CVK
The New York Daily News profiles actress Sophie Okonedo, nominated as Best Supporting Actress for her role opposite Don Cheadle in “Hotel Rwanda.” Okonedo’s breakout role was as a prostitute in 2003’s “Dirty Pretty Things.” (Thanks to Lee Swift for this item as well!)

1. Okonedo was born in Britain to a Jewish mother and a Nigerian father. She has a 7-year-old daughter, Aoife, who, according to her mom, is more interested in computers than acting.

2. She got her start in her late teens when she answered an ad in London’s Time Out magazine. Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi was looking for aspiring writers to join a workshop, but Okonedo soon realized she was better at acting parts than writing them.