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Nkechi Okoro Carroll is a writer, producer, and actor. She is the executive producer for
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
drama '' All American''.


Early life

Carroll was born in New York, but lived in many places while growing up, including
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
, the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
. Her parents are Nigerian and came to the United States for college but decided to stay. Her dad was a lawyer, and when Carroll was four years old, her family moved to Nigeria for her father's job. When she was eight, Carroll's parents split, and she moved with her mom to Côte d'Ivoire near her cousins. When she was living in Africa, she watched a lot of television, which shaped her view of the US. From the time she was young, she wanted to be a writer. Carroll was later sent to boarding school in
Oxford, England Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...
and began performing at the Oxford Youth Theater. Carroll attended the
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
, where she received a BA in economics and French in 1998. During her time at Penn, she was the president of the Pan African Student Association and acted in shows with the African American Arts Alliance. After completing college, she worked as a research assistant at the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
and acted in small theaters in the evening. She speaks multiple languages. Carroll received a master's degree in international economics from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
.


Career

In 2004, Carroll and her husband left New York and moved to Los Angeles to pursue Carroll's dream of writing in Hollywood. Her first writing job was on '' The Finder''. When the show ended after one season, Carroll joined the writers on ''
Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...
''. Carroll worked as a co-executive producer on ''
Rosewood Rosewood refers to any of a number of richly hued timbers, often brownish with darker veining, but found in many different hues. True rosewoods All genuine rosewoods belong to the genus ''Dalbergia''. The pre-eminent rosewood appreciated in ...
'' and '' The Resident''. In March 2014, Carroll launched the group Black Women Who Brunch alongside
Lena Waithe Lena Waithe (born May 17, 1984) is an American actress, producer, and screenwriter. She is the creator of the Showtime drama series ''The Chi'' (2018–present) and the BET comedy series ''Boomerang'' (2019–20) and '' Twenties'' (2020–prese ...
and Erika L. Johnson. The group is designed to connect black female writers working in the film industry. The group often meets at Carroll's house for potlucks. They provide job recommendations and resources for their members. ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' did a story on the group's members in 2018. There were sixty-two members at the time and it was ''The Hollywood Reporter''s largest photo shoot at the time. In 2018, Carroll joined the crew of ''All American'' after the pilot episode, co-producing alongside
April Blair April Blair is an American writer and producer of film and television. Blair has written scripts for the films, '' Christmas Caper'', '' Private Valentine: Blonde & Dangerous'', '' Lemonade Mouth''. She also co-wrote with director Tom Bezucha, th ...
,
Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', ''Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...
, and Sarah Schechter. In October 2018, Carroll took over as executive producer of the show, replacing Blair after Blair had to step down for personal reasons. Carroll was nominated for an
NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" for the ''All American'' episode "Hussle & Motivate", but ultimately did not win the award. More recently, she signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television Studios to start Rock My Soul Productions, with Lindsay Dunn serving as head of TV production.


Personal life

Carroll is married to a high school teacher, Jonathan A. Carroll. The couple met briefly during their time at the University of Pennsylvania, but were not close. In April 2000, they both went to see a mutual friend perform at the Soul Cafe in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, where fellow University of Pennsylvania alumnus
John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...
was the opener. Nkechi was there on a date with someone else, but soon after she and Jonathan began dating. They have two sons and currently live in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. Carroll is a Christian. She was in the World Trade Center Annex when the planes hit the towers on September 11, 2001, and had to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Carroll speaks multiple languages. Her favorite television show is ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
''.


Filmography


Television


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, Nkechi Okoro American women television writers African-American television writers American television writers American people of Nigerian descent Living people New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Screenwriters from New York (state) Showrunners Television producers from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people)