Sumpter began her career as a model and appeared in commercials for Hewlett-Packard and Liz Claiborne's Curve fragrances. She also worked as a waitress before acting.[3] In 2004, she served as the co-host for the reality series Best Friend's Date, which was broadcast on Nickelodeon's defunct cable channel The N, now titled TeenNick. The following year she landed the role of Layla Williamson in the ABC daytime soap opera, One Life to Live. For her portrayal of Layla, Sumpter was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Best Actress in a Daytime Drama Series in 2008. She first appeared on-screen on July 15, 2005,[4] playing the role regularly through September 14, 2010. Sumpter reappeared in the role on November 9–10, 2010, and January 21 and 24, 2011.[5][6]
In 2010, Sumpter made her film debut in Stomp the Yard: Homecoming and briefly appeared in Salt. From January to May 2011, Sumpter appeared in The CW teen drama series, Gossip Girl as Raina Thorpe.[7] She played singer Jason Derülo's girlfriend in the video for his song "It Girl".[8] In 2011, she appeared in the romantic comedy film What's Your Number?. From 2011 to 2012 she also had a recurring role as Jenna Rice in the BET comedy series, The Game.[9]
In 2014, Sumpter co-starred in the action comedy film, Ride Along, opposite Kevin Hart and Ice Cube.[21][22] The film grossed $153,262,184 worldwide.[23] She reprised her role in the 2016 sequel Ride Along 2. Like the original film, this sequel was panned by most critics but was a box office success, grossing $124.6 million worldwide during its theatrical run. The third film was announced but was not filmed.[24] In 2014, She played Yvonne Fair, one of Brown’s former lovers, in Get on Up, the biographical drama film about James Brown.[25][26] She co-starred opposite Queen Latifah, Mo'Nique, and Khandi Alexander in the HBO biographical film Bessie about the blues singer Bessie Smith that premiered in 2015.[27][28]
2016–present
Sumpter played a young Michelle Robinson in the biographical romantic drama film, Southside with You about the early romance between Barack and Michelle Obama.[29][30] The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival and received positive reviews from critics.[31] Sumpter also co-produced the film.[32] The film premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered critical acclaim.[33] In his Sundance review, The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic Todd McCarthy wrote: “From the first second she’s onscreen, the striking Tika Sumpter is 100 percent the Michelle Obama the public has come to know: formidable, intellectually probing and a bit fierce.”[34] Sumpter received Gotham Awards and NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture nominations for this performance.[35] Sumpter is an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority. She was inducted into the organization on July 10, 2016, at the 67th annual Boule, in Atlanta, Georgia.[36]
In 2019, Sumpter was cast in the ABC comedy series, Mixed-ish, a prequel spinoff of Black-ish, playing the role of Alicia, Rainbow's mother.[43][44] The series was canceled after two seasons in 2021. In 2020, she starred as Maddie Wachowski in the action-adventure comedy film, Sonic the Hedgehog based on the video game franchise.[45][46] It grossed $319 million worldwide, becoming the sixth highest-grossing film of 2020. She reprised her role in the 2022 sequel, that grossed over $405 million worldwide.[47] A sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, is scheduled for release in December 20, 2024.
In 2023, Sumpter made her directing debut with the short film Night Off which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.[48] She had a recurring role in the second season of Starz comedy series, Run the World.[49] She starred opposite Snoop Dogg in the sports comedy film The Underdoggs that is set to release on January 26, 2024 by MGM.[50]
Personal life
On October 8, 2016, Sumpter gave birth to her daughter, Ella-Loren.[51] In January 2017, Sumpter announced that she was engaged to her The Haves and the Have Nots co-star, Nicholas James.[52] The couple married in 2022.[53]
