio, further establishing her as a leading architect of genre‑bending narratives that interrogate trust, perception, and human psychology. Thompson also serves as an executive producer, demonstrating her ongoing commitment to narrative agency and creative control.
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