Chiwetel Ejiofor is a British-Nigerian actor. He is a renowned name in the Hollywood. He has performed in several TV shows and is also a stage actor. After enrolling at the National Youth Theatre in 1995 and attending the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, at age 19 and three months into his course, Ejiofor was cast by Steven Spielberg to play a supporting role in the film Amistad as James Covey. Ejiofor has received numerous awards and nominations for acting, including the BAFTA Orange Rising Star Award in 2006, two Golden Globe Award nominations and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance in Othello in 2008. In 2008, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for services to the arts. He was nominated for a 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance on Dancing on the Edge.
Birth Name
Chiwetelu Umeadi Ejiofor
Nickname
Chiwe
Profession
Actor, Director, Writer
Nationality
British
Personal Life
Birthday / Date of Birth
Chiwetel Ejiofor was born on the 10th of July 1977, in Forest Gate, London, England.
Age
He is currently 42 years old.
Sun Sign
Cancer
Ethnicity
Black
Religion
Christianity
Education
Chiwetel attended the Dulwich College Preparatory School for his early education. He was active in the school plays, and played the part of the gravedigger in the play, Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Later, he attended the Dulwich College and joined the National Youth Theatre. His passion for acting brought him to the drama school London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After the first year of his study, Ejiofor was selected by Steven Spielberg, for his movie, Amistad. Ejiofor discontinued his studies and started pursuing his acting career.
Family Details
- Father – Arinze Ejiofor (Doctor) (Died in 1988)
- Mother – Obiajulu Ejiofor (Pharmacist)
- Siblings – Zain Asher (Younger Sister) (CNN Correspondent; reports financial news)
Marital Status
Single
Girlfriend / Spouse
Chiwetel Ejiofor has dated –
- Naomie Harris (2000-2007) – Chiwetel was romantically linked to English actress Naomie Harris from 2000 to 2007.
- Lupita Nyong’o (2012) – The on-screen romance between Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong’o and English actor Chiwetel was RUMORed to went off-screen in 2012 when they were filming for film director Steve McQueen.
- Sari Mercer (2014-2017)– He is dating Sari Mercer and has been seen with her publicly during many of the award shows.
Physical Stats
Height
- In feet – 5 feet 10 inches
- In centimeters – 178 cm
- In meters – 1.78 m
Weight
- In Kilograms – 78 kg
- In Pounds – 172 lbs
Body Build
Average
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Hair Color
Black
Shoe Size
His shoe size is 10.5 (US).
Sexuality
Straight
Professional Statistics
Famous For
Ejiofor portrayed the characters Okwe in Dirty Pretty Things (2002), Lola in Kinky Boots (2005), The Operative in Serenity (2005), Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave (2013), Vincent Kapoor in The Martian (2015), Karl Mordo in Doctor Strange (2016), Dr. Watson in Sherlock Gnomes (2018) and Trywell Kamkwamba in The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019).
Film Debut
Chiwetel played the role as Ebow in the 1996 television film Deadly Voyage.
Television Debut
In 2001, Chiwetel appeared in the BBC One’s thriller drama anthology series Murder in Mind for his role as DS McCorkindale.
Brand Endorsements
Chiwetel has not endorsed any of the brands.
Chiwetel Ejiofor Favorites
- Favorite Holiday Destination – Barcelona, Spain
- Favorite Book – Other People’s Trades by Primo Levi
- Favorite Musical Artist – Beyoncé
- Favorite Cuisine – Italian
Chiwetel Ejiofor Net worth
Chiwetel Ejiofor has an estimated net worth of $12 million dollars as of 2019.
Social Media Portfolio
He is not on social media.
Some Lesser Known Facts About Chiwetel Ejiofor
- In 1988, Ejiofor and his family traveled to their home-country, Nigeria, for attending a family function. Ejiofor, and his father, met with an accident, when their car collided with a truck. Ejiofor suffered serious injuries, and his father was killed, in the accident.
- He commenced acting at the age of thirteen.
- If given a chance, he would like to exchange places with American musician, Nat King Cole.
- In the early 90s, he was a part of the band named Blind. He used to sing as a backup singer.
- His name is pronounced as Chew-eh-tell Edge-ee-oh-for.
- In 2000, Ejiofor acted in the British play, Blue/Orange, written by Joe Penhall. It premiered at the Royal National Theatre, in London.
- In 2000, Chiwetel Ejiofor bagged his first movie lead role, in It Was an Accident. Ejiofor played Nicky Burkett, an ex-convict who tried to lead a normal life.
- In 2002, he performed the lead role in the social thriller movie, Dirty Pretty Things. Ejiofor played Okwe, an illegal Nigerian immigrant, who worked in a hotel in London.
- In 2003, Ejiofor played a young lawyer, Ashley Carter, in the legal drama series, Trust, which was aired on the BBC network. The series was short-lived.
- In 2004, Ejiofor played the fictional politician, Alex Mpondo, in the movie, Red Dust.
- In 2005, he played the character, The Operative, in the science-fiction movie, Serenity.
- In 2007, he was one of 115 people, who were invited to The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
- In 2008, Ejiofor was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for his contributions to art.
- In 2013, Chiwetel Ejiofor performed in the best role of his career. He played Solomon Northup, in the movie, 12 Years a Slave.
- In 2014, Ejiofor starred in the Nigerian film Half of a Yellow Sun alongside Thandie Newton.
- In 2015, Ejiofor was honoured with a Global Promise Award by The GEANCO Foundation, a non-profit welfare organisation in West Africa for his charity work in Nigeria.
- In 2016, Ejiofor co-stars with his friend, Benedict Cumberbatch and played Baron Mordo in the Marvel film Doctor Strange.
- In 12 September 2016, Ejiofor as well as Cate Blanchett, Jesse Eisenberg, Peter Capaldi, Douglas Booth, Neil Gaiman, Keira Knightley, Juliet Stevenson, Kit Harington and Stanley Tucci, featured in a video from the United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR to help raise awareness to the global refugee crisis.
- In November 2017, he was officially chosen for the role of Scar for the computer animated remake, The Lion King (2019) directed by Jon Favreau.
- In 2019, Ejiofor made his feature directorial debut with The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, adapted from the memoir of the same name from William Kamkwamba, about a boy who built a wind-powered water pump in Malawi.
