David Oyelowo is a Golden Globe nominated actor who began his career as a stage performer before making his way to the screen. He is best known for his portrayal of Martin Luther King Jr. in the 2014 biographical film Selma .
Oyelowo, who also co-starred as screenwriter, artist and producer, was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in 2016. Read on to learn more about his other achievements, family, and net worth.
biography
Oyelowo was born David Oyetokunbo Oyelowo to Nigerian parents in Oxford, England on 1 April 1976. The family lived in the London borough of Wandsworth, south London, until their son was around 6 years old before they relocated to Lagos, Nigeria.
His father worked for the Nigerian while his mother got a job with the country’s railway company. At that time, David was enrolled in a military-style boarding school, where he said he was a victim of bullying due to his polite character.
The family lived in Nigeria for seven years before deciding to return to England and settle in Islington. He then attended City College and Islington College and enrolled in their theater studies program. One of Oyelowo’s teachers, having demonstrated the qualities of a good actor, suggested trying the profession. This motivated him to enroll in the London Academy of Music and Performing Arts and to spend time at the National Youth Theatre.
After graduating from art school in 1998, David Oyelowo began auditioning for various stage works before starring in Ben Jonson’s Volpone (1999) and Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra (1999), among others.
His big break, however, came in 2001 when he starred in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of King Henry VI. Oyelowo, who at the time was the first black actor to play an English king in a Shakespeare production, received the Ian Charleson Award for his performance in the classic play.
In 2005, Oyelowo also appeared in theatrical productions of Die Gotte Störer and Prometheus Bound before turning his attention to television, having previously appeared in films such as Maisie Raine (1998) and La Scala (2002). His first major television role was as MI5 officer Danny Hunter on the series Ghosts (2002-2004).
He has also appeared in films such as Nikki Amuka-Bird with fellow Nigerian-British Born Equal (2006), Shoot the Messenger (2006) and The No. 1 Female Detective Agency (2008), forcing speculation that the two may be are a couple.
Internationally, David Oyelowo first appeared in the science fiction film A Clap of Thunder (2005) before becoming Dr. Junju played The Last King of Scotland (2006) in the Idi Amin biopic. Other films he has acted in are Planet of the Apes: Prevolution (2011), Jack Reacher (2012), Lincoln (2012) and Red Tails (2012).
Lately, Oyelowo has been playing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma (2014), he received five awards from a total of 13 nominations, including a Golden Globe Award. The same year he received a second Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in Nightingale before later appearing in A Violent Year (2014) and Queen of Katwe (2016).
Family – wife (Jessica Oyelowo), children
David Oyelowo is an ethnic Yoruba man. His family hails from the Awe Kingdom in the Nigerian state of Oyo, where he holds the royal title Omoba, which means prince.
He is married to Jessica Oyelowo (née Watson), an English actress best known in films such as Alice in Wonderland (2010), Trapped (2015) and then A United Kingdom (2016), in which her husband starred .
The couple met when they were teenagers while attending the National Youth Music Theater before they met and married. Together, the couple has four children and resides in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California.
David Oyelowos Net Worth (Income and Earnings)
David Oyelowo is said to have a net worth of around $6 million which he earned through his various roles in the entertainment industry. That amount is sure to increase in the years to come as the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts graduate, whose nominations have surpassed his actual number of wins, continues to work hard to anchor his talent among other Hollywood greats of African descent.
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