Early life

Thompson was born in Los Angeles, California. Her father is of Panamanian (Afro-Panamanian) descent and her mother is of half Mexican and half European ancestry. She grew up in Los Angeles while spending summers and winters in New York, where her father, singer/songwriter Marc Anthony Thompson of the band Chocolate Genius, Inc., is based. She attended Santa Monica High School and then Santa Monica College, where she studied cultural anthropology.

Career

Theatre

In 2002, Thompson made her professional stage debut in Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company's production of The Tempest. In 2003, Thompson appeared as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet: Antebellum New Orleans, 1836 with The Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena, California, which earned her an NAACP Theatre Award nomination.

She is set to appear in the upcoming off-broadway run of the Lydia R. Diamond production Smart People alongside Mahershala Ali, Joshua Jackson and Anne Son

Television

Thompson made her first TV appearance in a 2005 episode of the CBS series Cold Case in the role of a bootlegging lesbian from the 1930s. In the same year, she rose to fame as she landed on the role of Jackie Cook on the UPN/CW neo-noir drama series Veronica Mars, starring as a series regular for the show's second season. In 2006, she appeared on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

In 2007, she was a part of the cast on the CW's short-lived drama Hidden Palms, portraying Nikki Barnes. She worked on guest star roles on Life and Private Practice, and appeared in the fourth season of Heroes.

In 2010, she had a guest role as the wife of a detective on Detroit 187. In 2012, she had a guest role as Gavin Doran's daughter, Sasha, on 666 Park Avenue. In 2013, she starred in BBC America's first original series Copper.

Film

Thompson's first feature film appearance was in the 2006 remake of the horror film When a Stranger Calls playing the role of Scarlet. Thompson was next seen opposite Mary Elizabeth Winstead in the dancing film Make it Happen in 2008.

In 2010, Thompson appeared in Tyler Perry's stage play adaptation For Colored Girls after she directly approached Perry to be cast in the film. In 2014, she starred in Justin Simien's Sundance winner Dear White People, and played civil rights activist Diane Nash in Ava DuVernay's Martin Luther King, Jr. biopic Selma. In 2015, she appeared in Ryan Coogler's Rocky spin-off-sequel film Creed. In April 2016, it was announced that Thompson had been cast in the upcoming superhero film Thor: Ragnarok set for release on November 3, 2017. In May 2016, Thompson was revealed to be portraying Valkyrie in Thor: Ragnarok.

Music

Thompson has produced music as part of the electro band Caught A Ghost. The band provided songs for the film Dear White People, in which she also starred.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	When a Stranger Calls	Scarlet
2008	Make It Happen	Dana
2008	Human Contract, TheThe Human Contract	Waitress
2009	Mississippi Damned	Kari Peterson
2010	Everyday Black Man	Claire
2010	Exquisite Corpse	Liz
2010	For Colored Girls	Nyla Adrose
2011	Periphery	Caitlin
2011	Red & Blue Marbles	Becca
2012	Murder on the 13th Floor	Nia Palmer
2013	South Dakota	Chris
2013	Automotive	Maggie
2014	Grantham & Rose	Wallis
2014	Dear White People	Samantha White
2014	Selma	Diane Nash
2015	Creed	Bianca
2016	War on Everyone	Jackie Hollis	Filming
2017	Annihilation		Filming
TBA	Salt Water	Brit	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Cold Case	Wilhemina "Billie" Doucette	Episode: "Best Friends"
2005-2006	Veronica Mars	Jackie Cook	Regular role (22 episodes)
2006	Grey's Anatomy	Camille Travis	Episodes: "Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response", "Losing My Religion",
2006	Initiation of Sarah, TheThe Initiation of Sarah	Esme	TV film
2007	Hidden Palms	Nikki Barnes	Main role (7 episodes)
2008	Life	Liza	Episode: "Trapdoor"
2009	Mental	Lainey Jefferson	Episode: "Lines in the Sand"
2009	Private Practice	Zoe	Episodes: "Yours, Mine & Ours", "Strange Bedfellows"
2009	Heroes	Rebecca Taylor	Episodes: "Hysterical Blindness", "Strange Attractors", "Shadowboxing"
2009	Three Rivers	Penelope Kirkell	Episode: "A Roll of the Dice"
2010	Betwixt	Jenny	TV film
2010	Blue Belle	Blue	Lead role (5 episodes)
2010-2011	Detroit 1-8-7	Lauren Washington	Episodes: "Local Hero/Overboard", "Home Invasion/Drive-By", "Blackout"
2011	Off the Map	Sydney	Episode: "A Doctor Time Out"
2011	Rizzoli & Isles	FBI Agent Anna Farrell	Episode: "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"
2012-2013	666 Park Avenue	Sasha Doran	Recurring role (5 episodes)
2012-2013	Copper	Sara Freeman	Main role (19 episodes)
2016	Westworld	Charlotte Hale

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2009	American Black Film Festival	Best Actor	Mississippi Damned	Won
2011	Black Reel Awards	Best Breakthrough Performance	For Colored Girls	Won
2014	Gotham Awards	Breakthrough Actor	Dear White People	Won
2014	Georgia Film Critics Association Awards	Breakthrough Award	Dear White People Grantham & Rose Selma	Nominated
2014	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture	Dear White People	Nominated
2014	Black Reel Awards	Best Actress	Dear White People	Nominated
2015	African-American Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress	Creed	Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]