Over the past decade,Tessa Thompsonhas gone from being a relatively unknown actress to a mainstream A-lister.
While Thompson may be a bona fide movie star these days, she wasn’t always so successful.
She then broke into film and television and eventually landed the major blockbuster roles that made her famous.
This is the stunning transformation of Tessa Thompson.
She spent much of her childhood growing up in Los Angeles during the 1980s and 1990s.
“I’m an odd breed in that I’m a Los Angeles native,” she toldIssue Magazine.
“I’m very much an LA girl.
I went to Santa Monica High School and as a teenager, lived in Hollywood.
I’m as LA as they come.”
She cites Prince, Grace Jones, and David Bowie as being influential to her as a girl.
“Those musicians really set me free when I was young,” she told theEvening Standard.
In fact, before becoming a globally recognized movie star, Thompson had very different plans.
She then made preparations to transfer to University of California, Berkeley where she planned to study law.
Her early stage work paved the way for her screen career that followed.
To this day, Thompson continues to hold a soft spot for her theatrical roots.
So I still get involved in LA theater and celebrate it and go to shows."
This feeling of dissatisfaction was so strong that she took a brief hiatus from on-screen acting.
For Thompson, the role became a crucial jumping off point for her future work.
Apparently, the actor even wrote a fan letter to Simien prior to being cast.
As she put it, “I felt strongly that I needed to be in that movie.”
Clearly, her enthusiasm paid off.
After the film was released, it led to more interesting projects.
“Aaron followed me through the year,” she said.
Funnily enough, Thompson almost missed out on the opportunity altogether.
“I sent in an audition tape for the pilot.
“I never heard anything about it.
Much later, there was this chance to play a human on the show.”
And, of course, she got the part.
Thompson also landed a role in thesequel to Marvel’s “Thor"in 2016.
The idea of singing on my own, with just my voice into a microphone, was daunting.”
However, she eventually got over the fear.
Thompson worked on the soundtrack for boxing drama “Creed” and its sequel, “Creed II.”
Since then, she’s appeared in music videos for music icons such asJanelle Monae,Jay-ZandBeck.
Tessa Thompson came out as bisexual in 2018
Tessa Thompson came out as bisexual in 2018.
“Do I have a responsibility to talk about that?”
“Do I have a responsibility to say in a public space that this is my person?”
“So, yeah, we’ll see if she finds love.”
Throughout her career, she’s already seen how her own opportunities have changed for the better.
“And Hollywood would’ve never lensed a woman like me to be the protagonist.
So I think in that way, there’s been a tremendous amount of change.”
And Thompson has been actively working to make that change happen faster.
“Women who are not of color are talking about pay equity with men.
[We] are so far away from that.”
In addition to this, Thompson took up fencing with her combat mannequin she affectionately named “Bob.”
“We’ve spent a lot of time together,” she shared withKelly and Ryanon their talk show.
It sounds like a great lockdown pastime if you ask us!
As the actress explained toElle UK, experimenting with fashion and beauty became an outlet for self-expression.
So, instead, as she told Elle UK, she uses fashion to explore other characters and personas.
After all, it’s pretty fun!
She toldgal-dem, “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for some years.
A big part of her new self-care routine involves removing herself from the toxic noise of the internet.
She is also focusing on getting at least eight hours of sleep a night.
Perhaps the most important thing she has learned?
“I think we all spend too much time on the internet anyway.”
That’s definitely a sentiment we can agree with.
