Tessa Lynn Thompson (born October 3, 1983) is an American actress and singer-songwriter. Her breakout role was in Tina Mabry\'s 2009 indie film Mississippi Damned. She gained further recognition for her starring roles as Nyla Adrose in the drama film For Colored Girls (2010), civil rights activist Diane Nash in the historical drama film Selma (2014), Bianca in the sports drama film Creed (2015), Valkyrie in the superhero film Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Josie Radek in the science fiction horror film Annihilation (2018), and Detroit in the science fiction comedy film Sorry to Bother You (2018).\n', '

On television, Thompson has starred as Jackie Cook in the mystery drama Veronica Mars (2005–2006), Sara Freeman in the period crime drama Copper (2012–2013), and Charlotte Hale in the HBO science-fiction thriller Westworld (2016–present).\n', '

Thompson was born on October 3, 1983, in Los Angeles, California. She was raised between Los Angeles and Brooklyn, New York. Her father, singer-songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson of the musical collective Chocolate Genius, Inc., is of Afro-Panamanian descent, while her mother is of Mexican and European ancestry. She attended Santa Monica High School and then Santa Monica College, where she studied cultural anthropology.\n', '

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