Nkechi Okoro Carroll

Last updated
Nkechi Okoro Carroll
Born
Nkechi Okoro

New York, United States
Occupation(s)Television producer, writer, actor
Years active2002–present

Nkechi Okoro Carroll is a writer, producer, and actor. She is the executive producer for The CW drama All American . [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Early life

Carroll was born in New York, but lived in many places while growing up, including Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, the United States, and the United Kingdom. [1] [4] [5] Her parents are Nigerian and came to the United States for college but decided to stay. [6] [4] Her dad was a lawyer, and when Carroll was four years old, her family moved to Nigeria for her father's job. [6] When she was eight, Carroll's parents split, and she moved with her mom to Côte d'Ivoire near her cousins. [6] When she was living in Nigeria, she watched a lot of television, which shaped her view of the US. [4] From the time she was young, she wanted to be a writer. [4] Carroll was later sent to boarding school in Oxford, England and began performing at the Oxford Youth Theater. [6]

Carroll attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a BA in economics and French in 1998. [6] [5] 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. [6] After completing college, she worked as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve and acted in small theaters in the evening. [6] She speaks multiple languages. [1]

Carroll received a master's degree in international economics from New York University. [5]

Career

In 2004, Carroll and her husband left New York and moved to Los Angeles to pursue Carroll's dream of writing in Hollywood. [6] Her first writing job was on The Finder . [6] When the show ended after one season, Carroll joined the writers on Bones . [6] Carroll worked as a co-executive producer on Rosewood and The Resident . [1] [7] [5]

In March 2014, Carroll launched the group Black Women Who Brunch alongside Lena Waithe and Erika L. Johnson. [6] [8] The group is designed to connect black female writers working in the film industry. [6] The group often meets at Carroll's house for potlucks. [8] They provide job recommendations and resources for their members. [8] The Hollywood Reporter did a story on the group's members in 2018. [9] There were sixty-two members at the time and it was The Hollywood Reporter's largest photo shoot at the time. [10]

In 2018, Carroll joined the crew of All American after the pilot episode, co-producing alongside April Blair, Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter. [11] [1] [12] In October 2018, Carroll took over as executive producer of the show, replacing Blair after Blair had to step down for personal reasons. [1] [4] [2] Carroll was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series" for the All American episode "Hussle & Motivate", but ultimately did not win the award. [13] [14] 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. [15]

In January 2024 she was nominated for the 55th NAACP Awards for Screenwriter and producer, Nkechi Okoro Carroll, stands tall with a nomination in the Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series category for creating NBC’s Found [16]

Personal life

Carroll is married to a high school teacher, Jonathan A. Carroll. [6] [4] The couple met briefly during their time at the University of Pennsylvania, but were not close. [6] In April 2000, they both went to see a mutual friend perform at the Soul Cafe in New York City, where fellow University of Pennsylvania alumnus John Legend was the opener. [6] Nkechi was there on a date with someone else, but soon after she and Jonathan began dating. [6] They have two sons and currently live in Los Angeles. [6] [4]

Carroll is a Christian. [17] She speaks multiple languages, [1] and favorite television show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer . [6] 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. [17]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleWriterProducerNotes
2010–2011A Breath of Fresh Air with Jon and NkechiYesYesExecutive Producer
2012 The Finder YesNo
2013–2015 Bones YesYes
2015–2017 Rosewood YesYesCo-Executive Producer
2018 The Resident YesYesCo-Executive Producer
2018–present All American YesYesExecutive Producer
2022–present All American: Homecoming YesYesCreator, executive producer
2023-present Found YesYesCreator, executive producer

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References

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  2. 1 2 Barton, Chris (8 October 2019). "The CW's 'All American' pens a 'love letter' to Nipsey Hussle and South L.A." Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  3. Andreeva, Nellie (22 April 2019). "'All American' EPs On Season 2 Hopes After Netflix Bump For Bubble Series & Honoring Nipsey Hussle". Deadline. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Turchiano, Danielle (9 October 2018). "'All American's' New Boss: 'We Want to Make Sure We're Truthful'". Variety. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Nkechi O. Carroll". Infinity Film Festival Beverly Hills. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Petrilla, Molly (26 June 2019). "Running the Show". The Pennsylvania Gazette. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  7. Andreeva, Nellie (23 August 2019). "ABC Nabs Missing Person Drama 'Found' From Nkechi Okoro Carroll & Berlanti Productions As Put Pilot". Deadline. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Sun, Rebecca (December 5, 2018). "For The Hollywood Reporter's largest shoot ever, members of Black Women Who Brunch, a networking group co-founded by Lena Waithe, gather to discuss how the industry can better understand black women in Hollywood: 'We have to be exceptional.'". Good Black News. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  9. Sun, Rebecca (December 4, 2018). "No More 'We Can't Find Any Black Female Writers': Here Are 62 Scribes in One Photo". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  10. Weinberg, Lindsay (December 4, 2018). "How The Hollywood Reporter's Largest-Ever Group Photo Came to Be". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
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  12. Spencer, Samuel (10 March 2020). "'All American' Season 3 Release Date: When Is the Next Season Coming to the CW and Netflix?". Newsweek. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  13. Ramos, Dino-Ray (23 February 2020). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer Of The Year; 'Just Mercy', 'Black-Ish', 'When They See Us' Among Top Honorees – Full Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. "NAACP Winners 2020: The Complete List". Yahoo! Entertainment. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  15. Otterson, Joe (2021-09-02). "Nkechi Okoro Carroll Renews Warner Bros. TV Overall Deal, Hires Lindsay Dunn as Head of TV for New Production Company". Variety. Retrieved 2021-09-03.
  16. "Davido, Tems, Burna Boy, Asake, Pick Up NAACP Image Awards Nominations - Afrocritik". 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  17. 1 2 Rhee, Sonya (November 16, 2001). "Interview with Nkechi Okoro, New York, New York, November 16, 2001". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2 April 2020.