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Akosua Busia

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Akosua Busia
Busia in 1986
Born
Akosua Gyamama Busia

(1966-12-30) 30 December 1966 (age 57)
Accra, Ghana
EducationCentral School of Speech and Drama
Occupation(s)Actress, film director, songwriter, author
Years active1979–present
Known forNettie Harris – The Color Purple
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1996; div. 1997)​
Children1
FatherKofi Abrefa Busia
RelativesAbena Busia (sister)
Websitewww.akosuabusia.net/oganization/

Akosua Gyamama Busia (born 30 December 1966)[1][2] is a Ghanaian actress, writer and songwriter. She is known to film audiences for playing Nettie Harris in the 1985 film The Color Purple. She is the daughter of Ghanaian Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia.

Family and early life

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Busia was born in Accra in 1966. She is the daughter of Kofi Abrefa Busia, who was prime minister of the Republic of Ghana (from 1969 to 1972)[3] and a prince of the royal family of Wenchi,[4] a subgroup of the Ashanti, making Akosua a princess too.[5] Her sister, Abena Busia, is a poet and academic, who was a professor in English at Rutgers University,[6] and since 2017 has been the Ghanaian ambassador to Brazil.[7]

Busia grew up in Ghana, and began her acting career at the age of 16, attending London's Central School of Speech and Drama on scholarship.[8] Her first acting role was as Juliet in an otherwise white cast, performing Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at Oxford University, where her siblings were studying.[8]

Career

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Busia made her film debut in the 1979 adventure film Ashanti, with Michael Caine and Peter Ustinov. After moving to Los Angeles in the early 1980s, she was cast to play a supporting role in the slasher film The Final Terror, directed by Andrew Davis (The Fugitive). The film was not released until 1983, after several of its actors (including Daryl Hannah and Rachel Ward) had achieved public prominence.

Busia's film roles include a notable performance as Bessie in a 1986 film adaptation of Richard Wright's novel Native Son (with Geraldine Page and Matt Dillon. She also starred in Hard Lessons alongside Denzel Washington and Lynn Whitfield in 1986.[9] Busia played Nettie, the younger sister of Whoopi Goldberg's character Celie Harris, in Steven Spielberg's 1985 The Color Purple,[10] adapted from Alice Walker's novel of the same title, as Ruth in Badge of the Assassin (1985), as Jewel in John Singleton's Rosewood (1997),[11] and as Patience in Antoine Fuqua's Tears of the Sun (2003).[12] She has also appeared on television in the series ER.[4]

Busia is the author of The Seasons of Beento Blackbird: A Novel (Washington Square Press, 1997, ISBN 9780671014094).[13][14] She was one of three co-writers for the screenplay adaptation of Toni Morrison's 1987 novel Beloved for the 1998 film version of the same name directed by Jonathan Demme.[15] In 2008, Busia directed a film about her father: The Prof. A Man Remembered. Life, Vision & Legacy of K.A. Busia.[16] Busia also co-wrote the song "Moon Blue" with Stevie Wonder for his album A Time 2 Love, released in 2005.[17] Her poem "Mama" is included in the 2019 anthology New Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby.[18]

After 18-year hiatus to raise her daughter, in 2016 Busia returned to acting in the off-Broadway and Broadway production of Danai Gurira's play Eclipsed, alongside Lupita Nyong'o.[19] For her performance off-Broadway, she received an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance as Rita[20]

Personal life

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On 12 October 1996, Akosua Busia married the American film director John Singleton, with whom she has a daughter[15] — Hadar Busia-Singleton (born 3 April 1997); the couple divorced on 15 June 1997. Their daughter attended school in Ghana, before returning to the US.[4]

She co-founded with her sister Abena Busia the Busia Foundation International, aiming "to provide assistance to the disadvantaged".[21]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1979 Ashanti The Senoufo Girl
1983 The Final Terror Vanessa
1984 Louisiana Ivy TV movie
1985 Badge of the Assassin Ruth TV movie
1985 The Color Purple Nettie Harris
1986 Crossroads Woman at Boardinghouse
1986 Low Blow Karma
1986 Hard Lessons Cynthia Byers
1986 Native Son Bessie
1988 Saxo Puppet
1988 The Seventh Sign Penny Washburn
1991 New Jack City Courtroom Spectator Uncredited
1997 Rosewood Jewel
1997 Mad City Diane
1997 Ill Gotten Gains Fey
2003 Tears of the Sun Patience
2007 Ascension Day Cherry
2024 In Search of a Blessed Life Mrs. Johnson Drama

References

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  1. ^ Who's Who Among African Americans. Vol. 22. Gale Research. 2008. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-4144-3400-1.
  2. ^ McCann, Bob (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Actresses In Film And Television. McFarland. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7864-3790-0.
  3. ^ Takyi, Charles (22 December 2009). "Busia's family endorses new secretary for NPP". The Ghanaian Chronicle.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ a b c Kiesewetter, John (7 April 1999). "'ER' actress dreams about having it all". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on 18 February 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  5. ^ Wallace, Amy (1998-09-25). "War of Words". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 2024-05-12. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  6. ^ "Busia, Abena - Professor", Department of Women's and Gender Studies. Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
  7. ^ "The Ambassador". Ghana Embassy - Brasilia, Brazil. Archived from the original on 2023-12-10. Retrieved 2023-10-15.
  8. ^ a b Smith, Gail (4 December 1998), "Just don't say 'no'" Archived 2015-07-10 at the Wayback Machine, Mail & Guardian (South Africa).
  9. ^ Akosua Busia at IMDb.
  10. ^ Rosenberg, Donald (19 June 1990). "Akosua Busia's Dual Performance In 'Color Purple' Still Astonishing". Rocky Mountain News. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  11. ^ Levin, Jordan (30 June 1996). "On Location: Dredging in the Deep South". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  12. ^ Fuchs, Cynthia (8 March 2003). "Tears of the Sun: Review". PopMatters. Archived from the original on 4 March 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  13. ^ Rush, George (17 April 1997). "D'Angelo joins Al's bev-y of beauties". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  14. ^ "Writer" Archived 2018-10-09 at the Wayback Machine, Akosua Busia website.
  15. ^ a b Fierman, Daniel (October 16, 1998). "Brawl Over 'Beloved'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 24 March 2007.
  16. ^ "The Prof: A Man Remembered". Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  17. ^ "A Time To Love - Press Release | The wonder of it all". Detroit News. 8 October 2005. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 25 March 2023 – via steviewonder.org.uk.
  18. ^ Maxwell, Anne (19 July 2019). "The many urgent voices of women writers from Africa". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  19. ^ Mark Kennedy, "Akosua Busia re-emerges in the spotlight in ‘Eclipsed’" Archived 2019-07-23 at the Wayback Machine, Washington Times, 23 March 2016.
  20. ^ "Akosua Busia, Biography". www.ghanaweb.com. Archived from the original on 2022-05-25. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  21. ^ "Foundations". Akosua Busia. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
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