Actress Tessa Lynne Thompson was born on October 3, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. She is the daughter of singer/songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson and the granddaughter of actor/musician Bobby Ramos. She was raised in Los Angeles before moving to Brooklyn, New York. Her father is of Afro-Panamanian ancestry and her mother is of Mexican and British Isles ancestry. Thompson attended Santa Monica High School, where she was featured in numerous theatre productions. After graduation, she enrolled at Santa Monica College, where she obtained a degree in cultural anthropology.

She starred as Juliet in William Shakespeare's drama "Romeo and Juliet" in a production held at the Boston Court Theatre in Pasadena, California. Her performance from earned her the NAACP Theatre nomination the same year. Away from the theatre stage, In 2005, Tessa made her first television appearance when she starred in the CBS series Cold Case (2003). Talented like her father Marc, Tessa's versatility extends to music, as a member of Electro Band, through which she has produced many songs, including one used in her film Dear White People (2017).

Since her acting career began in 2002, Tessa has played remarkable roles in popular television series and movies including Murder on the 13th Floor (2012), Make It Happen (2008), Red & Blue Marbles (2011), Selma (2014), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), War on Everyone (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Sorry to Bother You (2018), Annihilation (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Men in Black: International (2019), Lady and the Tramp (2019), and Sylvie's Love (2020).

Tessa Thompson at an event for The Oscars (2019)

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Tessa Thompson and Justine Lupe in Justine Lupe & Tessa Thompson (2025)

Jon Bernthal and Tessa Thompson in His & Hers (2026)

Tessa Thompson and Tom Bateman in Hedda (2025)

Nina Hoss, Imogen Poots, and Tessa Thompson in Hedda (2025)

Nicholas Pinnock, Tessa Thompson, and Tom Bateman in Hedda (2025)

Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed (2015)

Jeff Goldblum, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Mark Ruffalo, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, and Tessa Thompson in Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Tyler James Williams in Dear White People (2014)

Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson in Passing (2021)

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Tessa Thompson

Tessa Thompson

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