Sonja Sohn
Sohn in 2011
Born
Sonja Denise Williams

(1964-05-09) May 9, 1964
Fort Benning, Georgia, U.S.
Occupations
  • Actress
  • activist
  • filmmaker
Years active1996–present
Spouse
​
​
(m. 2003; div. 2011)​
Children2
Sonja Sohn
Hangul
손 손자
Revised RomanizationSon Sonja
McCune–ReischauerSon Sonja

Sonja Denise Plack (née Williams; born May 9, 1964), known professionally as Sonja Sohn,[1][2] is an American actress, activist and filmmaker, best known for portraying Baltimore detective Kima Greggs in the HBO drama The Wire (2002–2008). She is also known for having starred in the independent film Slam, which she co-wrote, and appearing as Samantha Baker in the ABC series Body of Proof. Her role in The Wire led to her work as the leader of a Baltimore community initiative called ReWired for Change.[3]

Early life

Sohn was born Sonja Denise Williams in Fort Benning, Georgia. Her mother was Korean and her father was Black. Her parents met when her father was stationed in South Korea after the Korean War.[4] She attended and graduated from Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia.[5]

Career

Sohn (left) with The Wire co-stars, Jamie Hector (middle) and Michael K. Williams

Before she was an actress, Sohn was a slam poet. While performing her work on stage, she was spotted by Marc Levin who offered her a role in his film Slam. She also wrote lyrics and co-wrote the script for the film. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Dramatic Film at the Sundance Film Festival. After debuting in Slam, Sohn appeared in minor roles in films such as Shaft and Bringing Out the Dead. She also starred in independent films Perfume, G and The Killing Zone. Through the five seasons of the HBO series The Wire, she held a starring role as Detective Kima Greggs.[6]

She struggled during the first season of The Wire and considered quitting as she had trouble recalling her lines. She has also guest-starred on many episodes of Cold Case as "Toni Halstead". She won the supporting television actress award at the 2008 Asian Excellence Awards for her character on The Wire.

She had a supporting role in the Hollywood film Step Up 2: The Streets. In 2008-09, she was a guest star in the ABC series Brothers & Sisters, and in 2010 she appeared in an episode of CBS series The Good Wife. In 2011, she was a guest star on the show Bar Karma.[7] She played Detective Samantha Baker in the first two seasons of the medical drama television series Body of Proof with Dana Delany and Jeri Ryan, which premiered on ABC on March 29, 2011.[8]

On May 30, 2014, it was announced that Sohn would be joining season 2 of The Originals, in a recurring role as the witch Lenore a.k.a. Esther Mikaelson.[9]

Sohn made her directorial debut with the 2017 HBO documentary Baltimore Rising about the 2015 Baltimore protests and community organizing that arose in response to police violence.[10] In 2021, Sohn directed The Slow Hustle, a documentary about the death of Baltimore Homicide Detective Sean Suiter, which was fictionally portrayed in the HBO miniseries We Own This City.

It was announced in May 2022 that Sohn had signed on to ABC's police drama Will Trent as Amanda, the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and Trent's (Ramón Rodríguez) boss. The pilot episode aired January 3, 2023.[11] Episodes will air on ABC, Tuesdays, 10pm EST and available to watch on Hulu.

Activism

Previously involved in political activism (she campaigned in North Carolina in support of Barack Obama's 2008 presidential bid), Sohn took a break from acting in 2009 to concentrate on social issues. She is the founder and CEO of the Baltimore-based reWIRED for Change, an outreach program intended to communicate with (and ultimately rehabilitate) at-risk youth involved in criminal activity.[12]

The program is run out of the University of Maryland School of Social Work and uses episodes of The Wire as a teaching tool, encouraging the participants to examine and query their lives and past actions.[13] Other actors and writers involved with The Wire serve as board members.[14] In 2011, she was presented with the Woman of the Year award from the Harvard Black Men's Forum.[15]

Personal life

Sohn has two daughters, Sophia and Sakira.[16] In 2003, Sohn married didgeridoo player Adam Plack. As of 2019 Sohn and Plack are divorced.[17]

On July 21, 2019, Sohn was arrested in North Carolina and charged with felony possession of cocaine.[18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Work June
1998 Slam Lauren Bell
1999 Getting to Know You Lynn
Bringing Out the Dead Kanita
2000 Shaft Alice
2001 Perfume Dandy
2002 G Shelly
2003 The Killing Zone Jennifer
2004 The Industry Narrator (voice) Video
2008 Step Up 2: The Streets Sarah
2012 The Wire: The Musical Shakima 'Kima' Greggs Short
2015 The Missing Girl Franny
2016 Domain Atlanta
2019 High Flying Bird Myra
2023 Big George Foreman Nancy Foreman
Breakwater Bonnie [19][20]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2002–08 The Wire Shakima 'Kima' Greggs Main Cast
2006–07 Cold Case Toni Halstead Recurring Cast: Season 4, Guest: Season 5
2008–09 Brothers & Sisters Trish Evans Recurring Cast: Season 3
2010 The Good Wife Sonya Rucker Episode: "Hi"
2011 Bar Karma Lucy Borden Episode: "An Open Mind"
2011–12 Body of Proof Samantha Baker Main Cast: Season 1-2
2012 Drop Dead Diva Judge Vivian Holston Episode: "Jane's Getting Married"
Burn Notice Agent Olivia Riley Recurring Cast: Season 6
2013 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Lisa Carter Episode: "American Tragedy"
The Good Wife Sonya Rucker Episode: "Outside the Bubble"
2014–15 The Originals Lenore Shaw Recurring Cast: Season 2
2015 Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Police Officer Episode: "Public Defenders"
2016 Luke Cage Captain Betty Audrey Recurring Cast: Season 1
Shut Eye Detective Gabriella Recurring Cast: Season 1
2017 Incorporated Chairman Fisher Recurring Cast
2018–21 The Chi Laverne Johnson Recurring Cast: Season 1, Guest: Season 3-4
2019 Godfather of Harlem Nell Episode: "Rent Strike Blues"
2019–21 Star Trek: Discovery Dr. Gabrielle Burnham Recurring Cast: Season 2, Guest: Season 3-4
2020 Interrogation Marjorie Thompson Episode: "L.A. County Psychologist Marjorie Thompson vs. Eric Fisher 1984"
Utopia Agent Katherine Milner Recurring Cast
2023 See It Loud: The History of Black Television Herself Recurring Guest
2023– Will Trent Amanda Wagner Main Cast

Director

Year Title
2017 Baltimore Rising

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Film or series Result
1998 Gotham Awards Breakthrough Actor Slam Won
1998 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Slam Won
1998 Independent Spirit Awards Best Debut Performance Slam Nominated
2005 Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series The Wire Nominated
2008 Asian Excellence Awards Outstanding Television Actress The Wire Won
2009 Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series The Wire Nominated

References

  1. ↑ Maddaus, Gene (July 22, 2019). "'The Chi' Actress Sonja Sohn Arrested on Cocaine Possession Charge".
  2. ↑ Holtzclaw, Mike (October 25, 1999). "Local Actress Now Working With Big Stars". Daily Press. Archived from the original on September 17, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  3. ↑ "After 'The Wire', Sonja Sohn couldn’t leave Baltimore’s troubled streets behind" Archived 2010-04-10 at the Wayback Machine Article, ReWired for Change web site
  4. ↑ Gross, Terry (March 15, 2012). "Sonja Sohn: Changing Baltimore Long After 'The Wire'". Fresh Air. NPR. Retrieved April 17, 2012.
  5. ↑ Life Servers Sohn Well; Actress Graduated from Newport News School, Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 7, 1998, B4, by Mike Holtzclaw
  6. ↑ "Character profile - Detective Shakima "Kima" Greggs". HBO. 2004. Retrieved July 22, 2006.
  7. ↑ Bargiel, Nina (February 22, 2011). "Episode 103: "An Open Mind" with Sonja Sohn!". Current TV. Archived from the original on March 12, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ "ABC Adds "Body of Proof", "Off the Map" to Roster". The Futon Critic. May 14, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ Tierney Bricker (May 30, 2014). "The Originals Casts The Wire Star in Witchy Season 2 Role". E!. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  10. ↑ Cohen, Sandy (July 28, 2017). "'Baltimore Rising' explores life after Freddie Gray". The Detroit News. Associated Press.
  11. ↑ Petski, Denise (May 10, 2022). "Sonja Sohn Joins ABC Drama Pilot 'Will Trent'". Deadline. Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Phil Zabriskie, "After 'The Wire' ended, actress Sonja Sohn couldn't leave Baltimore's troubled streets behind", Washington Post, January 27, 2012.
  13. ↑ Sonja Sohn's Road to Redemption Archived 2009-09-07 at the Wayback Machine - story on Sohn's community activism with reWIRED for Change in B (Baltimore online newspaper), accessed January 1, 2010
  14. ↑ Members page reWIRED for Change, accessed January 1, 2010
  15. ↑ "Sohn honored". Boston Globe. March 29, 2011. p. G14. "The Wire" actress Sonja Sohn receives the Woman of the Year award at the Harvard Black Men's Forum 17th Annual Celebration of Black Women
  16. ↑ "A night for guys to be bad for good". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  17. ↑ Price, Mark (July 22, 2019). "Actress known for HBO's 'The Wire' faces cocaine charge on Outer Banks, NC police say". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved July 7, 2023. (subscription required)
  18. ↑ "Actress charged with drug possession in North Carolina". Associated Press. July 22, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  19. ↑ Lang, Brent (October 4, 2021). "Darren Mann, Alyssa Goss, Sonja Sohn, Celia Rose Gooding Join Crime Thriller 'Breakwater' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  20. ↑ Grobar, Matt (May 5, 2023). "Ryan Phillippe, Emile Hirsch & Mena Suvari Set For Vertical's Action Thriller 'Kalahari' From Writer-Director Mukunda Michael Dewil; Voltage Pictures To Handle Sales At Cannes". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 7, 2023. Suvari's… other upcoming projects… James Rowe's thriller Breakwater with Dermot Mulroney.
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