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] and the creator of its spinoff All American: Homecoming . [4]

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] [5] [6] Her parents are Nigerian and came to the United States for college but decided to stay. [5] [7] Her dad was a lawyer, and when Carroll was four years old, her family moved to Nigeria for her father's job. [7] When she was eight, Carroll's parents split, and she moved with her mom to Côte d'Ivoire near her cousins. [7] When she was living in Nigeria, she watched a lot of television, which shaped her view of the US. [5] From the time she was young, she wanted to be a writer. [5] Carroll was later sent to boarding school in Oxford, England and began performing at the Oxford Youth Theater. [7]

Carroll attended the University of Pennsylvania, where she received a BA in economics and French in 1998. [6] [7] 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. [7] After completing college, she worked as a research assistant at the Federal Reserve and acted in small theaters in the evening. [7] She speaks multiple languages. [1]

Carroll received a master's degree in international economics from New York University. [6]

Career

In 2004, Carroll and her husband left New York and moved to Los Angeles to pursue Carroll's dream of writing in Hollywood. [7] Her first writing job was on The Finder . [7] When the show ended after one season, Carroll joined the writers on Bones . [7] Carroll worked as a co-executive producer on Rosewood and The Resident . [1] [6] [8]

In March 2014, Carroll launched the group Black Women Who Brunch alongside Lena Waithe and Erika L. Johnson. [7] [9] The group is designed to connect black female writers working in the film industry. [7] The group often meets at Carroll's house for potlucks. [9] They provide job recommendations and resources for their members. [9] The Hollywood Reporter did a story on the group's members in 2018. [10] There were sixty-two members at the time and it was The Hollywood Reporter's largest photo shoot at the time. [11]

In 2018, Carroll joined the crew of All American after the pilot episode, co-producing alongside April Blair, Greg Berlanti, and Sarah Schechter. [1] [12] [13] In October 2018, Carroll took over as executive producer of the show, replacing Blair after Blair had to step down for personal reasons. [1] [2] [5] 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. [14] [15] 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. [16]

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 [17]

Personal life

Carroll is married to a high school teacher, Jonathan A. Carroll. [5] [7] The couple met briefly during their time at the University of Pennsylvania, but were not close. [7] 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. [7] Nkechi was there on a date with someone else, but soon after she and Jonathan began dating. [7] They have two sons and currently live in Los Angeles. [5] [7]

Carroll is a Christian. [18] She speaks multiple languages, [1] and favorite television show is Buffy the Vampire Slayer . [7] 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. [18]

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
2022–2024 All American: Homecoming YesYesCreator, executive producer
2023–present Found YesYesCreator, executive producer

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References

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  15. "NAACP Winners 2020: The Complete List". Yahoo! Entertainment. 23 February 2020. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  16. 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.
  17. "Davido, Tems, Burna Boy, Asake, Pick Up NAACP Image Awards Nominations - Afrocritik". 2024-01-26. Retrieved 2024-01-27.
  18. 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.