Akosua Busia

Busia 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]

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 (opposite Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg) 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]

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]

• Akosua Busia website
• Akosua Busia at IMDb
• "Ama K. interviews Akosua Busia", YouTube video.