Saycon Sengbloh (born October 23, 1977) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for a

Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play The Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality supporting roles in a Broadway play. Th ...

and won a

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. The awards were established in ...

and an Obie Award for Outstanding Performance for her role in

Danai Gurira Danai Jekesai Gurira (; born February 14, 1978) is an American-Zimbabwean actress and playwright. She is best known for her starring roles as Michonne on the AMC horror drama series '' The Walking Dead'' (2012–2020, 2022) and as Okoye in th ...

's play '' Eclipsed'' in 2016.

Life and career

Sengbloh was born in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. She first began acting at Tri-Cities School for the Visual and Performing Arts. Sengbloh then attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia, where she studied music and Spanish before leaving to pursue a career in acting and music.

Stage

Sengbloh has starred in a number of Broadway musicals, including ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

'', ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'' (as a standby for Elphaba), ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'', '' Hair'', ''

Fela! ''Fela!'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis, based on music and lyrics by the late Nigerian singer Fela Kuti, with additional music by Aaron Johnson and Jordan McLean and additional lyrics by Jim Lewis. It is base ...

'', '' Motown: The Musical'', and '' Holler If Ya Hear Me''. Her breakthrough came in 2015, when

cast Sengbloh in '' Eclipsed'', a play about five Liberian women and their tale of survival near the end of the Second Liberian Civil War. It became the first play with an all-black and female creative cast and team to premiere on Broadway. ''Eclipsed'' opened Off-Broadway at

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

in October 2015 with positive reviews and ran until November 2015. The following year, it transferred to Broadway, premiering at the

John Golden Theatre The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street ( George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the Golden Theatre was ...

with an opening on March 6, 2016. Her performance received positive reviews from critics. She won

for original Off-Broadway production, and

nomination for Broadway production.

Television and film

Sengbloh made her screen debut playing opposite

Kimberly Elise Kimberly Elise Trammel (born April 17, 1967) is an American film and television actress. She made her feature film debut in '' Set It Off'' (1996), and later received critical acclaim for her performance in ''Beloved'' (1998). During her career, ...

in the 1997 television film ''The Ditchdigger's Daughters''. In 1999, she made her big screen debut appearing in the independent drama film ''

Funny Valentines ''Funny Valentines'' is a 1999 American drama film directed by Julie Dash and starring Alfre Woodard. It is based on J. California Cooper's short story of the same name. The film was produced by Starz! Pictures and released in selected theatres ...

'' starring

Alfre Woodard Alfre Woodard (; born November 8, 1952) is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including four Primetime Emmy Awards (tying the record for the most acting Emmys won by an African-American performer, along with Regina King ...

. She later played small parts in films '' Across the Universe'' and '' American Gangster''. She also made guest appearances on television series including '' Law & Order'' and ''

The Good Wife ''The Good Wife'' is an American legal and political drama television series that aired on CBS from September 22, 2009, to May 8, 2016. It focuses on Alicia Florrick, the wife of the Cook County State's Attorney, who returns to her career in l ...

''. In 2017, Sengbloh was cast in a recurring role as Angela Webster for the sixth season of

Shonda Rhimes Shonda Lynn Rhimes (born January 13, 1970) is an American television screenwriter, producer, and author. She is best known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the television medical drama '' Grey's Anatomy'', ...

' political drama ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

''. She played the role of Roberta in the 2018 historical drama film '' Ask for Jane''. In 2021, she starred opposite

Jennifer Hudson Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, and talk show host. Throughout her career, she has received various accolades for her works in recorded music, film, televisio ...

in the biographical drama film '' Respect'' playing

Erma Franklin Erma Vernice Franklin (March 13, 1938 – September 7, 2002) was an American gospel and soul singer. Franklin was the elder sister of American singer/musician Aretha Franklin. Franklin's best known recording was the original version of " Piece of ...

, the elder sister of Aretha Franklin. In 2021, it was announced that she would play the mother in the reboot of the TV series, "The Wonder Years."

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sengbloh, Saycon 1977 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses African-American actresses Actresses from Atlanta American people of Liberian descent American television actresses American stage actresses Living people Drama Desk Award winners 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people