Biographie
Ebony Obsidian is widely recognized for her performances in The Six Triple Eight, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Sistas, and Hunters.
Born in the Shawangunk area of New York, Ebony’s mother is East African with a double major in special education and psychology who became a teacher, while her father, from the Bronx with West Indies roots, has a musical background. Although she was always drawn to storytelling, it was a free local acting class that truly introduced her to performance through a theater production.
By her preteen years, Ebony was the lead singer in her school band, performing at talent shows and attending auditions for singing and acting. Determined to advance, she took extra steps in high school by earning credits, including advanced English and Writing courses, to graduate early. Afterward, she briefly attended college focusing on journalism while working various odd jobs to save money for a move to New York City, where she studied at the William Esper Studio in Manhattan.
Following several years in independent films and series, Ebony secured the role of Michelle in the "Thanksgiving" episode of Master of None, acting alongside Angela Bassett, Lena Waithe, and Aziz Ansari. This episode won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series in 2017.
Ebony’s first major film role was in If Beale Street Could Talk, the inaugural adaptation of a James Baldwin novel, directed by Barry Jenkins. She portrayed Adrienne Hunt alongside Aunjanue Ellis, Regina King, and Coleman Domingo. The film received over 130 nominations, including three Oscars, two Golden Globes, two BAFTAs, and five Critics' Choice Awards. These projects helped Ebony establish herself in both television and film.
In 2018, she joined the casts of Hunters as Carol, working with Al Pacino, Logan Lerman, and Lena Olin, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga as Nia, alongside Ashton Sanders and Erika Alexander. Both shows filmed concurrently, and during the Hunters shoot, Ebony was cast as a lead in Tyler Perry’s Sistas, playing Karen. This role paved the way for her starring as Lena, a young woman who forgoes college to join the army after losing her first love, in the 2024 Netflix feature The Six Triple Eight. The film is inspired by the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion, a groundbreaking unit of 855 women of color who cleared 17 million pieces of backlogged mail during WWII, reconnecting soldiers with their loved ones back home.
