Akosua Busia has led quite an interesting life and where she is now is no surprise given her talented, multi-faceted background. Best known for her role as Nettie Harris in 1985’s The Color Purple, she has since bounced around from the world of entertainment to international philanthropy, crossing all boundaries and taking full advantage of her background and fame. Born in Ghana, the actress, director, author, and songwriter has laid claim to many incredible bodies of work including films, books, and songs.
Busia has embraced the challenges of living in the United States and the United Kingdom, all while keeping true to her Ghanaian roots. Leaving her mark all over the world, she has done amazing work from co-writing a song with Stevie Wonder, to directing a film about her father, to starting an international foundation with her sister to help those who are disadvantaged. Despite her busy schedule, she remains humble and true to herself and those around her.
Early Life
Busia was born in Ghana and is the daughter of Kofi Abrefa Busia, a prince in the royal family of Wenchi and a former prime minister of the Republic of Ghana. She began acting at 16 and attended the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. In an all-white cast, her first role was in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet where she starred as Juliet. From there, her career took off with notable performances in Native Son and Hard Lessons, where she starred alongside Denzel Washington, and ultimately her most recognizable role in The Color Purple, where she shared the screen with Danny Glover and Whoopi Goldberg. The film was highly received, and despite not winning, was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
As an author, she wrote The Seasons of Beento Blackbird: A Novel, which follows a writer whose search for love and heritage takes him on an incredible journey around the world. She also co-wrote the adapted screenplay Beloved from Toni Morrison’s novel of the same name. With Stevie Wonder, she co-wrote the song “Moon Blue” which was featured on his album A Time 2 Love. Her work as an actor and a writer is extensive and shows true versatility in the various genres and forms of literature she has crossed into.
Marriage With John Singleton
In 1996, Busia married film director John Singleton, known for his work directing Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and Rosewood, which Busia starred in. The marriage was short-lived and after a year, Singleton filed for divorce. The sudden divorce suit caused controversy amongst the two and Busia claimed that Singleton wanted to leave her because he was slated to make a substantial amount of money from Shaft and didn’t want Busia as beneficiary. She also claimed that he had a son with another woman during their marriage and hid it from her. The two had a daughter together and Busia raised her on her own. Singleton passed away in 2019 from a stroke.
Where She Is Now
Although Busia continued to write, her acting career stalled out. Raising her daughter alone kept her plenty busy and she sought to give her the best life possible. After 18 years off, Busia returned to the stage and acted in off-Broadway and Broadway productions. She would star alongside Lupita Nyong’o in 2016 for the play Eclipsed. She co-founded the Busia Foundation International with her sister Abena Busia, promoting human rights, democracy, civic education, and good governance around the world. Her struggles were not enough to turn Busia away from success and as a role model for people everywhere, her tenacity to transcend multiple forms of literature hit both the stage and the screen, and promote international values for all is an amazing example for people to follow.
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