Ella Thomas Explained

Ella Thomas
Occupation:Actress, model, producer
Years Active:2006–present
Birth Place:Asmara
Children:1[1]

Ella Thomas is an Eritrean American actress, model and producer.

Early life and education

Ella Thomas was born to an Eritrean mother from Asmara and an American Air Force officer, who was stationed in Eritrea.When she was still a child, Thomas' family relocated to Germany, where they lived in the small town of Kindsbach. There, she attended a local German school. Thomas also studied French, while simultaneously continuing Tigrinya and English lessons at home with her mother. Around this time, Thomas first developed an appreciation for the performing arts, and began taking part in local school and theater productions. She likewise would periodically return home to Asmara to visit relatives.[2]

Career

Thomas has guest starred as Agent Deborah Meade on and played one of the lead characters, Anna Roberts, in The Storm miniseries on NBC. In the fall 2009, she appeared opposite Bruce Willis in the Touchstone/Disney sci-fi thriller Surrogates, which opened September 25, 2009.[3]

She appeared as the model Viveca on the HBO series Entourage and as P Diddy's fiancée Nadine Alcott on .

Thomas also starred on the series Parenthood, as well as the ABC's show Castle.

Thomas had a recurring role on NCIS: Los Angeles as the character Jada Khaled. [4] Thomas also guest starred in the episode "Skin" of the Karl Urban and Michael Ealy helmed FOX series Almost Human. She was seen opposite Zoe Saldana as the author Lorraine Hansberry in the Nina Simone biopic, Nina. [5]

In January of 2022 she was the co-lead roles in the Tubi original Unborn as well as recurring on the newly released to Netflix Ballers alongside Dwayne Johnson and John David Washington which aired originally aired on HBO.

Ella has also been featured in editorial spreads for American Vogue and Glamour and ELLE and she has also appeared in print ads for companies such as Gap, Tiffany & Co., and Levi's and appeared in the Lexus ES automotive commercials.[6] She completed a recurring arc on season 4 of ABC's Mistresses [7] as well as Antoine Fuqua's series for DirectTV Ice in the role of Lala Agabaria.[8] She starred opposite Kyra Sedgwick in the ABC series Ten Days in the Valley as Detective Isabel Knight [9] and appeared in the CBS series Me, Myself & I. She has also guest starred on Supergirl and The Detour. Next she will appear opposite Garrett Hedlund in Liongate's Desperation Road as well as Searchlight's Nightbitch helmed by Amy Adams.[10] Nightbitch is slated to debut at TIFF with a wide theatrical release Dec. 6, 2024.[11]

Personal life

As of 2024, she lives in Los Angeles.[12] She is active with the Eritrean Youth Community and has served on the board of Eritrean Diaspora Network for two years.[13]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2005ChokerGodiva
2006All InRestaurant Waitress
2009SurrogatesLisa
2010NapoleonicJosephine MolietShort
2014BorderclashCelia RicodonnaShort
2015Daniel and the Lion's DenEllen RobbinsShort
2016NinaLorraine Hansberry
2016A Boy Called PoClarissa Evans
2017The Queen of Hollywood Blvd.Josie
2023Desperation RoadSarah Magee
2024NightbitchNayaFilming

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2006SharkCall Girl #1Episode: "Dial M for Monica"
20067th HeavenEthiopian WomanEpisode: "Christmas!"
2006MisconceptionsActressEpisode: "Bad Guy's Day Off"
2007Ugly BettyStriking AmazonEpisode: "I'm Coming Out"
2007Las VegasJulia ThomasEpisode: "Junk in the Trunk"
2007How I Met Your MotherGirl #1Episode: "Moving Day"
2007Point of EntryMoniqueTV film
2008NCISHeidiEpisode: "Recoil"
2008TabethaVideo game
2008Polizeiruf 110JaninaEpisode: "Rosis Baby"
2008EntourageVivecaEpisode: "Gotta Look Up to Get Down"
2009Nadine AlcottEpisode: "Sink or Swim"
2009Anna RobertsTV miniseries
2009FBI Agent Deborah MeadeEpisode: "Death House"
2010ParenthoodLisa GenatasioEpisode: "Namaste No More"
2010CastleNatasha PiperEpisode: "Overkill"
2011All My ChildrenDiana HoldenRecurring role
2011–12,
2015–16
Jada KhaledRecurring role (seasons 3 & 7)
2013Almost HumanVanessaEpisode: "Skin"
2014BonesLyla ThomasEpisode: "The Drama in the Queen"
2015Portrait of LoveJulia RobbinsTV film
2015BallersKara CooleyEpisodes: "Move the Chains", "Everything Is Everything"
2016MistressesJackieRecurring role (season 4)
2016–17IceLala AgabariaMain role (season 1)
2017Me, Myself & IJasmineEpisode: "Pilot"
2017Ten Days in the ValleyIsabel KnightRecurring role
2018SupergirlTormockEpisode: "Fort Rozz"
2019SkyeEpisode: "The Entertainer"
2020QuarantineWillaSeries regular
20229-1-1WillowEpisode: "Cursed"

Other works

YearTitleNotes
2012Executive producer, costume designer
2013–14Top Flight SecurityExecutive producer, costume designer (11 episodes)
2015Daniel and the Lion's DenProducer, writer

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Ep. 15 | Parenthood W/ Ella Thomas & Ryan Krause - Everything's Okay (podcast). October 4, 2023. Listen Notes.
  2. Web site: Ella Thomas . Movie Mire . May 29, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304034300/http://www.moviemire.com/index.php/ella-thomas.html . March 4, 2016 .
  3. Web site: TV Shows. September 2, 2009. March 4, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030249/http://tvdramas.about.com/od/celebrityinterviews/a/ellathomasinter.htm. dead.
  4. Web site: Paramount Press Express | THE TEAM SEARCHES FOR JADA, THE WOMAN SAM LEAD TO ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES FOUR YEARS AGO, AFTER SHE GOES MISSING, ON a REBROADCAST OF "NCIS: LOS ANGELES," SATURDAY, MAY 14 . April 21, 2016 .
  5. Web site: Film Review: Zoe Saldana in 'Nina' . April 18, 2016 .
  6. Web site: 2016 Lexus ES TV Spot, 'A New Point of View'. www.ispot.tv.
  7. Web site: 'Mistresses' Casts Ella Thomas; Christopher J. Hanke Joins 'Devious Maids'. Denise. Petski. April 15, 2016.
  8. Web site: 'Ice': Antoine Fuqua's Audience Drama Series Adds Ella Thomas, Rey Gallegos & Chloe East. Denise. Petski. August 17, 2016.
  9. Web site: 'Ten Days In The Valley': Ella Thomas, Josh Randall, Eight More Round Out Cast. Denise. Petski. January 27, 2017.
  10. Web site: Ella Thomas Joins Cast Of Nadine Crocker's 'Desperation Road'. Valerie. Complex. October 27, 2022.
  11. Web site: Toronto Lineup: Amy Adams' 'Nightbitch,' Elton John Doc and 'The Wild Robot' Among First Films Slated for TIFF. Adam. Chitwood. June 18, 2024.
  12. Web site: BIO . Ella A. Thomas Official Website . 8 July 2024 . en.
  13. Web site: Africa's 54: Eritrea: Africa's Jewel on Apple Podcasts . https://web.archive.org/web/20200506110614/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/eritrea-africas-jewel/id1507691081?i=1000472776986 . 2020-05-06 . podcasts.apple.com.