She appeared in 2014 on Broadway in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun as Ruth Younger. She won the Tony Award, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play for this role, beating out co-star and fellow nominee Anika Noni Rose. In 2016, Okonedo returned to Broadway in Ivo van Hove’s production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at the Walter Kerr Theatre as Elizabeth Proctor opposite Bill Camp, Tavi Gevinson, Jason Butler Harner, Ciarán Hinds, Jim Norton, Saoirse Ronan, Thomas Jay Ryan and Ben Whishaw. Also in 2016, Okonedo appeared as Queen Margaret in the second season of the BBC’s The Hollow Crown, an adaptation of the Shakespearean plays Henry VI, Part I, II, III and Richard III.
She recently performed in the role of Stevie in the 2017 West End revival of the existentialist play The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, by Edward Albee. Directed by Ian Rickson and also starring Damian Lewis as Martin, the production’s first preview was on March 24, 2017, opening night on April 5, 2017, and final performance on June 24, 2017, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
Okonedo was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.
Okonedo has one daughter named Aoife, from a previous relationship with Irish film editor Eoin Martin. They live in Muswell Hill, London. On her heritage, Sophie says, “I feel as proud to be Jewish as I feel to be black” and calls her daughter an “Irish, Nigerian Jew”.

Awards and nominations
• Academy Awards
• 2005, Best Supporting Actress (Hotel Rwanda) [nominated]
• BAFTA TV Awards
• 2010, Best Leading Actress (Mrs. Mandela) [nominated]
• 2010, Best Supporting Actress (Criminal Justice) [nominated]
• Black Reel Awards
• 2005, Best Actress-Drama (Hotel Rwanda) [winner]
• 2008, Best Ensemble (The Secret Life of Bees) [nominated]
• 2008, Best Supporting Actress (The Secret Life of Bees) [nominated]
• 2010, Best Actress (Skin) [nominated]
• British Independent Film Awards
• 2003, Best Supporting Actress (Dirty Pretty Things) [nominated]
• 2009, Best Actress (Skin) [nominated]
• Golden Globe Awards
• 2007, Best Actress in a Mini-Series/Television Movie (Tsunami: The Aftermath) [nominated]
• Hollywood Film Festival
• 2008, Ensemble Acting of the Year (The Secret Life of Bees) [winner]
• NAACP Image Awards
• 2005, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Hotel Rwanda) [nominated]
• 2007, Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie/Mini-Series (Tsunami: the Aftermath) [winner]
• 2009, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (The Secret Life of Bees) [nominated]
• 2010, Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Skin) [nominated]
• Screen Actors Guild Awards
• 2005, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Hotel Rwanda) [nominated]
• 2005, Outstanding Ensemble in a Motion Picture (Hotel Rwanda) [nominated]
• Tony Awards
• 2014, Best Featured Actress in a Play (A Raisin in the Sun) [winner]
• 2016, Best Actress in a Play (The Crucible) [nominated]